A bibliometric analysis of the Machiavellianism in domestic and foreign psychology

Abstract

This study conducted bibliometric analysis of 214 national and 1847 foreign research papers in the Machiavellianism field, presenting the research status, evolution process and main research themes in a visual form to clarify the overall knowledge structure of Machiavellianism research. The results of the study showed that between 2013 and 2019 there was a significant increase of interest among scholars the world around in issues related to the concept of Machiavellianism. The number of published research papers over the recent six years are roughly equal in the number of papers released between 1970 and 2012. Also, the dark triad, behavior and traits covered the largest number of keywords. In recent years, some new trends have emerged in Machiavellianism research. The interest of the world scientific community has mainly focused on the “dark” side of Machiavellianism. The dark dozen, sadism, moral disunity, cyberbullying, and depression reflect the current hot themes associated with Machiavellianism research. It has also become obvious that despite significant efforts to develop the study of Machiavellianism, the current research is not sufficient. In general, the results of the study contribute to understanding of the relationship between the concept of Machiavellianism and other concepts of psychology, expand knowledge about the evolution process of the Machiavellianism field and possible directions for future trends.