Study Finds Machiavellianism Is Associated With Lower Expectations for Emotional Closeness
A new psychological study suggests that people with highly manipulative personality traits tend to expect less emotional closeness in romantic relationships, with older women showing the steepest decline in intimacy expectations. The findings provide a nuanced perspective on how personality, attachment style, and beliefs about love shape what people hope to receive from romantic partners.
Intimacy is widely recognized as a fundamental component of psychological well-being. Supportive romantic relationships can buffer stress and reduce loneliness, whereas persistent difficulties with emotional closeness are often associated with greater psychological distress and lower life satisfaction.
Dark Personality Traits and Love
Psychologists commonly study three socially aversive personality traits collectively known as the Dark Triad: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity and a strong need for admiration, psychopathy involves callousness and impulsivity, and Machiavellianism reflects manipulation and a cynical view of others.
Previous research has linked these traits to infidelity, low relationship commitment, and game-playing in romantic relationships. However, much less is known about what individuals high in these traits actually expect from partners in terms of trust, emotional sharing, and intimacy.
In the present study, intimacy expectations were defined as the anticipated level of mutual self-disclosure, trust, and emotional understanding within a romantic relationship. Individuals with high intimacy expectations seek partners who validate their emotions, whereas those with lower expectations tend to prefer greater emotional distance.
Attachment Styles and Romantic Ideals
Intimacy expectations are also strongly influenced by attachment style, a framework originally developed to explain how infants form emotional bonds with caregivers. Applied to adulthood, attachment theory helps explain how romantic partners approach closeness, dependence, and emotional vulnerability.
People with secure attachment generally feel comfortable with emotional closeness and trusting others. By contrast, avoidant attachment is characterized by discomfort with intimacy, whereas anxious attachment involves a persistent fear of rejection and abandonment, often resulting in emotional instability.
Romantic beliefs add another layer to these expectations. Some individuals hold highly idealized views of love, believing in soulmates and lifelong, destined relationships. Such beliefs can increase expectations for emotional closeness, responsiveness, and profound mutual understanding within a partnership.
How the Study Was Conducted
Researchers Silvija Ručević and Josipa Antunović of Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek surveyed 900 adults between the ages of 18 and 74 who were currently involved in romantic relationships. The sample consisted predominantly of heterosexual participants representing both dating relationships and long-term partnerships.
Participants completed validated questionnaires measuring Dark Triad personality traits, including items such as "I tend to manipulate others" to assess Machiavellianism. They also completed measures of attachment anxiety, attachment avoidance, and endorsement of idealized romantic beliefs.
To assess intimacy expectations, the researchers used a validated scale measuring desired levels of emotional sharing, trust, and mutual understanding. Hierarchical regression analyses were then performed, adding variables stepwise to determine which factors independently predicted intimacy expectations after accounting for age and gender.
Manipulation Linked to Lower Intimacy
The findings showed that broader relationship characteristics were more influential than Dark Triad traits alone. Avoidant attachment strongly predicted lower intimacy expectations, whereas idealized romantic beliefs emerged as the strongest positive predictor of expecting deep emotional closeness.
Among the Dark Triad traits, Machiavellianism was the strongest predictor of lower intimacy expectations. Individuals who viewed relationships as strategic interactions rather than mutually supportive bonds appeared less likely to expect trust, openness, and emotional intimacy from a partner.
Narcissism showed a more complex pattern. When examined independently, it was weakly associated with lower intimacy expectations. However, after statistically controlling for Machiavellianism, narcissism became a weak positive predictor of intimacy expectations. This suppression effect suggests more complex underlying motivations.
The researchers propose that narcissists' desire for admiration and validation may encourage them to seek emotional closeness, even if that closeness primarily serves to reinforce their own self-image. In other words, they may pursue intimacy, but often in ways that center on their own needs and social status.
Psychopathy, despite being associated with risky and harmful relationship behaviors, did not independently predict intimacy expectations once the other personality traits and relationship variables were taken into account. This finding suggests that behaviors such as infidelity may not necessarily reflect how individuals conceptualize emotional closeness itself.
Age and Gender Shape the Effects
The researchers also examined whether age and gender influenced the relationship between personality traits and intimacy expectations. Neither age nor gender altered the associations involving narcissism or psychopathy, which remained relatively stable across demographic groups.
However, age and gender significantly influenced the relationship between Machiavellianism and intimacy expectations. Among older women, manipulative personality traits were associated with a substantially stronger reduction in intimacy expectations. This group reported the lowest expectations for emotional closeness of any demographic subgroup in the study.
Among younger women and men of all ages, higher Machiavellianism also predicted lower intimacy expectations, but the strength of this association remained relatively stable across age groups. The particularly pronounced decline observed among older women suggests that life experience may reinforce these psychological patterns over time.
The authors suggest that women with higher Machiavellian tendencies may become increasingly pragmatic and emotionally guarded as they age. Repeated exposure to disappointing or antagonistic relationships may strengthen the belief that emotional distance and strategic behavior are safer than openness and vulnerability.
Limitations and Implications for Therapy
The study has several important limitations. All data were based on self-report questionnaires, meaning responses may have been influenced by social desirability bias or limited self-awareness, particularly regarding socially undesirable characteristics such as manipulation and callousness.
In addition, the cross-sectional design captures only a single point in time and cannot establish causal relationships. It therefore remains unclear whether Dark Triad traits contribute to lower intimacy expectations or whether longstanding beliefs about emotional closeness shape the development and expression of these personality characteristics.
Because participants were recruited from the general population, average levels of Dark Triad traits were relatively low. Although the observed statistical associations were meaningful, their magnitude was modest, highlighting that intimacy expectations are shaped by numerous interacting psychological and social factors.
Nevertheless, the findings have practical implications for clinical practice. Therapists working with individuals who perceive relationships primarily as strategic exchanges may first need to address these underlying cognitive frameworks before meaningful changes in relationship behavior and emotional closeness can occur.
The authors recommend that future research follow couples over time to examine how intimacy expectations evolve, particularly after major life events or repeated relationship disappointments. They also suggest that cultural norms and gender roles may influence the development of manipulative and avoidant relationship patterns.
By integrating personality traits, attachment styles, and romantic beliefs, the study offers new insight into why some individuals consistently expect less emotional intimacy from romantic partners. Understanding these psychological patterns may ultimately help clinicians develop more targeted interventions aimed at fostering healthier, more emotionally satisfying relationships.
The study, titled Behind the Mask of Love: Associations Among Dark Triad Traits, Attachment Avoidance and Anxiety, Romantic Beliefs, and Intimacy Expectations, was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
By Victoria Caldwell.
