ON THE MANIPULATIVE BEHAVIOR OF LOW MACHIAVELLIANS - FEIGNING INCOMPETENCE TO SANDBAG AN OPPONENT

Three decades of research has revealed that people scoring high in Mac hiavellianism (high Machs) are manipulative and domineering. However, the domineering style of high Machs may preclude them from using manip ulations that require a display of weakness. The authors examined whet her Machiavellianism moderates the use of sandbagging-a manipulative s trategy in which people display low ability to induce an opponent to r educe effort or lower his or her guard. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 198) reported that they would reduce effort in response to a disa dvantaged opponent and anticipated that their opponent would behave si milarly if they were disadvantaged. In Experiment 2 (N = 66), low Mach s in competition sandbagged their opponent when they were uncertain th at they could otherwise beat him. High Machs, in contrast, preferred a show of strength to a show of weakness, displaying high ability even when sandbagging might have been an advantageous strategy.