Machiavellianism is a personality trait emphasizing fraud at others' expense. It is yet unclear whether Machiavellianism is also predictive of less obvious deception, for example inaccurate or meaningless information supposed to gain advantages and to avoid disadvantages (i.e., bullshit). Similarly, it is unclear whether those high in Machiavellianism can recognize bullshit claims and valuable information as such (i.e., bullshit sensitivity). In this study, we investigated whether different facets of Machiavellianism are prone to the production of different sorts of bullshit and how these facets of Machiavellianism relate to bullshit sensitivity. In a sample of 525 participants (72% women), we found that the manipulative side of Machiavellianism (Machiavellian approach) was linked to persuasive bullshitting, that is, the production of bullshit intended to gain desired resources. Likewise, the distrustful side of Machiavellianism (Machiavellian avoidance) went along with higher evasive bullshitting, which means spreading information that ought to prevent individual disadvantages. Next, we found that those high in Machiavellian avoidance, but not Machiavellian approach, were better at differentiating information from bullshit. These links were robust irrespective of different levels of cognitive ability. Ultimately, we discussed future directions for research on bullshitting and disseminating deceptive information in general.

中文翻译：

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欺骗欺骗者是双重乐趣：马基雅维利主义与生产有关，但不一定与胡说八道有关

马基雅维利主义是一种强调以他人为代价进行欺诈的人格特质。目前还不清楚马基雅维利主义是否也能预测不太明显的欺骗，例如不准确或无意义的信息应该获得优势并避免劣势（即胡说八道）。同样，尚不清楚那些权术高明的人是否能够识别胡说八道的主张和有价值的信息（即，胡说八道敏感性）。在这项研究中，我们调查了马基雅维利主义的不同方面是否容易产生不同类型的废话，以及马基雅维利主义的这些方面与废话敏感性有何关系。在 525 名参与者（72% 为女性）的样本中，我们发现马基雅维利主义的操纵面（马基雅维利主义方法) 与有说服力的废话有关，即为了获得所需资源而制造废话。同样，马基雅维利主义不信任的一面（回避马基雅维利）伴随着更高程度的回避性废话，这意味着传播应该防止个人不利的信息。接下来，我们发现那些高度回避马基雅维利而非马基雅维利方法的人更善于区分信息和废话。无论认知能力的不同水平如何，这些联系都是稳健的。最后，我们讨论了关于胡说八道和传播欺骗性信息的总体研究的未来方向。