Development of an emotional manipulation scale and its relationship to emotional intelligence, Machiavellianism and the Big Five

Abstract

This study established a factor structure for a new emotional manipulation scale. The relationships between this inventory and Emotional Intelligence (EI), Machiavellianism and the Big-Five personality factors were also investigated. Participants (N = 158) completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire - Short Form (TEIQue-SF), the Mach IV scale and the IPIP Big-Five factor markers and a new measure of emotional manipulation. A hierarchical factor structure was discovered with one general manipulation factor (a = .897) and four lower level factors. This general factor was significantly associated to Machiavellianism and Extraversion. The factors were named emotional display, manipulating others’ emotions, inability to manipulate and reason/logic. EI was found to correlate negatively with inability to manipulate and positively with reason/logic. The results indicated that there may be a more complicated relationship between emotional manipulation and EI as there were no direct associations between the manipulative factors and EI. However, this does not prevent the possibility of an interaction between EI, emotional manipulation and another variable. If such an interaction existed it might not be seen in a direct correlation. It is proposed that Agreeableness may play a role in determining whether emotional manipulation is used.