Psychopathy and Machiavellianism often look identical, but daily behavior suggests otherwise

Key Points:

• A new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality reveals that psychopathy and Machiavellianism, though similar on standard tests, exhibit distinct psychological states in daily life, challenging the notion that they are identical traits.
• Both traits belong to the "Dark Triad" of personality, sharing antagonistic tendencies, but Machiavellianism involves strategic, long-term manipulation while psychopathy is marked by impulsivity and thrill-seeking.
• Using experience sampling over 30 days with 317 participants, researchers found that while long-term averages showed over 70% overlap between the traits, daily fluctuations overlapped only about 16%, indicating they are separate states.
• The study discovered a one-way relationship where increased Machiavellian behavior on one day predicted higher psychopathic behavior the next, suggesting strategic restraint may precede impulsive outbursts.
• Limitations include a predominantly young, female, Eastern European sample and single daily survey points, indicating a need for more diverse participants and more frequent assessments to better understand environmental triggers and state changes.