Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

# Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

## Abstract

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a fantasy real-time strategy computer game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows in 1995 and Mac OS in 1996 by Blizzard's parent, Davidson & Associates. A sequel to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the game was met with positive reviews and won most of the major PC gaming awards in 1996. In 1996, Blizzard released an expansion pack, Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, for DOS and Mac OS, and a compilation, Warcraft II: The Dark Saga, for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn. The Battle.net edition, released in 1999, included Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, provided Blizzard's online gaming service, and replaced the MS-DOS version with a Windows one.

In Warcraft II, as in many real-time strategy (RTS) games, players collect resources to produce buildings and units in order to defeat an opponent in combat. Players gain access to more advanced units upon construction of tech buildings and research. The majority of the display screen shows the part of the territory on which the player is currently operating, and, using the small minimap, the player can select another location to view and operate on. The fog of war completely hides all territory (appears black) which the player has not explored: terrain that has been explored is always visible in gray tones, but enemy units remain visible only so long as they stay within a friendly unit's visual radius. Buildings remain displayed as the player last saw them, and do not register unobserved changes such as being built, damaged, or repaired, etc.

Warcraft II was a commercial hit, with global sales above 3 million units by 2001; roughly two-thirds were sold in the United States. The game strongly influenced the company's next successful RTS, the futuristic StarCraft (1998) in gameplay, and in attention to personality and storyline. In 1996, Blizzard announced Warcraft Adventures: Lord of the Clans, an adventure game in the Warcraft universe, but canceled the project in 1998. Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, released in 2002, used parts of Warcraft Adventures' characters and storyline, but extended the gameplay used in Warcraft II.

## Gameplay

Warcraft II is a real-time strategy game. In Warcraft II one side represents the human inhabitants of Lordaeron and allied races, and the other controls the invading orcs and their allied races. Each side tries to destroy the other by collecting resources and creating an army. The game is played in a medieval setting with fantasy elements, where both sides have melee, ranged, naval and aerial units, and spellcasters.

### Modes

Warcraft II allows players to play AI opponents in separate Human and Orc campaigns, and in stand-alone scenarios. Most of the campaign missions follow the pattern "collect resources, build buildings and units, destroy opponents". However, some have other objectives, such as rescuing troops or forts, or escorting important characters through enemy territory.

The game's map editor allows players to develop scenarios for use in multiplayer contests and against AI opponents. The editor runs under the Mac and also under either Windows 95 or, if the WinG library was installed, under Windows 3.0.

The scenarios can be played against the AI or in multiplayer games with up to eight players participating. The DOS version initially provided multiplayer games by null modem cable, modem or IPX, and Mac players could also play via TCP/IP or AppleTalk. Blizzard quickly released a facility to connect with Kali, which allows programs to access the Web by means of IPX.

### Economy and war

Warcraft II requires players to collect resources, and to produce buildings and units in order to defeat an opponent in combat. The Human Town Hall and Orc Great Hall produce basic workers that dig gold from mines and chop wood from forests and then deliver them to their Halls. Both buildings can be upgraded twice, each increasing usable resources per load from the workers. Players can also construct Shipyards, which can produce both combat ships and Oil Tankers. These tankers build construction offshore Oil Platforms and then deliver the oil to buildings on the shoreline. As all three resources are non-renewable, players must use them efficiently. This can lead to creative thinking regarding forests as both a source of lumber and a means of forcing the enemy to go around it.

Workers can also construct Farms, each of which provides food for up to four units, and additional units cannot be produced until enough Farms are built. Farms, being very tough for their cost, are also employed as defensive walls.

Humans and Orcs have sets of buildings with similar functions, but different names and graphics, for producing ground, naval, and air units. All but basic combat units require the assistance of other buildings, or must be produced at buildings that have prerequisite buildings, or both. Many buildings can upgrade combat units. When advanced units appear, the Orcs have a strong advantage in ground combat, while the Humans have the more powerful fleet and spellcasters. The most advanced ground combatants on each side can be upgraded and taught some spells, which are different for the two sides. Some campaign missions feature hero units, which are more powerful than normal units of the same type, have unique pictures and names, and must not die, as that causes the failure of the mission.

### User interface

The main screen has five areas:

- Along the top are the menu button and counts of the player's resources: gold from gold mines, wood from trees, oil from oil patches and food from farms

- The largest area of the screen, to the right, shows the part of the territory on which the player is currently operating. This enables the player to select friendly units and buildings.

- The top left is the minimap, which shows the whole territory at smaller scale and highlights the part on which the player is currently operating. By clicking or dragging in the minimap, the player can select another location to appear in the larger display.

- The unit descriptions in the area in middle on the left shows the units and/or buildings. If units of the same type are selected, this area have an icon for each unit, showing the unit's vital statistics including the unit's health.

- If a single unit or building is selected, the area at the bottom left shows the actions the object can perform and all completed upgrades that apply to this type of unit or building.

Initially most of the main map and minimap are blacked out, but the visible area expands as the player's units explore the map. The fog of war completely hides all territory which the player has not explored, and shows only terrain but hides opponents units and buildings if none of the player's units are present.

All functions can be invoked by both the mouse and shortcut keys, including game setup, the menu options and some gameplay functions including scrolling and pausing the game. Units and buildings can be selected by clicking or bandboxing (i.e. using the mouse to draw a box around the units to be selected), and then their actions can be controlled by the mouse or keys.

## Storyline

### The Second War

The First War brought the Fall of Azeroth, following the Orc campaign in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. The survivors of Azeroth have fled by sea to the Human kingdom of Lordaeron, and the Orcs have decided to conquer Lordaeron, in what is known as the Second War. Both sides have acquired allies and new capabilities, including naval and air units, and more powerful spellcasters.

In the Second War, the Orcs are successful at first, but the Humans and their allies take the initiative, partly thanks to an Orc rebellion initiated by the warlock Gul'dan, who seeks to raise the sunken Tomb of Sargeras. Eventually, the Alliance forces push the Horde to Blackrock Spire, but Anduin Lothar, commander of the Alliance, is slain there. At the final battle around the Dark Portal in Azeroth, the Alliance exterminates one Orc clan and captures the Orc supreme commander and the remnants of his forces. Hoping to avoid further invasions, the Alliance destroys the Dark Portal.

The game's narrative is continued in the expansion pack Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal.

## Development

After seeing the excellent response to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, released in November 1994, Blizzard Entertainment started working on Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Development began in February 1995 and the game was released in North America and Australia on December 5, 1995, and by Zablac Entertainment in Europe in January 1996 for MS-DOS, with a port for Mac OS releasing in August 1996. Blizzard later explained that the small budgets of the time allowed short development times. The response to Warcraft: Orcs & Humans also allowed Blizzard to recruit additional top-class developers. The company's initial design combined modern and fantasy elements, such as fighter pilots ambushed by a fire-breathing dragon. However, they found that this was unsatisfactory, and that there was plenty of content for a fantasy RTS. The initial release of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness ran over a local area network using IPX but not over the Internet communications protocol TCP/IP. Kali, which used the Internet as if it was a local area network, became very popular and Blizzard quickly provided to players a program that made it easy to set up multiplayer Warcraft II games using Kali.

