title: Investigating the MACH-IV with item response theory and proposing the trimmed MACH*.
abstract: The MACH-IV was investigated (N = 528) with item response theory to elucidate its psychometric properties and suggest a trimmed version, the MACH*. The core content of the MACH-IV seemed to be cynicism/misanthropy and the MACH* was formed from the 5 most informative and precise MACH-IV items. The MACH* showed good internal consistency and construct and criterion validity comparable to the MACH-IV. The MACH-IV and MACH* measure most precisely at average to above average levels of Machiavellianism. Implications for theory and measurement of Machiavellianism are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, Berlin, Germany. jfrauthmann@gmail.com
authors.forename: John F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Rauthmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008257:Machiavellianism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010552:Personality Assessment; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires