Machiavellianism and Parental Attachment in Adolescence

András Láng,Béla Birkás

doi:10.1177/2158244015571639

Abstract

Machiavellianism is a well-studied topic in several branches of psychology. Still, it has received little attention from a developmental perspective. Previous retrospective studies linked Machiavellianism to poor parental care, but actual reports of adolescents who live in their family of origin have been ignored so far. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between Machiavellianism and parental attachment in adolescence and possible sex differences based on life history theory. An adolescent sample ( N = 376; 17.27 ± .77 years of age) completed the Mach-IV and the maternal and paternal versions of revised Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA-R). According to our results, significant sex differences emerged in the relationship between Machiavellianism and attachment to parents. For girls, maternal alienation proved to be the only significant predictor of Machiavellianism, whereas for boys, low intensity and quality of verbal communication with father predicted higher levels of Machiavellianism. Results are discussed from an evolutionary perspective of socialization and from the perspective of emotion regulation.

Highlights

Since the 1970s, Machiavellianism has been investigated in social, personality, and evolutionary psychology, but the relation between Machiavellianism and parental effects should be further clarified
Most of developmental research has focused on levels of Machiavellianism in children and their parents (Kraut & Price, 1976) or used retrospective measures to tap parental bonding (Jonason, Lyons, & Bethell, 2014; Touhey, 1973)
These results suggest a strong association between Machiavellianism and impaired emotion regulation

Summary

Introduction

Since the 1970s, Machiavellianism has been investigated in social, personality, and evolutionary psychology, but the relation between Machiavellianism and parental effects should be further clarified. We explored how adolescents’ Machiavellianism is related to their actual perception of the relationship with their parents. Machiavellian individuals use deception to gain personal—mostly material—rewards and ignore conventional morality (Fehr, Samsom, & Paulhus, 1992; Hawley, 2006). They lack the capacity to recognize emotions of others (McIlwain, 2003). Emotional aspects of situations seem to have no effect on them They can remain “cool-blooded” even in highly arousing emotional situations and do not take on the excitement of others involved S. Wilson, Near, & Miller, 1996)

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Conclusion