The present study examined the relationships of sex, sex-role and Machiavellianism to the ability to decode adult facial expressions. 80 undergraduates, classified into traditional, cross-sex, androgynous or undifferentiated sex-role categories based on scores on Bern's inventory, were asked to view slides of adults posing different facial expressions and asked to choose which emotion was being expressed. Subjects were given the Machiavellianism V scale to complete. Neither sex nor sex-role significantly influenced decoding ability; however, Machiavellianism was negatively related to the ability to decode facial expressions.
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