Mach and Dating Danger on the Horizon

You might have met a Mach and you might have sensed that something is wrong with your
relationship. You were probably uncertain about the exact nature of the problem or might
know little about a Machiavellian personality. Now it is time to learn more about these
individuals and why you should avoid them.
Machiavellianism is one of the Dark Triad of Personality, together with narcissism and
psychopathy. They are manipulative, lack morality, empathy or conscientiousness. On the
contrary, they are often perceived by others as charismatic leaders and socially attractive
individuals. You might have a liking for such an individual, because he (or she) seems so
attractive. You can be sure that the Mach will not reveal his true intentions, because he would
not be able to achieve his goals. Machs are masters of making a good impression, so be
warned.
Machs firmly believe that individuals can be manipulated. They are rather willing and able to
be a manipulator, which is particularly true for romantic relationships. They are well aware of
the borders and how far they can go. If their manipulation would be too obvious, no one
would be associated with them. They not only have a developed sense for not going beyond
borders, others perceive them as charismatic leaders and persuasive individuals.
Machiavellianism can be apparent at a young age. When children were asked to fed biscuits
dipped in quinine to others, kids with high Mach rating fed twice as much bitter biscuits to
other children than their peers with lower Mach characteristics.
Machiavellian personalities focus on the achievement of their goals and on winning. They are
not easily distracted and they spend less time to work on interpersonal relationships or caring
with the feelings of others. During romantic relationships, high Machs do manipulate their
partner emotionally and use deception. For example, they have no problem using deception to
secure sex. They are considered to be less involved, being sexually promiscuous and
unwilling to commit. Their desire for intimacy is lower. (Dussault et al, 2013)
In a long-term relationship the shortcomings of a Mach become sooner or later obvious. As
we have seen, the Mach does not necessarily seek the security of long-term relationships
however. His tactics are far more effective in Short-term affairs; they are likely to engage in
frequent, short relationships.
Dussault et al (2013) examined the connections between Machiavellianism and dating. They
found that Machs are more likely to use deceptive strategies. Interestingly, women with high
Mach scores and more experience in dating recognized that these strategies are rather shortlived. They learned other mating strategies preferring more long-term relationships.
Individuals with high Mach scores showed generally lower levels of relationship intimacy.
They do not seem to be interested in forging highly intimate relationship with their partners,
as they do not invest that much and are more interested to satisfy their own goals. The authors
suggest that despite the assumption that high Machs are unable to relate to others emotionally,
they might be able to forge successful long-term relationships, if their goals and the goals of
their partner are the same.
You might be able to have a successful and lasting relationship with a Mach partner, if you
share his ambitions and goals and are able to provide the background for him. Do not expect

the same in return. The chance that you will be disappointed and feel betrayed is far higher.
Nobody likes to be manipulated and deceived, but this is what Machs do. They can be true
masters in it; you have to decide whether you want to be the perfect victim.

Reference:
Dussault, M., Hojjat, M., Boone, R. T. (2013): Machiavellianism and Dating: Deception and
Intimacy, Social Behavior and Personality, 41(2), 283-294