Machiavellianism

A Machiavellianism is a personality trait that enables interpersonal exploitation patterns through strategic manipulation, moral flexibility, emotional detachment, and long-term planning for personal gain (named after Niccolò Machiavelli).

• AKA: Machiavellian Personality, Strategic Manipulativeness, Political Personality Type, Pragmatic Amoralism.
• Context:
  • It can typically manifest through Strategic Deception in interpersonal interactions.
  • It can typically involve Calculated Charm for influence purposes.
  • It can typically employ Coalition Building to accumulate social power.
  • It can typically utilize Reputation Management while hiding true motives.
  • It can typically demonstrate Emotional Coolness during manipulation tasks.
  • ...
  • It can often prioritize End Goals over ethical means.
  • It can often excel in Political Environments requiring strategic thinking.
  • It can often predict Workplace Success in competitive settings.
  • It can often correlate with Cynical Worldviews about human nature.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Low Machiavellianism to being a High Machiavellianism, depending on its trait expression level.
  • It can range from being a Adaptive Machiavellianism to being a Maladaptive Machiavellianism, depending on its social functioning impact.
  • It can range from being a Tactical Machiavellianism to being a Strategic Machiavellianism, depending on its planning horizon scope.
  • It can range from being a Domain-Specific Machiavellianism to being a Generalized Machiavellianism, depending on its behavioral context breadth.
  • ...
  • It can form Dark Triad with psychopathy and narcissism.
  • It can differ from Psychopathy through impulse control and planning ability.
  • It can influence Moral Decision-Making via consequentialist reasoning.
  • It can predict Betrayal Behavior when cost-benefit favorable.
  • It can enable Social Mimicry for strategic advantage.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Political Machiavellianisms, such as:
    • Electoral Machiavellianism in campaign strategy.
    • Diplomatic Machiavellianism in international negotiation.
    • Bureaucratic Machiavellianism in government organization.
  • Corporate Machiavellianisms, such as:
    • Executive Machiavellianism in C-suite politics.
    • Sales Machiavellianism in client manipulation.
    • Organizational Machiavellianism in office politics.
  • Interpersonal Machiavellianisms, such as:
    • Romantic Machiavellianism in relationship strategy.
    • Social Machiavellianism in status competition.
    • Academic Machiavellianism in institutional advancement.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Principled Leadership, which maintains ethical standards without manipulative tactic.
  • Authentic Relating, which values genuine connection without strategic agenda.
  • Altruistic Behavior, which serves other interests without personal gain motive.
  • Emotional Intelligence, which understands emotions without exploitation intent.
• See: Interpersonal Exploitation Pattern, Psychological Manipulation Mechanism, Dark Triad, Psychopathy, Narcissism, Callous-Manipulative Trait, Political Psychology, Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Strategic Thinking, Moral Flexibility, Interpersonal Manipulation.

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