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Machiavellian people: 8 traits that characterize them

Machiavellian people: 8 traits that characterize them

March 27, 2024

Machiavellianism is a concept that refers to a distinction between the strategies used to achieve certain ends and morality. The famous phrase "the purpose justifies the means" captures well the essence of this idea .

However, Machiavellianism does not have to be seen only as the political doctrine that was originally: you can also use this concept to explore people's behavior patterns and, ultimately, recognize certain characteristics that define Machiavellian people .

The Machiavellian personality in 8 traits

There is no single criterion in 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 any person, it is possible to detect some trends and generalities that define very specific personality types. In this case we will see what are the characteristics of the Machiavellian people .

1. Cosification of people

Machiavellian people can be because they tend to empathize less than normal with other people. That is, they present certain features of sociopathy, although these do not have to be very extreme.

As they do not connect emotionally with others, they can interact with the rest as if all those who are not themselves were resources to squeeze at some point. In this way a division between subject (self) and object (others) is created.


2. Ease to detect other weaknesses

The Machiavellian people they are skilled at detecting the weaknesses of each person's personality and take advantage of them for their own benefit . For example, someone who highly values ​​their public image will probably be used by a Machiavellian person to rise socially, earning their friendship, and at the same time find key moments to force the other person to behave in a certain way to maintain their good social image without that Look like blackmail.

3. The tendency to manipulation strategies

This point is derived from the previous one. As the Machiavellian people empathize little and dedicate a good deal 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 programmed a robot would do: create the conditions for the other to move towards a goal that he has imposed on himself.


  • Related article: "The 8 types of manipulators: how does each one work?"

4. Pulse control

Unlike what happens in cases of sociopathy, one of the features of the psychopathic tendency of Machiavellian people is almost total control over what is constantly done . Much of their actions respond to a plan, which re constitutes that separate strategy of morality.

This feature is also associated with high intelligence.

5. They have ambitious goals

Machiavellian people can spend a lot of time and effort to figure out how to take advantage of what others do, and that is why ambitious goals are set, with much value for them. In the end, nobody draws plans to get something simple and that can easily be bought in the store next door .

6. Focus on the long term

Related to the previous section, this refers to the goals of this type of people they are located far away in time . It is the price that must be paid to set important objectives and that can be achieved only by making a series of complex actions develop.

In addition, this characteristic distinguishes the Machiavellian people from the impulsive accustomed to yield to their desires at the expense of the welfare of others.

7. Lack of remorse

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 plan of actions that has been developed . That is, they do not even have to think about it, and they usually ignore that facet of reality that they have helped to build directly. After all, the low regard for the welfare of others is almost a habit, something to which they are accustomed.

8. They constantly develop plans

As the 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 himself by scheming and doing what others avoid doing in order not to fall into a cognitive dissonance that would undermine his self-esteem.


how to manipulate and read people (March 2024).


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