Machiavellianism has a dimensional latent structure: Results from taxometric analyses

Despite the importance of Machiavellianism, no study has examined the basic issue of its latent status: Is Machiavellianism a dimensional or a categorical construct? Or equivalently, do people differ in the extent to which they are Machiavellian, or do Machiavellianists differ categorically from non-Machiavellianists? To answer these questions, we analyzed two large online samples of N1 = 10,918 participants who completed the MACH-IV questionnaire and N2 = 40,265 participants who completed the Machiavellianism subscale of the Dirty Dozen questionnaire. Via taxometric methods, we found that Machiavellianism encompasses quantitative rather than qualitative differences in both samples. Hence, people differ quantitatively to the extent to which they are Machiavellian. These findings have important practical and theoretical implications regarding assessment, classification, causality, and labeling.