Book excerpt: Studies in Machiavellianism covers the various aspects of Machiavellian personality and characteristics. Traditionally, the "Machiavellian" is someone who views and manipulates others for his own purposes. This 17-chapter text discusses the empirical findings on approved canons of social psychological reporting concerning Machiavellianism. The introductory chapters examine the relationships between Machiavellianism and measures of ability, opinion, and personality, as well as the visual interaction in relation to Machiavellianism and an unethical act. The succeeding chapters discuss the results and implications of the Machiavel study, with a particular emphasis on the measure of success of attempts to manipulate others. Other chapters deal with the results of the Con and Ten Dollar Games along with their interpretation. The remaining chapters discuss the laboratory and field research studies of Machiavellianism, as well as its social correlation. This book will prove useful to social psychologist, behaviorists, historians, and researchers.