To be fooled or not to be fooled: Approach and avoidance facets of Machiavellianism

The antagonistic personality trait Machiavellianism (Mach) should be characterized by duplicity, proclivity to manipulation, cynical disregard of others, long-term planning, and low aggression. Opposed to theoretical descriptions, recent studies revealed links between Mach and neuroticism, impulsivity, and aggression. The advantages of a multidimensional assessment of Mach are well known but were seldom implemented. Hence, differential effects within Mach have often been neglected. Based on previous research on basic motivational orientations, we derived two facets—Machiavellian approach and Machiavellian avoidance. These facets account for exploitative, strategic striving for resources and for misanthropic, distrustful loss-prevention, respectively. In two studies (total N = 1,000, 21% men), we found support for the two-factor structure, for measurement invariance across sexes, and the nomological network of the 8-item Machiavellian Approach and Avoidance Questionnaire (MaaQ). As expected, Machiavellian approach was primarily associated with hope for power, whereas Machiavellian avoidance was linked to affective criteria and aggression. Both approach and avoidance shared links with disagreeableness, dishonesty, and cynicism. Furthermore, they correlated with other Mach scales. The findings explain counterintuitive links with other constructs found in earlier studies and thereby further the understanding of Mach.

Reducing Employee Noise Exposure in Manufacturing: A Review of the 2014 workshop

In 2014, the Institute for Noise Control Engineering (INCE) Foundation, the Noise Control Foundation and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health organized a meeting of industry, government, and academic experts to discuss "Reducing Noise Exposures in the Manufacturing: Best Practices, Innovative Techniques, and the Workplace of the Future." This presentation will review the content of the recommendations for hearing loss prevention programs, successful implementations for noise control engineering, and new techniques to predict noise exposures in the workplace. Efforts to develop Buy Quiet programs and to promote the Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention and Innovation will be reviewed.