ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I make an attempt to answer the question: how do some people become Machiavellians? Several studies reported that Machiavellianism shows relatively low heritability, and individual variance on the Mach scales can be explained mostly by environmental factors. Examining young adults’ experiences in their childhood family environment, Machiavellians perceived their families as more disengaged and less cohesive, with a lack of clear rules and stable ties. They also reported poor communication and low maternal care within the family. Under these circumstances they may learn to develop a stubborn passion for reward seeking, consider others in a cold-minded manner, and search for the opportunity to take advantage of abusing others. A disadvantageous family environment also has an influence on their moral development in that Machiavellians have no regard for the fact that people living in different parts of the world have different views and values. Recent findings suggest that the above mentioned early experiences may change the Machiavellians’ brain areas responsible for regulating negative emotions, processing social cues and persisting goal-directedness. Finally, the Life History Theory explains why the unfavourable circumstances facilitate a “fast strategy”, that is a developmental path characterised by accelerated maturational processes and short-term interpersonal relationships.
