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Machiavellianism Scale

Personality psychologists categorize dark personality traits into four groups. Machiavellianism is one of them.

Mark Travers, Ph.D.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D.

February 5, 2024

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other popular publications. He is a regular contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today, where he writes about psycho-educational topics such as happiness, relationships, personality, and life meaning. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team. Or, you can drop him a note here.

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Machiavellianism, characterized by strategic, cunning and calculated manipulation, is one of the four personality traits within the Dark Tetrad framework.

Machiavellianism entails a cold and pragmatic approach to social interactions. Individuals exhibiting this trait tend to view others as tools to accomplish personal goals. They possess the drive to use any means necessary to gain power.

Research led by the influential personality psychologist Delroy Paulhus provides a convenient way to measure dark tetrad tendencies in the form of the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) scale. The "crafty identity" dimension of the SD4 scale helps measure machiavellianism in both clinical and sub-clinical populations.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

References: Paulhus, D. L., Buckels, E. E., Trapnell, P. D., & Jones, D. N. (2021). Screening for dark personalities: The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 37(3), 208–222.

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. It’s wise to keep your secrets to yourself.

2. Whatever it takes, you must get the important people on your side.

3. Avoid direct conflict with others because they may be useful in the future.

4. Keep a low profile if you want to get your way.

5. Manipulating the situation takes planning.

6. Flattery is a good way to get people on your side.

7. I love it when a tricky plan succeeds.

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Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores with people similar to you.

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What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.