What the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking measures
Named after the 16th-century political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (author of The Prince), the Mach-IV was developed by Christie and Geis to quantify a person's propensity to view others purely as instrumental tools to achieve a goal. Unlike psychopathy (which is driven by impulsivity and lack of empathy) or narcissism (driven by ego and grandiosity), Machiavellianism is cold, calculating, strategic, and highly patient. High "Machs" are the ultimate corporate politicians.
The dimensions it assesses
- Tactics (Deceit): The willingness to use manipulation, flattery, and lying to achieve one's objectives.
- Views (Cynicism): A deeply pessimistic view of human nature, believing that most people are gullible, weak, lazy, and easily manipulated.
- Morality (Amoral Pragmatism): The rejection of traditional ethics in favor of strict utilitarianism; rules are for the weak, and winning is the only metric of morality.
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What your score means
First, apply reverse scoring to items: 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17. Then, sum all 20 items. Traditionally, Christie & Geis added a constant of 20 to the final score to make the neutral midpoint exactly 100, aligning it with IQ scale mechanics.
| Score | Interpretation | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 40 – 79 | Highly trusting, deeply ethical, and empathetic. They refuse to manipulate others, which makes them highly trustworthy but exceedingly vulnerable to exploitation by corporate predators. | |
| 80 – 99 | The average adult. Capable of playing office politics when survival requires it, but generally prefers honest, cooperative relationships. | |
| 100 – 120 | Emotionally detached, cynical, and highly manipulative. They view life as a zero-sum game of chess. They excel in unstructured environments (like sales or corporate takeovers) where rules are ambiguous. |
These ranges describe groups of people, not individuals. A score near a boundary is not meaningfully different from one just across it, and no range on this table is a diagnosis.
What to do with your result
- For Low Machs (Vulnerability Alert): Your belief that "everyone is basically good" is a dangerous cognitive bias in competitive environments. You must learn defensive politics. Read Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power not to execute them, but to recognize when they are being executed against you.
- For High Machs (The Success Trap): Your ability to manipulate people gives you short-term victories, but destroys long-term trust. In repeated iterations of the Prisoner's Dilemma, defection always loses eventually. You must learn to simulate "Low Mach" cooperation to build sustainable alliances, recognizing that trust is a strategic asset.
- Corporate Environment Match: High Machs destroy highly structured, cooperative, team-based environments (they hoard information and backstab). However, they thrive in highly unstructured, chaotic, competitive environments (e.g., crisis management, aggressive litigation, commission-only sales) where cold pragmatism is required.
Common questions about the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking
- What does the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking measure?
- Measurement of Machiavellianism: a personality trait centered on interpersonal manipulation, cynical pragmatism, emotional detachment, and a belief that the ends justify the means.
- Can the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking diagnose me?
- No. Strategic & Manipulative Thinking is a screening questionnaire, not a diagnostic tool. It can flag that something may need a closer look. It cannot tell you what is causing it. It describes tendencies rather than diagnosing anything, and no result here is a condition or something to fix.
- How long does the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking take?
- 20 questions, which most people finish in 5 – 8 minutes. There is no time limit, and answering honestly matters more than answering quickly. The results page checks for patterns suggesting the questions were rushed.
- Is this Strategic & Manipulative Thinking test really free?
- Yes. No account, no email address, no payment. Psychometrics Today is funded by donations rather than advertising, which is also what allows us to publish instruments whose authors permit free but non-commercial use.
- Are my answers stored or shared?
- No. Your answers are scored inside your browser and never sent to us. There is no database of responses, because we never receive any. Closing the tab erases them, which is why results cannot be recovered afterwards.
- How often should I retake the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking?
- Traits and preferences move slowly, so retaking this every few months is more informative than retaking it often. Larger shifts usually follow a genuine change in circumstances.
- Who created the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking, and is this the real version?
- It was published by Christie & Geis (1970). Widely reproduced without restriction; effectively public domain. The items here are the published ones rather than a paraphrase, and the scoring follows the original rules. Both are documented on this page so they can be checked.
- How accurate is the Strategic & Manipulative Thinking?
- Screening questionnaires are good at flagging that something merits attention and poor at establishing what it is. This one is sensitive to how you feel on the day you take it, and many instruments were validated on narrow populations whose cut-offs may not transfer cleanly to everyone. The references at the foot of this page are the primary sources.
Sources
Rights held by Christie & Geis (1970). Developed and validated by the researchers cited below.
- Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. Academic Press.
- Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2014). Introducing the short dark triad (SD3) a brief measure of dark personality traits. Assessment, 21(1), 28-41.
Licensing
Public domain. Widely reproduced without restriction; effectively public domain.