In 1996 Blizzard published Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, an expansion pack initially contracted out to Cyberlore Studios. This contract was cancelled as Blizzard, unhappy after a milestone check-in, moved development in-house. The expansion introduced new Human and Orc campaigns, featuring new and much more powerful heroes. Later that year the company released Warcraft II: Battle Chest, a compilation of Tides of Darkness and Beyond the Dark Portal, for DOS and Windows 3.

Several non-canon expansion packs were released; these expansion packs are not a part of the human and orc campaign story. In 1996 WizardWorks published W!Zone, an expansion pack developed by Sunstorm Interactive, Inc. and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment. It was followed by W!Zone II: Retribution, an expansion pack published by WizardWorks and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment. In 1997 Maverick Software published The Next 70 Levels an expansion pack developed by Maverick Software and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment. It was followed by The Next 350 Levels, an expansion pack published by Maverick Software and authorized by Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard sold exclusive worldwide rights to develop, publish, and distribute console versions of the game to Electronic Arts. In 1997 Electronic Arts published Warcraft II: The Dark Saga for the Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn, which combined the campaigns of Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. This port was developed by Climax. The Dark Saga also allowed players to automate upgrade of buildings and production of units, and to select more troops at once, facilities that were not extended to the DOS and Mac versions. Early betas of The Dark Saga included a working two-player mode which utilized the consoles' respective link cable peripherals, but Electronic Arts eliminated this feature before the final release.

In 1999 Blizzard published the Warcraft II: Battle.net Edition for Windows and Mac, which combined the original game and the expansion pack, retained the Macintosh facilities and replaced the DOS version with a Windows version that included Blizzard's online service, Battle.net, for multiplayer games. After considering new content, Blizzard preferred to make it easy for new and older fans to play each other. Battle.net Edition included some user interface enhancements from StarCraft – a hot key to center on events, assigning numbers to groups of units, and double-clicking to select all units of a type. However, they excluded production queues and waypoints.

## Reception

### Sales

Warcraft II debuted at #2 on PC Data 's monthly computer game sales chart for December 1995, behind Myst. It held the spot in January 1996, but dropped to #3 in its third month. The game stayed in PC Data's top 3 from April through October, securing first place in April, August and September. After falling to #5 in November, it exited the top 10 the following month. Warcraft II achieved worldwide sales of 500,000 units within three months of release, and of over 1.2 million by November. This made it the world's most commercially successful computer game of the year as of November, according to PC Data. In the United States, it was the second-best-selling computer game of 1996, again behind Myst. The game sold 835,680 copies and earned $34.5 million in the region for the year. To capitalize on this success, Blizzard released the Warcraft Battlechest on November 11, which bundled Warcraft: Orcs & Humans with Warcraft II and the Beyond the Dark Portal add-on.

Warcraft II claimed position 13 in PC Data's monthly sales rankings for January 1997, while the Warcraft Battlechest SKU took sixth place. The original game exited the top 20 after a 16th-place finish in February. However, the Battlechest consistently continued to chart through May, peaking at ninth in February. After an absence in June, it returned to the top 10 for two months, before falling to #16 in September and exiting PC Data's top 20 in October. The Warcraft Battlechest was the United States' 17th-highest computer game seller of the year, with sales of 262,911 units.

By April 1998, Warcraft II ' s basic SKU had sold 1.02 million units and earned $39.8 million in revenue in the United States. This led PC Data to declare it the country's sixth-best-selling computer game for the period between January 1993 and April 1998. Warcraft II as a whole reached 2 million global sales by July 1998, and passed 2.5 million by year's end. By September 1999, it had sold 1,250,675 units in the United States alone, which led PC Data to declare it the country's sixth-best-selling computer game since January 1993. Sales continued the following month, when the Warcraft II Battle.net Edition SKU finished 20th for October in the country. As of 2001, worldwide sales of Warcraft II had surpassed 3 million units, with two-thirds derived from the United States.

### Critical reviews

Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness earned enthusiastic reviews, elevating Blizzard to the elite along with Westwood Studios, id Software and LucasArts. The rivalry between Blizzard's series and Westwood Studios' Command & Conquer series fueled the RTS boom of the late 1990s.

In 1996 GameSpot, Next Generation, and Computer Games Magazine regarded the AI as better than in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, and Computer Games Magazine also said that Warcraft II "surpasses the original game in almost every way". GameSpot approved how the innovative fog of war forced players to scout continuously, and IGN's retroview agreed. Next Generation said that the new units and resources open up a multitude of strategic possibilities, but that the game's greatest improvement over the original Warcraft is its intuitive new control system which allows players to select multiple units at once and access command menus by right-clicking. The Adrenaline Vault noted that players must manage their resources, as all resources run out. GameSpot ' s retrospective review was enthusiastic about the variety of strategies that players with different styles can use, and The Adrenaline Vault noted that maps set in winter often allow ground units to walk on the ice. Macworld ' s Michael Gowen wrote, "This game set the standard for the genre and still represents one of the best titles available. If you haven't played it, you have missed something."

Andy Butcher reviewed Warcraft 2: Tides of Darkness for Arcane magazine, commenting that " Warcraft 2 is a great game. Despite its limitations, it's challenging, fun, easy to get into, and very addictive. The ability to play either side means that there are a vast number of missions on offer, and a level designer gives yet more longevity."

PC Gamer US named Warcraft II the best game of 1995. The editors called it an "easy" choice, and wrote that " Warcraft II stand out — way out — as the most impressive, most entertaining, game of 1995". The magazine also presented Warcraft II with the award for 1995's "Best Multi-Player Game". The editors of Macworld gave the game their 1996 "Best Strategy Game" award. It also won Computer Game Review ' s 1995 "Military Sim of the Year" award, tied with Steel Panthers. The same year, Next Generation listed it as number 10 on their "Top 100 Games of All Time", explaining that "The strategy is complex, the classy SVGA graphics keep the player in touch with everything that's going on, and WarCraft II features the best use of sampled speech we've ever experienced." Warcraft II was a runner-up for Computer Gaming World ' s 1995 "Strategy Game of the Year" award, which ultimately went to Command & Conquer and Heroes of Might and Magic (tie). The editors wrote that Warcraft II "will keep you glued to the computer for hours on end", and noted that it "could have won had the competition not been so strong." MacUser declared Warcraft II one of 1996's top 50 CD-ROMs. In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared Warcraft II the 28th-best computer game ever released. In 1996, GamesMaster ranked the game 38th on their "Top 100 Games of All Time."

The IGN review considered WarCraft II in general a well-balanced game, but GameSpot ' s retrospective review regarded Ogre-Mages with the Bloodlust spell as too powerful. IGN found that searching for the survivors of a defeated opponent could be tedious, and that the first few missions were very easy, although the final ones were challenging.

