Are ‘Machiavellian’ Chinese children well-adapted in the peer group? The relationship between resource acquisition strategies and social functioning and status

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between resource acquisition strategies, social functioning and social status in Chinese children. A sample of nearly 500 Chinese children in elementary schools in Shanghai, China, participated in this study. The authors divided the sample into five resource acquisition strategies; based on self-reported use of coercive and pro-social strategies of resource control, they were ‘bistrategic controllers’ (Machiavellians), ‘coercive controllers’, ‘pro-social controllers’, ‘non-controllers’, or ‘typicals’. The results revealed that bistrategic controllers were the most effective in resource control, followed by pro-social and coercive controllers: non-controllers were the least effective. It also indicated that bistrategic and coercive controllers exhibited poor social functioning and low peer status; in contrast, ‘typical’ controllers emerged as possessing positive social functioning and high peer status. In addition, non-controllers were not at risk with regard to social competence. The results indicate specific cultural ‘meanings’ of different resource acquisition strategies in Chinese children.