ABSTRACT
Machiavellians show a peculiar set of personality traits. They are characterised by a low degrees of friendliness, responsibility and certain kind of emotional instability. They do not feel bound by the norm of cooperation, and show low levels of empathy, care and helpfulness towards others. However, Machiavellianism cannot be limited to a specific personality construction. It is a wider psychological phenomenon that also includes characteristic processes of thinking and cognition. Machiavellians are also characterised by above-average levels of sensation seeking, although they cannot be considered typical risk takers. In contrary to psychopaths, they frequently make a strategic decision: they do not take unnecessary risk which would yield unfavourable material or social consequences. Machiavellians show a higher level of antisocial behaviour than non-Machiavellians but they resort to violence only when their strategic moves fail. Strong correlations were found between Machiavellianism and borderline personality disorder in three different fields: perceiving themselves as a formless entity without boundaries and unity (Identity Diffusion), fear of being closely attached to others emotionally (Fear of Fusion), avoiding experiences which threaten their self-esteem (Primitive Defence Mechanism)