In 1996 GameSpot, Computer Games Magazine and Entertainment Weekly praised the SVGA graphics. The retrospective reviews by IGN and GameSpot enjoyed smaller details, such as the increasingly humorous responses when a player's units were repeatedly clicked, the "critters" that wandered around, and the detonating of Sappers/Bombers. WarCraft II won most of the major PC gaming awards in 1996, and sold millions of copies. Players were still playing in 2002, on DOS or using the Battle.net edition.

In 1998, PC Gamer declared it the 9th-best computer game ever released, and the editors called it "a sequel that isn't just more of the same; it's bigger and better in every way".

Retrospective reviews by IGN and GameSpot emphasized the ability to join multiplayer games on local networks or using Kali, and the simple but effective map editor, with which some users published maps on the Web. Another GameSpot review in 1996 commented that the campaigns are rather short, but the scenario builder and multiplayer options were ample compensation.

In 2006, Warcraft II was inducted into GameSpot 's list of the greatest games of all time.

### The Dark Saga

GameSpot described the ports of the consoles Sony PlayStation and Sega Saturn, combining Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, as practically identical to the PC version. Electronic Gaming Monthly and GamePro, however, asserted that the graphics are significantly downgraded, and the interface, though somewhat simplified with the additions of auto-upgrading, auto-building, and the ability to select more than nine units at once, is still more cumbersome and difficult to learn than the PC version's. Absolute PlayStation, in contrast, regarded the graphics as impressive and the console buttons as easy to use.

Absolute PlayStation, Sega Saturn Magazine, Electronic Gaming Monthly, and GamePro commented that the console versions have no multiplayer capability, but were impressed with the number of campaign and skirmish maps. Most reviews of the Saturn version criticized the lack of support for the Sega NetLink peripheral, which could have enabled online multiplayer. The two GameSpot reviews noted that, while most campaign missions follow the "resource, build, destroy" pattern, some have other objectives.

Most reviews for the PlayStation and Saturn versions suggested that players with PCs should not buy the console versions, but recommended the game to those who use only consoles. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave the Saturn version their "Game of the Month" award and later named both console versions a runner-up for "Strategy Game of the Year". Absolute PlayStation omitted comparisons with the PC and praised the console versions. Sega Saturn Magazine called it "a highly enjoyable and compelling strategy warfare game" and praised the Saturn version as superior to the PC original.

### Battle.net Edition

GameSpot thought the AI was predictable but very efficient and the multiplayer facilities, while four years old, made it more enjoyable than at least half the new RTS games released in 1999. The Battle.net service was already reliable after being refined through experience on Diablo and StarCraft, and the fact that it was free would be attractive both to new users and those of earlier editions. While the production values were those of 1995, the cartoonish graphics and excellent sound effects and musical score were still enjoyable in 1999.

## Reviews

- Pyramid


Dejan Karan

# Dejan Karan

## Abstract

Dejan Karan (Serbian Cyrillic: Дејан Каран; Hungarian: Karan Dejan; born 13 August 1988) is a Serbian former footballer with Hungarian nationality who played as a centre-back.

## Club career

### Early career

Karan played for Serbian SuperLiga clubs Vojvodina, Javor Ivanjica, Voždovac and Mladost Podgorica from Montenegro. From 10 July 2013, he signed for Kecskemét from Hungary, where he stayed two years until 31 July 2015.

### Tirana

On 25 August 2015, Karan signed with the most successful club of Albania, Tirana, on a one-year deal with an option to renew it for another year. During his presentation, he said that his compatriot Ivan Gvozdenović had told to him "many good words for the club" and that he has heard that Tirana is the best Albanian club in history. He was given the number 5.

### Diósgyőr

Karan signed his first contract with Diósgyőr on 10 July 2016 and this is his second time that he play in Hungary. One and a half seasons in Diósgyőr was enough to become standard player in this team and 17 January 2018, Karan signed new two years contract with this Hungarian football club. Karan after two and half years got Hungarian nationality. At the start of his four seasons in this club he became also captain of this team. Second time, Karan extended his contract 20 December 2019 for a new two years. Karan retired from playing at the end of the 2021–22 season.


WCCT-TV

# WCCT-TV

## Abstract

WCCT-TV (channel 20), branded on-air as CW 20, is a television station licensed to Waterbury, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford – New Haven market as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Hartford-licensed Fox affiliate WTIC-TV (channel 61). The two stations share studios on Broad Street in downtown Hartford; WCCT-TV's transmitter is located on Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, Connecticut.

Established in 1953 as WATR-TV, a television station for the Waterbury area, the station changed to a regional independent in 1982, becoming Connecticut's UPN affiliate in 1995 and switching to The WB in 2001. It has been managed by WTIC-TV since 1998.

## History

### WATR (1953–1966)

The station commenced operations on September 10, 1953, as WATR-TV on channel 53, the second UHF station in Connecticut. It was owned by the Thomas and Gilmore families, along with WATR radio (1320 AM). The station's studios and transmitter were located on West Peak in Meriden. At the time, the station's signal only covered Waterbury, New Haven and the southern portion of the state.

WATR-TV was originally a dual secondary affiliate of both DuMont and ABC, sharing them with New Haven-based WNHC-TV (channel 8, now WTNH). DuMont ceased operations in 1956, and shortly afterward, WNHC-TV became an exclusive ABC affiliate, as did WATR-TV. Both stations carried ABC programming through Connecticut.

In 1962, the station relocated to UHF channel 20 and moved to a new studio and transmitter site in Prospect, south of Waterbury. Channel 53 was later occupied by WEDN, Connecticut Public Television 's outlet in Norwich.

### NBC affiliate (1966–1982)

In August 1966, WATR-TV joined NBC. At the time, the network's primary affiliate in Connecticut, WHNB-TV (channel 30) in New Britain, was hampered by a weak signal in New Haven and the southwestern portions of the state. In the 1970s, the station offered limited local news and instead aired older syndicated programs and religious shows such as The PTL Club when NBC programs were not offered. A notable local production was Journeys to the Mind, a half-hour talk show with host Joel Dobbin, which approached topics of the occult with a serious and sober tone. Journeys ran from 1976 to 1981.

The original Viacom bought WHNB-TV in 1978 and changed its call letters to WVIT. Two years later, after WVIT more than doubled its transmission power to cover New Haven, it became clear that WATR-TV's NBC affiliation was now in jeopardy. In 1981, the Thomas/Gilmore interests opted to sell channel 20 to a joint venture of Odyssey Television Partners (later to become Renaissance Broadcasting) and Oppenheimer and Company. The sale was announced in May 1981 and gained FCC approval that December.

