The Machiavellians: bright minds and dark hearts

There is a belief that the psychopathic personality has an intellectual superiority capable of putting anyone in check. This idea, that genius often goes hand in hand with this type of profile, has been transmitted to us by the world of cinema. However, the reality is different, because those we should be most careful about are the Machiavellians.

Experts call this fact “the Hannibal Lecter myth.” It is about assuming that psychopaths are as brilliant, refined and sophisticated as they made us see in The silence of the lambs. Now, research such as those carried out at the University of Cambridge shows us something very clear: The psychopath generally scores below average on intelligence tests.

Evil, often represented through those villains that we have known from books, series and movies, almost always surprise us with that air of absolute ingenuity that seems to attract us so much. But the reality is different. Because Aggressive, harmful and manipulative behavior hides – on average – a mind with a low IQ, guided only by impulses.

However, in recent research we have found an interesting and curious exception. It has been discovered that Machiavellianism, those highly calculating, conniving and cynical people, do have a higher intelligence than average.

Knowing this we could say that evil geniuses exist, but yes, they are not psychopaths.

The Machiavellians, masters of manipulation

New theories about the relationship between evil and intelligence provide us with new and interesting data. Thus, according to experts, it is time to differentiate Machiavellians from psychopaths. This is what we are told in studies such as those carried out at the University of Western Ontario, Canada by Dr. Christopher Kowalski. There they highlight that psychopaths and narcissists are ordinary, while Machiavellians are brilliant.

We must not let ourselves be dazzled by this detail. Defining them as “brilliant” only implies that they demonstrate high competence in tasks such as ingenuity, spatial or mathematical reasoning, long-term planning, problem solving, self-control, etc.

However, That intelligence, far from being useful, is still harmful, because it continues to contain a clearly evil essence.. To understand it better, let’s see how they define the Machiavellian in this study mentioned above and carried out in 2018.

The difference between Machiavellians and psychopaths

The main difference between Machiavellianism and psychopathy is impulsivity. While the latter are defined above all by low awareness, lack of planning and even a low capacity to learn from experience, Machiavellians are a little more “sophisticated”:

They are skilled at long-term planning. They can delay benefits and gratifications to achieve higher goals. They are opportunistic and calculating, they know how to take advantage of any situation very well. Likewise, Machiavellians are extremely skillful and effective in negotiations and debates. On the other hand, Machiavellians are extremely skilled and effective in negotiations and debates. On the other hand, while psychopaths are capable of taking risks to get what they want, Machiavellians measure very well the risks they are willing to take. They are more cautious, but yes, they compensate for this more cautious approach by thinking of more sophisticated (and safer) strategies. to achieve something.

Machiavellianism and fluid intelligence

One of the most notable definitions of intelligence was offered to us Raymond Cattell (1905 – 1998). In this approach, a interesting distinction: fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence.

The first (fluid) refers to our ability to adapt and face new situations, without our previous learning helping us. The second (crystallized) makes up the totality of knowledge, skills and strategies acquired through our interaction with the environment. , such as through our education.

Good, Research tells us that Machiavellians score high in one of these two intelligences: fluid (Kowalski et al., 2018). What does this mean?

It implies that Machiavellianism demonstrates a high capacity to reason about abstract ideas. They have good logical reasoning. They demonstrate a notable ability to establish relationships or extract differences.

The Machiavellians and the emotional component

Machiavellianism, like psychopathy, has a common trait that most of us know: emotional detachment. We know that psychopaths are distinguished by their lack of conscience and also by making use of instrumental empathy, that is, they connect with others to probe their realities and internal needs and thus be able to control them better.

The Machiavellian also presents this trait, which means we are faced with a highly dangerous type of personality. High intelligence (at least fluid) and emotional coldness come together in them to override ethical or moral values ​​in favor of their interests.

Hence, many experts already define them as the profile of a bright mind and a dark heart. For them, As Machiavelli said in Prince, The end justifies the means. Whatever they are…

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