Machiavellian People: 8 Traits That Characterize Them
Machiavellianism is a concept that refers to a distinction between strategies used to achieve certain ends and morality. The famous phrase “the end justifies the means” captures the essence of this idea well
However, Machiavellianism does not have to be seen only as the political doctrine that it originally was: one can also use this concept to explore people’s behavioral patterns and ultimately recognize certain characteristics that define Machiavellian people. .
There is no single criterion by which we can classify the different personality types: on the one hand we have the 8 personality types according to Carl Jung and the Myers-Briggs Indicator, which are so ambiguous in their categories and concepts that they are not useful, and on the other we have personality tests with greater scientific support such as 16pf.
But, beyond these personality tests that can be applied to anyone, it is possible to detect some tendencies and generalities that define very specific personality types. In this case we will see what the characteristics of Machiavellian people are
1. Obification of people
Machiavellian people can be because they tend to empathize less than normal with other people. That is, they present certain traits of sociopathy, although these do not have to be very extreme.
Since they do not connect emotionally with others, they can interact with others as if everyone who is not themselves were resources to be exploited at some point. In this way a division is created between subject (oneself) and object (others).
2. Ease of detecting other people’s weaknesses
Machiavellian people They are skilled at detecting the weaknesses of each person’s personality and taking advantage of them for their own benefit For example, someone who extremely values their public image will probably be used by a Machiavellian person to climb socially by gaining their friendship, and at the same time will find key moments to force the other person to behave in a certain way to maintain their good social image without that. seems like blackmail.
3. The tendency towards manipulation strategies
This point follows from the previous one. Since Machiavellian people empathize little and dedicate a good part of their attention to detecting other people’s weaknesses, They are constantly devising ways to manipulate others for their own benefit That is, they do something similar to what an engineer who programs a robot would do: create the conditions for the other to move towards a goal that you yourself have imposed.
4. Impulse control
Unlike what happens in cases of sociopathy, one of the features of the psychopathic tendency of Machiavellian people consists of almost total control over what is constantly done Much of his actions respond to a plan, which constitutes that strategy separate from morality.
This characteristic is also associated with high intelligence.
5. They have ambitious goals
Machiavellian people can spend a lot of time and effort scheming how to take advantage of what others do, and that is why they set ambitious goals, with a lot of value for them. After all, no one makes plans to get something simple that can easily be bought at the next store
Related to the previous section, this refers to the fact that the goals of this type of people They are located in a distant place in time It is the price that must be paid for setting important objectives that can be achieved simply by carrying out a series of complex actions.
Furthermore, this characteristic distinguishes Machiavellian people from impulsive people who are accustomed to giving in to their desires at the expense of the well-being of others.
7. Lack of regrets
When Machiavellian people do something that harms others, They do not feel bad about it, because it is considered that this is a consequence of the action plan that has been developed That is, they don’t even have to think about it, and they normally ignore that facet of reality that they have directly helped build. After all, little consideration for the well-being of others is almost a habit, something you become accustomed to.
8. They constantly develop plans
Since Machiavellian people are predisposed to cause discomfort in others without suffering for it, it can be said that they have a range of options and decisions that in the rest of the people are constrained by the morality that guides their actions. That is why he exploits this characteristic of his by scheming and doing what others avoid doing so as not to fall into a cognitive dissonance that would undermine his self-esteem.
