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Machiavellianism, Competition and Self-Disclosure in Friendships

Machiavellianism, Competition and Self-Disclosure in Friendships. Loren Abell 1 , Gayle Brewer 1 and Minna Lyons 2 1 University of Central Lancashire 2 Liverpool Hope University. Friendships. Source of social support, predict happiness, increase self-esteem and reduce loneliness

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Machiavellianism, Competition and Self-Disclosure in Friendships

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  1. Machiavellianism, Competition and Self-Disclosure in Friendships Loren Abell1, Gayle Brewer1 and Minna Lyons2 1University of Central Lancashire 2 Liverpool Hope University

  2. Friendships • Source of social support, predict happiness, increase self-esteem and reduce loneliness Gender differences : • Females tend to form dyads and form more empathic and supportive friendships • Males tend to form group friendships and participate in group activities Personality differences: • Extroverted individuals feel closer to their friends • Individuals higher in neuroticism experience more friendship conflict • Individuals high in agreeableness are more likely to be selected as friends

  3. Machiavellianism • Characterised by a manipulative interpersonal style, emotional detachment and lack of concern with morality (Christie & Geis, 1970) • Machiavellian individuals place little importance on friendship and report friendships of poor quality (Lyons & Aitken, 2010) • Those high in Machiavellianism may not want (or need) the emotional intimacy and support provided by friendships

  4. Self-Disclosure • Self-disclosure develops and reinforces intimacy, trust and liking within friendship • Self-disclosure is also associated with power, and the potential abuse of that power • Machiavellian individuals intentionally use self-disclosure as a manipulation strategy Gender differences: • O’Connor and Simms (1990) and Brown and Guy (1983) reported Machiavellian females use self-disclosure to manipulate others • When the situation is manipulated (influential/affiliative) males, but not females use self-disclosure (Dingler-Duhon & Brown, 1987)

  5. Competition • Competition in a experimental situation with strangers influenced the intentional use of self-disclosure by Machiavellian males(Jones, Nickel & Schmidt, 1979) • Competition decreased self-disclosure whilst cooperation increased Machiavellian males use of self-disclosure • Research has not considered the influence of competition on the use of self-disclosure in real world relationships such as friendships.

  6. The Current Study Aim: To investigate the influence of Machiavellianism and friendship competition on the use of self-disclosure, considering both the amount and type of information disclosed Method: • 236 participants completed: • The Mach IV (Christie & Geis, 1970) • Self-Disclosure Scale (Wheeless, 1978) • Amended Interpersonal Competition Index (Singleton & Vacca, 2007)

  7. Results Machiavellianism and Self-Disclosure Subscales

  8. Male and Female Self-Disclosure Men: • Machiavellianism and Competition predicted honesty-accuracy of self-disclosure (F (3,60) = 8.90, p < .001) Women: • Machiavellianism x Competition predicted honesty-accuracyof self disclosure (F (3,167) = 2.99, p < .05) • Machiavellianism x Competition predicted intent to self-disclosure (F(3,166) = 3.77, p < .05) • Machiavellianism x Competition predicted depth of self-disclosure (F(3,166) = 4.27, p < .01)

  9. Conclusions • High Mach men and women and those in competitive friendships do not reduce the amount of information that they disclose which could be detrimental to the friendship or raise suspicion (Sermat & Smyth, 1973) • The friendship dyads experienced by high Mach individuals and those in competitive friendships are characterised by less honest - accurate self-disclosure • Machiavellianism and competition predicted intent to self-disclose and depth of information disclosed in women only. This may reflect the greater focus on friendship dyads for women

  10. References • Brown, E.C., & Guy, R.F. (1983). The effects of sex and Machiavellianism on self-disclosure patterns. Social Behaviour and Personality, 11, 93-96. • Christie, R., & Geis, F.L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. London: Academic Press. • Dingler-Duhon, M., & Brown, B.B. (1987). Self-disclosure as an influence strategy: Effects of Machiavellianism, androgyny, and sex. Sex Roles, 16, 109–123. • Jones,W.H., Nickel,T.W., & Schmidt, A. (1979). Machiavellianism and self-disclosure. The Journal of Psychology, 10, 33-41. • Lyons, M., & Aitken, S. (2010). Machiavellian friends? The role of Machiavellianism in friendship formation and maintenance. Journal of Social, Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology, 4, 194-202. • O’Connor, E.M., & Simms, C.M. (1990). Self-revelation as manipulation: The effects of sex and Machiavellianism on self-disclosure. Social Behaviour and Personality, 18, 95-100. • SingeltonJr , R.A., & Vacca, J. (2007).Interpersonal competition in friendships. Sex Roles, 57, 617-627. • Wheeless, L.R. (1978). A follow-up study of the relationships among trust, disclosure and interpersonal solidarity. Human Communication Research, 4, 143-157.

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