TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - The Machiavellian bully revisited: a closer look at differences and processes of Machiavellian bullying and cyberbullying perpetration
JO  - Aggressive behavior
A1  - Blötner, Christian
A1  - Bergold, Sebastian
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - Numerous studies on personality traits conducive to traditional bullying and cyberbullying mentioned Machiavellianism as an influential predictor of these behaviors. Machiavellianism comprises manipulative, egotistic orientations that help acquire desired outcomes. However, it is questionable whether bullying and cyberbullying reflect unidimensional constructs since they are frequently categorized into verbal, relational, and physical aspects (with the latter being applicable only in traditional bullying). Similarly, evidence suggests that Machiavellianism is not a uniform trait. In this research, using a sample of 634 students (339 girls; 54%) from 40 classes from eighth to tenth grades, a five-dimensional measure of bullying and cyberbullying was devised and suggested that aspects of (cyber)bullying are related but still separable. Subsequently, differential relations between the five forms of (cyber)bullying and two facets of Machiavellianism were modeled. Those facets were Machiavellian approach (i.e., manipulative aspects of Machiavellianism) and Machiavellian avoidance (i.e., distrustful aspects of Machiavellianism). Multilevel models revealed that Machiavellian approach predicted relational bullying (but not relational cyberbullying) and Machiavellian avoidance predicted verbal (cyber)bullying and physical bullying. All links were mediated by overt dehumanization, that is, the tendency to cognitively deprive a person of typically human characteristics.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0096-140X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ab.22095
ID  - ref1
ER  -