Machiavellianism and leadership.

Abstract

The relevance of Machiavellian ism as a personality style for leadership was studied in the context of experimental task groups. The subjects were 84 male undergraduate students. The experimental design assigned 14 high Machiavellians (Machs) and 14 low Machs as leaders of task groups who constructed toy cube bridges under either a favorable or an unfavorable situation. In the favorable situation, the leader was presented to the group as technically qualified, and his authority was emphasized (high leader power). Task performance was evaluated according to a single criterion (structured task). In the unfavorable situation, the leader's qualities or special status were not emphasized (low power), and task performance was evaluated according to multiple criteria (unstructured task). No performance differences were found between high Mach and low Mach led groups. However, significant differences were observed with regard to group interactions. High Mach leaders gave more orders and were less involved in reducing tension. They were also less directive and requested more assistance when the situation was unfavorable, whereas the low Machs' behavior across situations remained unchanged. This study focused on the relevance of Machiavellianism as a personality style for leadership behavior. The concept of Machiavellianism, as introduced by Christie and Geis (1970), pertains to cognitive agreement with the basic ideas of Nicollo Machiavelli, for example, mistrust in human nature, lack of conventional morality, opportunism, and lack of affect in interpersonal relationships. People who scored highly on standard measures of Machiavellianism (high Machs) were found to have a strong tendency to manipulate other people (Geis & Christie, Note 1). In an experimental bargaining coalition game, high Machs manifested better sense of timing and adjusted their acts to current circumstances. They also appeared to initiate and control the structure of group interaction. High Machs manifested higher effectiveness under ambiguous, rather than clear, situations. They also were found to be detached from ego-involving elements in bar