### WTXX: independent (1982–1995)

The new owners of channel 20 ultimately opted to drop NBC and convert the station into an independent outlet (though NBC was considering ending its affiliation in any event). NBC programming aired on channel 20 for the last time on April 10, 1982. On the next day (Easter Sunday), the station stayed off the air, preparing to relaunch as an independent. On April 12—two days after the NBC affiliation ended—channel 20 returned to the air as WTXX (for "Television XX", with "XX" referring to 20 in Roman numerals), and subsequently became Connecticut's first full-service independent station since Hartford's WHCT-TV (channel 18, now Univision affiliate WUVN) served as an independent from 1957 to 1975. Soon after taking over, Odyssey replaced channel 20's tiny 250-foot (76 m) tower with a more powerful transmitter that more than doubled its signal and gave it a coverage area comparable with the major network stations in the state. It was a typical general entertainment independent, carrying off-network series, movies, and cartoons presented by the local children's show Kidstime with T.X. Critter, a puppet created by and puppeteered by Paul Fusco who later created ALF. WTXX also carried some sports, most notably New York Mets telecasts from WOR-TV in New York City (now WWOR-TV in Secaucus, New Jersey) and Boston Celtics telecasts from WLVI-TV in Boston. WTXX prospered in its new status, and continued to do so even after WTIC-TV signed on in 1984. WTXX bid for the Fox affiliation two years later, but lost out to WTIC-TV. Channel 20's transmitter was located further south than the other major Connecticut stations, resulting in a significant overlap with Fox flagship WNYW. Fox opted to affiliate with WTIC-TV, which did not have as large an overlap.

In October 1992, Renaissance Broadcasting sold WTXX to Counterpoint Communications, a non-profit media firm with close ties to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. Renaissance had recently acquired several stations, including WTIC-TV, from Chase Broadcasting, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations of the time did not allow common ownership of two stations in the same market. However, Renaissance retained the rights to all the programming it bought for WTXX. WTIC-TV wanted to establish a full-time local marketing agreement (LMA) with WTXX, which basically amounted to channel 20 being programmed by its main competitor. Counterpoint balked, wanting only a part-time agreement. Renaissance then moved some of WTXX's stronger shows to WTIC-TV, leaving the station with a considerably weakened schedule.

### Duopolies and new networks (1995–2006)

Renaissance's sale of WTXX to Counterpoint, and Renaissance's subsequent acquisition of WTIC-TV, became official in March 1993. Under the terms of the sale to Counterpoint, WTXX retained few syndicated programs and some movies, and began airing programming from the Home Shopping Network (HSN) for 15 hours a day (including daytime and prime time). In addition, channel 20 would air a daily Catholic Mass, along with other Catholic religious programs, for one hour per day. While trying to negotiate an LMA, WTXX continued to run some Renaissance-owned programming daily from 3 to 7 p.m. free of charge. These shows were the Disney Afternoon cartoon block, double runs of The Cosby Show and Growing Pains on weekdays, and some hour-long first-run syndicated dramas on weekends. Renaissance sold the ad time for the slot and WTXX paid nothing to run the programming during these hours. That July, after negotiations with WTIC collapsed, WTXX entered into a lease agreement with Viacom-owned WVIT, which would provide 27 1 / 2 hours a week of its programs. Its schedule now included cartoons and children's programs during the morning and afternoon hours, and syndicated shows whose local rights were owned by WVIT during the early evenings. Most of the cartoons were shows WTXX previously had on a barter basis that WTIC couldn't fit on its schedule. The Disney Afternoon and other syndicated shows previously on WTXX moved to WTIC or stopped airing in the market. HSN programming remained during middays, prime time, and the overnight hours.

WTXX became Connecticut's UPN affiliate on April 3, 1995; for the 2½ months prior to that, Hartford viewers who wanted to watch UPN programming had to view it on cable, by way of WSBK-TV from Boston; viewers in Fairfield County were able to watch UPN programming over-the-air and on cable via WWOR-TV. This was due in part that Viacom, who operated the station through a LMA with WVIT, owned a minority interest in UPN. Initially, it continued to run Home Shopping Network in prime time on nights without UPN programming. By spring 1996, the station expanded its LMA with WVIT to cover the entire day, except for overnights and the hours when the Catholic Mass aired. By this point, WTXX upgraded its syndicated programming, and HSN was relegated to overnights before being dropped completely.

In 1998, WVIT was sold to NBC, and WTIC (now owned by Tribune Broadcasting) replaced WVIT as WTXX's LMA partner. As part of the deal, some of the shows previously owned by WVIT were kept by WTXX and WTIC. The LMA change caused no impact on WTXX's daily broadcasts of the Catholic Mass, which continues to the present day. Around this time, the station changed its on-air name from "UPN 20" to "Connecticut's 20". It also picked up Boston Red Sox baseball games; the station's feed (with the "Connecticut's 20" bug) was carried during Red Sox highlights airing on ESPN for much of the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 1999, WTXX and WTIC consolidated their operations in a new facility at One Corporate Center on Church Street in Downtown Hartford.

On January 1, 2001, WTXX and WBNE (channel 59, now WCTX) swapped affiliations, with WTXX joining The WB and rebranding as "Connecticut's WB". This was due to in fact that the Tribune Company had a minority interest in The WB. Later that year, Tribune purchased WTXX outright, creating a duopoly with WTIC. Tribune, having already received a temporary waiver from FCC rules barring common ownership of a newspaper and a television station in the same area when it purchased the Hartford Courant a year earlier, received an additional waiver for its purchase of WTXX. Tribune had been seeking a waiver in anticipation of the FCC relaxing its rules to allow such media combinations to exist with the agency's blessing, which would include television duopolies. In March 2005, the FCC requested that Tribune sell WTXX to a new owner, but did not raise any additional pressure outside the request to force a sale or threaten a license forfeiture. In late 2007, the FCC loosened its restrictions on newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership perhaps creating an opening for Tribune (which was purchased by investor Sam Zell in December 2007) to retain WTXX without a waiver.

### CW affiliate (2006–present)

On January 24, 2006, Time Warner announced that the company would merge the operations of The WB with CBS Corporation 's UPN (which CBS acquired one month earlier in December 2005 following its split from Viacom), to form a 50/50 joint venture called The CW Television Network. The network signed a ten-year affiliation agreement with Tribune Broadcasting for 16 of the 19 WB affiliates that the company owned at the time, including WTXX.

In August 2008, the station changed its branding from "CW 20" to "txx" in a corporate effort by Tribune to strengthen its CW affiliates' local identities and reduce the dependence on the use of network branding. In June 2009, after 56 years of transmitting from various locations in New Haven County, WTXX shut down its analog transmitter in Prospect, solely using WTIC-TV's tower in Farmington for its full launch into the digital age.

In July 2010, the station changed its branding again to "The CT" with "The CT is the place 2B" slogan; to go along with this branding, the station changed its call letters to WCCT-TV on June 18. In March 2012, the station changed its logo and began to use its calls, WCCT-TV, as its branding, though the station remains a CW affiliate. In August 2018, WCCT-TV returned to the "CW 20" branding.

Tribune announced plans on July 10, 2013, to spin off its publishing division into a separate company, with the split finalized in 2014. WTIC-TV and WCCT-TV remained with the Tribune Company (which also retained all non-publishing assets, including the broadcasting, digital media and Media Services units), while its newspapers (including the Hartford Courant) became part of the similarly named Tribune Publishing Company.

Sinclair Broadcast Group announced it had agreed to purchase Tribune Media on May 8, 2017, for $3.9 billion. Tribune Media terminated the Sinclair deal on August 9, 2018, and filed a breach of contract lawsuit, nullifying the transaction; this followed a vote by the FCC to put the transactions up for a formal hearing and a public rejection of the merger by commission chairman Ajit Pai.

