Effects of Group Conflict, Problem-Relevance, Manipulative Success and Decision-Satisfaction on Machiavellianism

Abstract

60 Ss participated in groups making personally relevant decisions that affected their grades. The MACH IV test was administered before and after the discussions. It was hypothesized that Ss' perceptions of manipulative success and decision-satisfaction would be significant predictors of change in Machiavellian orientation in high-conflict groups but not in low-conflict groups. Data were analyzed as two separate step-wise regression problems. Only manipulative success was a significant predictor of change for the high-conflict group members ( F = 6.1, df = 1/23, P < .025). An unexpected though nonsignificant relationship was found in low-conflict groups between decision-satisfaction and changes in MACH IV scores ( F = 1.8, df = 1/32, P < .1).