Location
Rauthmann, J. (2013). Investigating the Mach IV with item response theory and proposing the trimmed Mach*.
Journal of Personality Assessment, 95 , 388/C0397.
Results and Comments
The shortening process necessitated a slight re-orientation and focusing of the original content. The authors
concluded that misanthropy and cynicism were at the core of the construct. A novel contribution was the IRT
comparison: They showed that both Mach IV and MACH* provide the best discrimination at average to above-
average levels of Machiavellianism.
TRIMMED MACH* SCALE
Respondents are asked to rate their agreement on a
5-point Likert-type scale ranging from (1) completely
disagree to (5) completely agree.
1.Anyone who completely trusts anyone else is asking
for trouble.
2.It is safest to assume that all people have a vicious
streak and it will come out when they are given a
chance.3.Never tell anyone the real reason you did something
unless absolutely necessary.
4.Most people are basically good and kind (R).
5.The biggest difference between criminals and other
people is that criminals are stupid enough to get
caught.
Notes : Reverse scored item (R).
Reproduced with permission.
2. Mach VI
(Jones & Paulhus, 2008; 2009 ).
Variable
This instrument was designed to revisit the original conception of Machiavellianism, that is, strategic manipu-
lation ( Machiavelli, 1513; Sun-Tzu, 1998 ). The authors argued that the Mach IV had inadvertently introduced an
element of impulsivity into the instrument.
Description
The authors compiled a comprehensive set of manipulation-related items, and selected those with low or nega-
tive correlations with impulsivity. The result was a set of 12 items aimed at a more cautious and strategic orienta-
tion toward the achievement of selfish goals. The complete set of items is provided below.
Sample
The authors reported on five samples totaling 1249 students and 374 participants from a community sample
on Mechanical Turk ( Jones & Paulhus, 2008 ).
Reliability
Internal Consistency
In a sample of 407 undergraduate students, the Cronbach alpha coefficient was .88 ( Jones & Paulhus, 2008 ).
Test/C0Retest
No test /C0retest reliability coefficients have been reported to-date.
Validity
Convergent/Concurrent
In a sample of 563 students, Mach VI correlated .59 with the Mach IV ( Jones & Paulhus, 2008 ). They also found
positive correlations with measures of psychopathy (.44) and narcissism (.33).571 DARK TRIAD MEASURES
V. VICES AND VIRTUES