### Tegna ownership

After the collapse of the Sinclair deal, Tribune agreed to sell itself to Nexstar Media Group for $6.4 billion. Nexstar already owned two stations in Connecticut— New Haven -based ABC affiliate WTNH and WCTX —requiring that it divest either the New Haven stations or WCCT-TV and WTIC-TV. Tegna Inc. agreed to purchase WCCT-TV and WTIC-TV from Nexstar on March 20, 2019, upon consummation of the merger, marking Tegna's entry into the state and southern New England. The sale of WCCT-TV and WTIC-TV was part of a larger series of deals involving nineteen Nexstar- and Tribune-operated stations to Tegna and the E. W. Scripps Company worth a combined $1.32 billion. The sale was completed on September 19, 2019.

## Programming

### Newscasts

In July 1993, WTXX debuted a nightly 10 p.m. newscast produced by NBC station WVIT, called Connecticut News Live at 10. The news team consisted of WVIT's evening news team (anchors Gerry Brooks and Joanne Nesti, weather from Brad Field, Beasley Reece with sports), along with reporters from WVIT. In 1998, when WTIC replaced WVIT as WTXX's LMA partner, the WVIT-produced broadcasts were replaced with a simulcast of the first half-hour of WTIC's nightly 10 p.m. newscast; on April 24, 2006, the station began simulcasting the entire newscast; if Fox sports programming kept the newscast from starting on time on channel 61, it was aired on WTXX under the title News at Ten.

On December 12, 2009, WTIC, WCCT (then WTXX), and the Hartford Courant moved into new combined newsroom facilities in downtown Hartford, and WTIC rebranded from Fox 61 to Fox CT (a transition completed in July 2010); in addition, WTIC became the second station in the market to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition. The news simulcasts on WCCT were included in the transition.

In June 2010, the station ended the simulcast of WTIC's 10 p.m. newscast. It now airs a rebroadcast of WTIC's 11 p.m. newscast at 1 am, while the 10 p.m. newscast is re-aired on weekends; these rebroadcasts include a sports highlight program called Xfinity Sports Desk at 1:45 a.m. on early Sunday and Monday mornings. Originally, this was not simulcast on WTXX but has since been added (the 10 p.m. newscast continues to be shown live on WCCT, if it is preempted on WTIC due to sports programming overruns). The station also carries the 8 a.m. hour of WTIC's morning newscast (a previous simulcast of Fox 61 Morning News had aired at one point, but was later dropped). WTIC also produces a weekly public affairs show called The Real Story, which airs Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. with a repeat on WCCT at 11 a.m.

Other than simulcasts and default carriage of WTIC's newscasts in the event of Fox Sports programming delays, WCCT does not carry traditional local newscasts produced specifically for the station.

### Sports programming

The station holds the local rights to air 29 New York Mets games from WPIX. WCCT held the local broadcast television rights to the WNBA 's Connecticut Sun until 2023. Prior to airing Sun games, the station held the over-the-air broadcast rights to the NHL 's Hartford Whalers.

## Technical information

### Subchannels

WCCT-TV provides four subchannels, which are carried on the multiplexed signals of other Hartford–New Haven television stations:

### ATSC 3.0 lighthouse service

In 2021, WCCT-TV began serving as the ATSC 3.0 (Next Gen TV) lighthouse for Connecticut broadcasters with all subchannels on UHF 33.

### Analog-to-digital conversion

WCCT-TV (as WTXX) shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 20, on June 12, 2009, as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal relocated from its pre-transition VHF channel 12 to UHF channel 20 for post-transition operations. The digital signal's change in channel location was necessary to avoid interference with PBS member WHYY-TV in Wilmington, Delaware.


Machiavellianism (psychology)

# Machiavellianism (psychology)

## Abstract

In the field of personality psychology, Machiavellianism (sometimes abbreviated as MACH) is the name of a personality trait construct characterized by interpersonal manipulation, indifference to morality, lack of empathy, and a calculated focus on self-interest. Psychologists Richard Christie and Florence L. Geis named the construct after Niccolò Machiavelli, as they used truncated and edited statements similar to his writing style to study variations in human behaviors. Their Mach IV test, a 20-question, Likert-scale personality survey, became the standard self-assessment tool and scale of the Machiavellianism construct. Those who score high on the scale (High Machs) are more likely to have a high level of manipulativeness, deceitfulness and a cynical, unemotional temperament. Though the construct is named "Machiavellianism", it does not refer to the eponymous political doctrine.

It is one of the dark triad traits, along with the subclinical versions of narcissism and psychopathy.

## Origin of the construct

### Adapting Machiavelli for psychometric use

In 1955, psychologist Richard Christie set out to study the thought processes and actions of those who manipulated others, such as political ideologues and religious extremists. He found that there was much literature on those who followed organizations and movements, but very little on those who led them. As Christie was developing a psychometric model for interpersonal manipulation, he was reminded of his encounter with Machiavelli's writings as an undergraduate, and wanted to use them in his research. In the 1960s, Christie and his colleagues would then develop a test using a selection of statements, including truncated and edited sentences that were similar to certain phrases found in Machiavelli's works such as The Prince and The Discourses on Livy as test items, naming the construct "Machiavellianism" after him. They wanted to assess whether or not those who were in agreement with the statements would behave differently than others who disagreed, specifically in regards to manipulative actions. Christie and his research partner Florence L. Geis published their results in their book, titled " Studies in Machiavellianism ", in 1970.

Christie made light of the difficulty in adapting Machiavelli's writings into a non political test, joking that his advice was "better suited for Renaissance princes" than for college undergraduates. Christie used more colloquial, everyday wording when creating the scale items, as most taking the test would have difficulties understanding the questions in their original prose. Thus Christie used test items that were "theoretically congruent with" or loosely based on Machiavelli's tone, instead of literal, direct statements from his works.

### On the name of the scale

While the construct is named "Machiavellianism", it does not refer to the political theory espoused in Machiavelli's books. Because the two concepts share the same name, they can be confused for one another, even though his political ideas are not relevant to psychology. Out of all 20 items on the MACH IV, only one item (Item 20) has a more direct relation with Machiavelli's writings, yet it is also removed from its original political context. In fact, some questions on the MACH-IV are not from Machiavelli at all. For example, two of them reference P.T. Barnum (born 1810) and voluntary euthanasia, both of which are unrelated to Machiavelli's ideas. The MACH-IV (and other Machiavellianism tests) also feature questions partially based on statements by other thinkers such as Chinese political authors, not just Machiavelli. In light of this, scholars often claim that the scale has no relation to Machiavelli outside of bearing his name. Researchers have commented that despite the name, the personality construct has nothing to do with Machiavelli's politics. Christie himself makes clear that he used sentences inspired by Machiavelli's works only as a sort of litmus test to study deceptive and manipulative behavior, and that his concern was not with Machiavelli's historical or political influence, stating specifically that:

Historians disagree as to whether Machiavelli was a cynic who wrote political satire, a patriot, or the first modern political scientist. The present concern is not with Machiavelli as an historic figure, but as the source of ideas about those who manipulate others.

