Psychology and sociology/12. Social psychology

Prof. Dr. Ryumshina L.I.

Southern Federal University, Russia

Influence of the Machiavellian personality tendencies on the behavior in the conflict

Conflicts - an integral part of the human relationships. They are associated with the collision of the needs, interests, views on certain things, etc. There are many reasons for the conflict, although it is generated not by one, but by a complex of the reasons, among which it is conditionally possible to identify the major one. The conflicts can lead to the dissatisfaction with the relationships and destroy them. [1; 8, etc.]

However, it is not the matter of the presence of the conflicts, but in the way of their solution. In the literature, as a rule, the constructive or destructive nature of the conflict is singled out. The constructive conflict is characterized by the fact that the problem is solved on the basis of the integration and with due regard for the interests of all the participants of the conflict. As a result, the relationships improve, understanding becomes better and the ability to effectively resolve new conflicts increases, the level of the conflict is reduced in general.

The destructive conflict resolution, on the contrary, does not solve the problem - there is either a complete submission by one party of the conflict to the other, the use of the force to impose one’s version of the problem solution, or it is solved formally, one can also observe the withdrawal from the problem - the interruption of the conflict (imaginary truce). At the same time, the contradictory needs and interests remain, the needs of the participant, emerging from the conflict as the "lost one", are not satisfied. This results in the emotional alienation, anxiety, depression, and perhaps aggression.

Thus, the constructive conflict - a conflict where there are "no losers and winners", where both participants benefit, and the destructive one – is the "imposing the winner’s will on the loser." [1; 3 and others]

The constructive or destructive form of the conflict is given by the behavior of its participants. One of the most well-known classification of the typical forms of the behavior of the participants involved in the conflict can be considered a classification by C. Thomas. He describes five possible options for the individual's behavior in the conflict situations. At the same time, he believes that by the avoiding of the conflict, neither side achieves the success; with such forms of the behavior, such as competition, adjustment and compromise, either one participant is a winner, and the other loses, or both lose, because they settle for the compromise. Only in the situation of the cooperation the two sides win.

The choice of the conflict resolution strategy depends on many factors, primarily on the personality characteristics of the participants. Among them, the attention is drawn to the Machiavellian tendencies that characterize the desire to manipulate the partner in the communication.

The phenomenon of the manipulation has its roots in the distant history, and fairly strong tradition of the research in the philosophy, culture, natural science, ethics, and psychology as well. Perhaps, the first description of this phenomenon we find at the XVI century politician Machiavelli. Currently, the manipulations become normal, everyday part of life and communication, and people no longer notice them. In general, the manipulation of the people can be regarded as the use of another person for one’s own purposes, for one’s own benefit. Another person in this case is turned into an object, reified, devalued [2; 4; 6; 7, etc.]. It should be noted that recently the manipulative techniques in the interpersonal communication become more sophisticated and disguised, and the growth of the well-being of the people does not lead to a decrease in this trend.

At the same time studies show that different kinds of the manipulative tricks in general have a negative impact on the relationship that, along with the non-constructive form of the conflict resolution, can lead to the dissatisfaction with the interpersonal relationships [6]. However, it is not clear what kind of behavior in the conflict choose people with the Machiavellian tendencies? It is possible that their presence provokes the choice of the non-constructive forms of the conflict resolution. In order to find the answers to these questions, an empirical study was conducted.

Objective: to study the influence of the Machiavellian tendencies of the partners on their choice of the behavioral form in the conflict situations.

We hypothesized that the higher the level of the Machiavellian tendencies, the more partners are focused on the non-constructive forms of the behavior in the conflict.

Research methods. As the research methods were selected adapted to the Russian version of the sample methodology "Machiavellianism - IV» and the method of the diagnosis of the personality predisposition to the conflict behavior by C. Thomas. For the quantitative processing of the data have been used the method of testing the significance of the differences U-Mann-Whitney and Pearson correlation coefficient method.

Respondents. The study involved 140 people, 70 men and an equal number of women, with different education and engaged in different activities. Age of the respondents is 23-35 years.

The results of the study. The results obtained in the course of the study showed that most respondents have an average intensity level of the manipulative tendencies, which agrees with our earlier assumptions about the characteristics of the manipulation in the Russian culture [5].

Despite some studies showing that men are more prone to the manipulation, in this case a high intensity level of the manipulation tendencies is more pronounced among the women. Although, in fairness, it should be noted that in general the results for men and women in this parameter do not differ much, which can not be said about the choice of the behavioral strategies in the conflict situations.

