The Machiavellian Approach and Avoidance Questionnaire: Further Validation and Evidence of Cross-National Validity

Researchers on antagonistic personality traits debate about an appropriate measurement approachto Machiavellianism. One measure intended to resolve this discourse, the Machiavellian Approachand Avoidance Questionnaire (MAAQ), distinguishes motivational aspects of Machiavellianism(https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0001069). Machiavellian Approach reflects strategic striving foradvantages (even at others’ expense), and Machiavellian Avoidance encompasses misanthropicallydriven prevention of loss. Using two German samples (ntotal = 1,583; 63% women), evidence fromour first study confirmed assumed relations between both facets and disagreeableness, as well asMachiavellian approach with dominance seeking, and Machiavellian avoidance with mistrust.However, the nomological networks of Machiavellian approach and measures of subclinicalpsychopathy were almost identical in both samples. Thus, the MAAQ failed to sufficiently differentiatefrom subclinical psychopathy. In a second study, partial scalar cross-national invariance wasestablished across samples from Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, and Serbia (ntotal = 1,853).Thereby, participants from Germany scored lower in Machiavellian approach compared to othersamples, lower in Machiavellian avoidance compared to samples from the United Kingdom andCanada, but higher compared to the Serbian sample. Overall, findings supported cross-nationalequivalence of the MAAQ but undermined construct validity.