Researcher and Psychology Today author Dale Hartley made this point more clear in his book, Machiavellians: Gulling The Rubes:

When psychologists refer to the terms, Machiavellian or Machiavellianism, they do not mean Machiavelli's political advice. They refer instead to the underlying personality traits of cynicism, duplicity and scheming by which master manipulators conceive and execute their agendas.

Christie stated that he chose the name "Machiavellianism" out of convienence seeing as other names such as "M scale" (M for manipulation) and "Ma scale" (which was used by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory for hypomania) were taken.He also wanted to name the scale the "manipulator" or "operator" scale, but these terms had issues regarding behavioral validity. He also admits that by using the name "Machiavellianism", the scale would "create problems of public misunderstanding" due to the existing political meaning of the term. In a later essay, Christie even states that some have viewed the name problematic and that "the use of the word Machiavellianism to describe the content of the scales has been questioned". Indeed, recent scholars have stated that the majority of items on the scale were wrongly attributed to Machiavelli.

### Mach IV

Christie and Geis's Mach IV test, a 20-question, Likert-scale personality survey, became the standard self-report tool to measure one's level of Machiavellianism. Those who score highly on the scale are classified as high Machs, while those who score low are classified as low Machs. Using their scale, Christie and Geis conducted multiple experimental tests that showed that the interpersonal strategies and behavior of "high Machs" and "low Machs" differ. People scoring high on the scale tend to endorse manipulative statements, and behave accordingly, contrary to those who score lowly. People scoring high on the scale tend to endorse statements such as, "Never tell anyone the real reason you did something unless it is useful to do so," (No. 1) but not ones like, "Most people are basically good and kind" (No. 4), "There is no excuse for lying to someone else" (No. 7) or "Most people who get ahead in the world lead clean, moral lives" (No. 11) Their basic results have been widely replicated. Measured on the Mach IV scale, males score, on average, slightly higher on Machiavellianism than females.

The Mach IV test influenced the creation of an assessment called the Dirty Dozen, which contains 12 items, and the Short Dark Triad, composed of 27 items.

High vs Low Machiavellianism

Like all personality traits, Machiavellianism is a characteristic that exists on a spectrum or continuum. Christie and others noted that High Machs were more likely to cheat in experimental games, manipulate others around them, and were generally detached in their interactions. This was opposed to the behavior of Low Machs, who found such behaviors immoral, and refrained from them.

The higher a person is on the Machiavellianism scale, the more likely they are to deceive and exploit at the expense of someone else, engage in unprincipled behavior, and have a lack of empathetic feelings.

## Core features

In developing the construct studying manipulators, Christie theorized that they would possess the following characteristics:

1. A relative lack of affect in interpersonal relationships: Manipulators do not empathize with their victims. The more empathy one has, Christie says, the less likely one will manipulate a person to do their bidding.

2. A lack of concern for conventional morality: Christie asserts that the manipulator is not concerned with the morality of behaviors such as lying and cheating.

3. A lack of gross psychopathology: Christie states that manipulators usually have an instrumentalist view of the world, which shows a lack of psychosis or other mental impairments.

4. Low ideological commitment: Manipulators prefer to focus on getting things done pragmatically rather than focus on ideological allegiances. Christie states that while manipulators are to be found in organizations of differing ideals, they are more likely to be interested in tactics that achieve individual ends than inflexible idealistic ones.

### Five-Factor Model

Under the recently devised Five-Factor Model of Machiavellianism, three characteristics underlie the construct:

- Antagonism: manipulativeness, cynicism, selfishness, callousness, and arrogance.

- Planfulness: deliberation and orderliness.

- Agency: achievement-striving, assertiveness, self-confidence, emotional invulnerability, activity and competence.

## Causes

### Genetic and environmental

Several behavioral genetics studies on the dark triad have shown that Machiavellianism has both significantly genetic and environmental influences. Researchers have noted that while Machiavellianism is heritable to a substantial degree, it can also be influenced by the shared-environment (i.e. sibling groups) slightly more than narcissism and psychopathy. Other traits associated with machiavellianism are influenced by genetics as well, as one study notes that "The co-occurrence of alexithymia and Machiavellianism was most heavily influenced by genetic factors, and to a lesser but significant extent by non-shared environmental factors." Machiavellianism is also heavily correlated with primary psychopathy which is itself strongly heritable. A study on the "core" of dark triad traits also emphasized that the residual traits of Machiavellianism had "significant genetic components". One particular study found a gene responsible for dopamine reception was positively associated with individuals who scored high on the MACH IV, but it is unclear what specific mechanisms cause this effect. A study noted that the emotionality of Machiavellianism may also be genetically determined, with the authors stating that "it can be expected that in the case of Machiavellianism, the genetic influence may manifest itself by affecting the emotional sphere. That affective insensitivity – as McIlwain (2003) designates it--makes Machiavellians similar to psychopaths. In the study by Vernon et al (2008), genetic factors for Machiavellianism and psychopathy were correlated, which suggests that the variability of both qualities is greatly affected by the same genes. The genetically determined “cool syndrome” makes it easier for the child to use effective manipulation, leading to the development of a permanent behaviour strategy, at the same time protecting the child from internal punishments such as shame or guilt."

Studies have found a link between Machiavellianism and a blunted cortisol awaking response (CAR). A person's cortisol awaking response has been associated with a lack of affective empathy, and is highly heritable.

Environmental causes

The environmental causes (such as shared, and non-shared environment) that contribute to the development of machiavellianism were childhood maltreatment and neglect, social reinforcement of manipulative behaviors from an early age, and poor family functioning. One study even stated that "the etiology of Machiavellianism, similarly to the development of a dismissing-avoidant pattern, partly originates from childhood experiences obtained in relationships with unexpressive, less understanding, highly punitive or restrictive caregivers". In many studies, Machiavellianism has been heavily correlated with negative home atmospheres, loneliness, and adverse parental experiences. One study noted that punishment specifically led to the "emergence of deceitful and exploitative interpersonal tactics." The authors of the study concluded that these results "might give further support for the idea that Machiavellian personality traits are possible strategic responses to childhood adversities". Another study found the traits of Machiavellianism to be a response to early maladaptive schemas (EMS), essentially coping mechanisms for emotional deprivation, mistrust, abuse, and caregiver rejection. Irregular parent care, such as a mother being neglectful and a father being overprotective, has also been correlated with Machiavellianism. The hereditary influence on Machiavellianism may make it challenging to disentangle the genetic underpinnings from the effects of parental upbringing and environmental factors.

In general, Jones (2020) asserts that "there may be a myriad of reasons, including some environmental reasons, as to why someone would become cynical, habitually ignore morality, or use manipulative persuasion. There may be others who are born cynical, manipulative, and amoral. Thus, there may be differences in etiology that lead to differences in how fixed the trait is, and how it is expressed".