Thus, the analysis of the data showed that there are significant differences between men and women in choosing a strategy for the 'cooperation': women are much more likely to choose this form of the behavior in the conflict than men. The reliability of differences was confirmed by the U-Mann-Whitney test (U = 586,5, at five percent significance level). In other words, women are more focused on the constructive discussion of the problems.

However, we were interested not so much in the gender differences, as the choice of the behavioral strategies in the conflict, depending on the intensity of the respondents’ Machiavellian tendencies. The results obtained suggest that there are. First of all, there are significant differences between the choice of the behavior forms in the conflict by the respondents with the low and high Machiavellian tendencies intensity.

The respondents with the high intensity level of such tendencies have the form of the behavior in the conflict situations, such as "competition". It should be noted that the "competition" allows to achieve a desired result, stimulates the development, promotes the progress. At the same time, the "competition" requires the application of all the forces which can lead to the exhaustion, emergence of the diseases. Thus, this strategy is not aimed at resolving the conflict situation and the problems lying at its base, but at defending one’s position. The "competition" creates a temptation to win at all costs, including the use of the unfair and cruel methods, which agrees with the intensity of the manipulative tendencies. However, one should note that women with the high intensity level of these tendencies are also characterized by the strategy of the "cooperation." This is probably a consequence of the gender factor. As already noted, for the women, who participated in this study, this form of behavior in the conflict situations is characteristic.

"Compromise" – the least preferred form of the behavior among the respondents with the high intensity level of the manipulative tendencies. This strategy allows to save the resources until a more favorable moment. With the "compromise" each participant gets something acceptable, instead of continuing the war, and possibly losing everything. However, the "compromise" is often only a temporary release because none of the participants satisfied their interests fully, and the basis for the conflict remains. Moreover, the compromise might be perceived by the opponent as a sign of weakness and lead to the increased pressure and demands. Perhaps, this is why the persons with the Machiavellian tendencies try not to use this strategy.

But among the respondents with an average intensity level of the manipulation tendencies, the "compromise" - the dominant form of the behavior. The statistical analysis showed that with the increase of the Machiavellian tendencies in this group, also increases the desire to use the behavioral strategy "cooperation" in the conflict and reduces the desire to the "compromise" in the conflict situation.

As for the women with the average intensity level of the manipulative tendencies, for them as well as for the women with the high intensity level of such tendencies, is rather typical the "cooperation". In this regard, it is not surprising that the women with the low intensity level of the Machiavellian tendencies use the "cooperation" as a dominating strategy. However, this strategy is also typical for men with the low manipulation tendencies.

In other words, while those with the low Machiavellian tendencies relatively evenly use all kinds of the strategies, i.e. variable in the conflict, the leading strategy, nevertheless, appears to be the "cooperation". This is understandable. This behavior differs from the desire to achieve the greatest possible satisfaction of their interests and the interests of the partner. The successful "cooperation" contributes to the improvement of the relations and the desire to continue them in the future. As you might guess, least pronounced in this group of the respondents is such form of the behavior as the "competition".

To identify the correlation between the intensity level of the manipulative tendencies and the choice of the behavioral strategies in the conflict was used the method of Pearson correlation coefficient. As a result of this was revealed a weak positive correlation on five percent level of the statistical significance between the Machiavellian tendencies and behavioral strategy “competition” (r = 0,275; p = 0,014), and also was found a moderate negative correlation on one percent level of the statistical significance between the Machiavellian tendencies and behavioral strategy “cooperation” (r =- 0,378, p = 0,001).

Discussion of the results. Thus, this study suggests that for those prone to the manipulations, is characteristic the competition in the conflict situation. The higher the intensity level of the Machiavellian tendencies of the respondents, the more they prefer this strategy and impose on the other participant a favorable decision for themselves and the less they want to cooperate; they have more tough behavior in the conflict, demonstrating their superiority, seeking to win their partner. It can be observed, regardless of the gender of the respondent. One of the reasons for this is likely the distrust that accompanies the manipulation. Not believing in oneself, and not trusting the partner (that he can understand, forgive, accept, etc.) a person seeks the control, psychological abuse, a variety of tricks, rather than an open discussion of the problem.

It is significant in connection with this that the person, who is not prone to the manipulation, is not so tough in the conflict situations. In general, aiming for a constructive conflict resolution, they have other behavioral strategies that allow them to respond more adequately to the conflict situation.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that regardless of the Machiavellian tendencies intensity of the women surveyed, they are characterized by the "cooperation" behavior in the conflict. They take a position of the peace-making in the conflict situations rather than men. It is difficult to say whether it would be typical for the women in other age groups, other cultures, etc. Nevertheless, it is consistent with studies showing the orientation of the women on the interpersonal relationships, as well as the importance for them of the understanding in the communication.

Bibliography

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