High social dominance orientation predicts Machiavellian manipulation beliefs strongly

Evidence

The suspicion that high social dominators tend to be Machiavellian (in the generic sense) was reinforced by the Mach-type items I wrote, nearly all of which correlated with SDO scores. The stron-gest relationships (all over .40) sprouted with “One of the most useful skills a person should develop is how to look someone straight in the eye and lie convincingly”; “Basically, people are objects to be quietly and coolly manipulated for your own benefit”; “There really is no such thing as ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ It all boils down to what you can get away with”; “You know most people are out to ‘screw you,’ so you just have to get them first when you get the chance”; and “Deceit and cheating can be justified if they get you what you really want.” — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1013

Categorization

• DEFINE: Concretely defines what ‘Machiavellian in the generic sense’ means operationally via the highest-correlating attitude items.
• XREF: connects to: Horkheimer’s strategic indecision reflected a Jewish condition requiring Machiavellian skill for security — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 1744; Dominance psychology is older than prestige and runs on fear-based coercion — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 396