Disentangling the relationship between Machiavellianism and social dominance orientation.

Abstract

Background: Machiavellianism and social dominance orientation are two constructs associated with socially undesirable behavior and predictors of prejudice; however, their relationship has mainly been investigated through measures that only assess the antagonism dimension of Machiavellianism. Thus, this study aimed to disentangle their relationship using an instrument assessing agency and planfulness.

Participants and procedure: Participants were 767 Brazilians aged 18 to 71 (M = 30.10, SD = 10.60), most identified as women (67.7%) and assessed using the Five Factor Machiavellianism Inventory, the Short Dark Triad, and the Social Dominance Orientation Scale. A path model was used, where the Machiavellianism and the Dark Triad dimensions predicted social dominance orientation.

Results: The results suggest that antagonism was indeed the primary and only dimension of Machiavellianism to predict dominance and antiegalitarianism, while agency and planfulness were non-significant.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that socially dominant traits have their roots in antagonism, showing no interaction with planning and impulse control.