### Machiavellianism in children

Ever since the creation of the construct in the 1960s, there has been extensive research on Machiavellianism in young children and adolescents, via a measure dubbed the "Kiddie Mach" test. The first study was done in 1966 as a part of Dorothea Braginsky's doctoral dissertation, with the subjects being as young as 10 years old. Studies have shown that traits of Machiavellianism and other dark triad traits were already present in preschool children, and more pronounced in adolescents aged 11–17. There have been studies to measure Machiavellianism in 6 year olds using adult informants to analyze the child's behavior. Deceptive behaviors by children even as young as 3 were also investigated heavily. Peer reports suggest that children higher in Machiavellianism exhibit behaviors such as using both prosocial and coercive strategies based on how much is to be gained in a situation, and they tend to manipulate indirectly. Children who score highly on the Machiavellianism scale tend to be more successful in manipulation, do it more frequently, and are judged as better at manipulation than those who score lower. Parental levels of Machiavellianism seem to have a slight effect on the child's own level. Machiavellianism levels in fathers was positively correlated with the Machiavellianism levels of their children, but the mother's level had no significant effect. One study concluded that "parental Machiavellianism is a predictor and perhaps a cause of children's Machiavellian beliefs and their manipulative success". Machiavellianism is also correlated with childhood aggression, especially concerning the control of social hierarchies. One study found a trend upwards with respect to Machiavellianism from late childhood to adolescence, when levels of Machiavellianism are thought to peak. From adolescence throughout adulthood there is a significant and steady downward trend with regard to levels of Machiavellianism, until the age of 65 where an overall lifetime minimum is reached.

Peer ratings of children high on Machiavellianism are inconsistent, with some researchers reporting that juvenile High Machs are rated as popular, and some reporting that they are less well liked by peers. A study involving Greek children ages 8–12 noted that the children highest in Machiavellianism showed aggressive tendencies and were more likely to bully others, though the tactics varied by gender.

## Dark triad

In 1998, John McHoskey, William Worzel, and Christopher Szyarto proposed that narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are more or less interchangeable in normal samples. Delroy L. Paulhus and McHoskey debated these perspectives at an American Psychological Association conference, inspiring a body of research that continues to grow in the published literature. Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams found enough differences between the traits to suggest that they were distinct despite their similarities, thus the concept of a "triad" of offensive personality traits was conceptualized. There has been research on Machiavellianism using various dark triad measures, including the Short Dark Triad (SD3), and the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen test.

### Psychopathy

Many psychologists consider Machiavellianism to be essentially indistinguishable from psychopathy, as they both share manipulative tendencies, disregard for morality, and cold callousness as their primary attributes. There is an immense and ongoing debate amongst researchers as to whether or not Machiavellianism and psychopathy should be treated as the same construct, or at least view Machiavellianism as a trait of psychopathy. When tested, High Machs scored consistently high on measures of psychopathy, more than Low Machs. Primary psychopaths also scored higher on the Machiavellianism scale than secondary psychopaths. According to John McHoskey, the MACH-IV test is merely "a global measure of psychopathy in noninstitutionalized populations", and that this is a result of the disconnect between clinical and personality psychology. Many have stated that the Machiavellianism scale measures nothing more than "successful" psychopathy, or psychopathy without the extreme clinical characteristics. Even compared to other "dark" traits, research has shown that Psychopathy correlates with Machiavellianism far more than it correlates with narcissism. Some authors have stated that Machiavellianism and psychopathy represent the issue of a jangle fallacy, as both constructs are named differently yet describe the same concept. A recent paper published in 2022 stated that Machiavellianism "is theoretically distinct from psychopathy, but empirically they are nearly indistinguishable". Beverly Fehr even suggested that psychopaths may be simply "High Machs who have had run up against the law". Robert Hare, author of the Psychopathy Checklist, stated that Machiavellianism is more closely related to PCL Factor 1, affective detachment, than to Factor 2, an antisocial lifestyle. According to Christopher Patrick, high Psychopathy Checklist scores correlated with much higher Machiavellianism scores, as well as higher scores on boldness and aggressiveness.

Researchers note that Machiavellianism is well represented in every measure of psychopathy, such as the Factor 1 characteristics on the Psychopathy Checklist, more specifically traits such as "conning/manipulative", "pathological lying,” "callous/lack of empathy", and “glibness/superficial charm”. Donald Lynam and others noted that Machiavellianism is also represented in the "Interpersonal Manipulation" factor in Hare’s Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III and in the "Manipulation" scale in the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment. The researchers state that "ultimately, measures of psychopathy and MACH appear to be measuring the same construct, and MACH assessments fail to capture the construct as articulated in theoretical descriptions". Michael Levenson, author of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale disagreed with the notion of distinguishing machiavellianism from psychopathy, stating that it "does not accord" with empirical research which shows Machiavellianism being heavily related to primary psychopathy. Machiavellianism has a strong relationship with both primary and secondary psychopathy on Levenson's self report test. In experiments High Machs also scored highly on the Psychopathic Deviate subscale on the MMPI. On the Psychopathic Personality Inventory, created by Scott Lilienfeld and Brian Andrews, there is even a subscale similarly named "Machiavellian Egocentricity". The subscale is said to assess a "ruthless and self centered willingness to exploit others". Machiavellianism and psychopathy have both been negatively correlated with the recognition of facial emotions, with one study stating that "if the ability to recognise facial expressions is exclusively an affective empathy task, it indeed accounts for the facial recognition deficits found in primary psychopathy and Machiavellianism." High scores on the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure questionnaire strongly correlated with Machiavellianism.

Machiavellianism and psychopathy overlap so heavily that researchers have proposed merging the two traits into each other, preferably Machiavellianism as a facet of psychopathy. There have been attempts to combine Machiavellianism and psychopathy into one construct, such as the creation of a "Dark Dyad" as opposed to a "Dark Triad", with the exclusion of narcissism.

A recent study done on criminal psychopaths noted that Machiavellianism showed the strongest association with the affective aspect of psychopathy.

#### Difference between constructs:Impulse control

Many other psychologists state that while Machiavellianism and psychopathy overlap heavily, there is much evidence to suggest that they are distinct personality constructs. Psychologists who stress the differences between Machiavellianism and psychopathy state that, in total contrast to high Machs, psychopaths are impulsive, tend to be reckless, and lack long term planning skills. Delroy Paulhus and others have stated that this difference between the two traits is often underappreciated. Scholars also note that those high on Machiavellianism can delay gratification, and have more sensitivity to punishment and awareness of consequences than psychopaths. Though both traits have a heritable basis, Machiavellianism is more influenced by the environment than psychopathy. High Machs have been described as "master manipulators" and far better at manipulation than psychopaths and narcissists.

Daniel Jones notes that even though both psychopaths and High Machs share a manipulative and callous nature, the difference between Machiavellianism and psychopathy lies in the type of manipulation employed by the two constructs. Machiavellianism is marked by calculated planning, and manipulating only when something is to be gained, while psychopathy is marked by rashness, and manipulating regardless of situation. O'Boyle and others found however that the notion that Machiavellianism is marked by cautiousness does not match empirical research which shows that it can be correlated with reckless behavior in certain situations.

