Construction and Preliminary Validation of Machiavellianism Scales From the HEXACO-100

Abstract

Machiavellian individuals are callous, manipulative, and misanthropic, and they are also strategic and capable of delaying gratification. Many commonly used measures of Machiavellianism focus on the antagonistic aspects of Machiavellianism and devote few items to the strategic aspects of this construct. Because the HEXACO framework includes an Honesty-Humility factor, it may be especially capable of characterizing the full range of Machiavellian characteristics. The current study used a consensus-rating approach to create Machiavellianism scales using items from the HEXACO-100. This approach yielded two HEXACO-Machiavellianism scales that were labeled HEXACO-Manipulative and HEXACO-Disciplined. Data from five community and college student samples were used to examine the internal consistency and validity of these HEXACO-Machiavellianism scales. The scales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and displayed promising convergent and discriminant validity with criterion variables, including other Machiavellianism scales. The HEXACO-Manipulative and HEXACO-Disciplined scales were negatively correlated, suggesting that Machiavellianism may be better understood as an emergent trait.