### Narcissism

Individuals high in Machiavellianism and narcissism both manipulate to improve their reputations, and how they appear to others. Individuals high in the two traits do this as a form of self aggrandizement to help their chances of success in a given situation. Machiavellianism scores were positively associated with aspects of narcissism such as entitlement and exploitativeness, and inversely associated with adaptive narcissistic tendencies, like self-sufficiency. Studies have also shown that those higher on Machiavellianism are more realistic about their character, while narcissists are less realistic about theirs. Compared to High Machs, narcissists are less malevolent and show a more socially positive personality. They also have higher levels of self-rated happiness.

Machiavellianism and narcissism both share a lack of empathy and a focus on self-interest, though the two traits differ in how they manifest in people, and what their motivations are. High Machs have tendencies to be driven by personal gain, whereas narcissists are driven by a need for validation and admiration. Opposed to those high on narcissism, High Machs tend to be more strategic and calculating in their interpersonal interactions, while narcissists may be more impulsive and attention-seeking.

In terms of social relationships, High Machs are more likely to be more exploitative towards others, while narcissists may be more likely to seek out relationships that serve to bolster their self-esteem and provide them with the admiration they desire.

Compared to subclinical narcissists, High Machs exhibit a greater lack of empathy, because of the emotional deficiencies inherent within Machiavellianism.

### White collar crime

Research has shown that individuals high in Machiavellianism may be more willing to engage in white collar crimes. Psychologist Daniel Jones has stated that "individuals higher on Machiavellianism are well suited for crimes in the financial world, especially crimes that skirt the legal system". Delroy Paulhus has stated that Machiavellianism is the main trait for white collar criminals and con artists, and not psychopathy, stating that:

Although direct research on this topic is difficult, it seems clear that malevolent stockbrokers such as Bernie Madoff do not qualify as psychopaths: They are corporate Machiavellians who use deliberate, strategic procedures for exploiting others. A genuine psychopath, even at the subclinical level, lacks the self-control to orchestrate the schemes of a shrewd stockbroker.

In a research paper, Daniel Jones and others stated that a person high on Machiavellianism would also be possibly drawn to cybercrime, noting that "although we did not directly assess crimes, we did find patterns of system infiltration that were different among the three traits, with Machiavellianism being associated with the stealthiest approach among the three traits." They also stated that Machiavellianism would only be associated with crime if the "benefits outweighed the risks". They went on to clarify that this is opposed to individuals high in psychopathy, whom are prone to crime regardless of the situation.

### Other "dark" groupings

Machiavellianism has been featured in many other groupings of dark traits, such as the dark tetrad, which adds sadism to the dark triad traits.

The paper titled "The Dark Core of Personality" introduced a theoretical framework to understand various "dark traits" in personality as manifestations of a single underlying factor called the Dark Factor of Personality. This factor represents a general dispositional tendency where individuals prioritize their own utility (self-interest) at the expense of others, often justifying their actions through certain beliefs. The concept of D encapsulates all of the main "dark traits", with the addition of Spitefulness, Egoism, Moral Disengagement, Entitlement, and Self-interest. The authors of the study argued that while Machiavellianism, along with other dark traits like Narcissism and Psychopathy, has its unique features, it also shares a common core with these traits, which is encapsulated in the D factor. This means that people who score high in Machiavellianism tend to exhibit behaviors that prioritize their own benefit over others' which correlate with characteristis that align with the D factor. It is said that manipulativeness and callousness is responsible for the covariances among the dark personalities in general.

The light triad is a personality model that contrasts the dark triad, which comprises Kantianism, faith in humanity, and humanism. Kantianism was compared to Machiavellianism as it's opposite. Both Kantianism and Machiavellianism are traits which are tongue in cheek references to philosophers. The "Light Triad" and its characteristics were most strongly negatively correlated with Machiavellianism.

## DSM: Trait, not disorder

Machiavellianism has never been considered a disorder, nor has it been referenced in any version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It has been treated as strictly a personality construct. It is primarily studied by personality psychologists, as it is a non-clinical personality style.

## Relations with other personality traits

There is immense literature concerning the relationships between Machiavellianism and other personality dimensions, such as the traits in the Big Five trait model. Machiavellianism has also been related to interpersonal aggression and hostile behavior.

### Big Five

Mach-IV scores are negatively correlated with agreeableness (r = −0.47) and conscientiousness (r = −0.34), two dimensions of the Big Five personality model (NEO-PI-R). The FFMI corrects for this by including aspects of high conscientiousness in the scale (e.g. order, deliberation). Additionally, Machiavellianism correlates more highly with the honesty-humility dimension of the six-factor HEXACO model than with any of the big five dimensions. Machiavellianism has also been located within the interpersonal circumplex, which consists of the two independent dimensions of agency and communion. Agency refers to the motivation to succeed and to individuate the self, whereas communion refers to the motivation to merge with others and to support group interests. Machiavellianism lies in the quadrant of the circumplex defined by high agency and low communion. Machiavellianism has been found to lie diagonally opposite from a circumplex construct called self-construal, a tendency to prefer communion over agency. This suggests that people high in Machiavellianism do not simply wish to achieve, they wish to do so at the expense of (or at least without regard to) others.

### Hot and cold empathy

There are two distinct types of empathy which people use to relate to each other which are referred to as hot and cold empathy. Cold empathy (or cognitive empathy) refers to the understanding of how others might react to one's actions or a certain event. Hot empathy (or emotional/affective empathy) refers to the emotional reaction others might have to the emotions of another person. Machiavellianism was consistently negatively correlated with affective empathy in nearly every study. Machiavellianism was also negatively correlated with affective resonance (feeling good when others feel good) and positively associated with affective dissonance (e.g. feeling happy when others are sad). People high in Machiavellianism tend to have a better understanding of cold empathy and do not feel hot empathy which explains why they seem cold and uncaring. Research results have also suggested that High Machs are deficient only at the level of affective empathy (sharing of emotions), whereas their cognitive empathy is intact, even high. Another study suggested that high Machs are deficient at both kinds of empathy. Studies also assert that high Machs do not feel guilt or remorse over the consequences of their manipulations. High Machs are less likely to be altruistic, and they are less likely to be concerned with the problems of others. High Machs are also less emotionally expressive and have a hard time recognizing and understanding the emotional states of others. One study proposed that High Machs have more automatic (that is, un-conscious) recognition of other's negative emotions more than low Machs, and though they don't internalize these feelings, the understanding of those emotions may in fact aid in the manipulation of others. Children who scored higher on Machiavellianism showed a lack of empathy and more delinquent behaviors compared to those who scored lower, such as a lack of guilt, lying, cheating, and truancy.

Some authors have stated that since Machiavellianism is so diametrically opposed to empathy, it should be included in empathy scales as the polar opposite. Total scores on Machiavellianism and empathy were "significantly negatively correlated".

### Unemotionality

One of the primary traits of machiavellianism is a detached, unemotional attitude and lack of affect in regards to others. Christie and Geis noted that the primary difference between high machs and low machs was the degree of emotion invested in interpersonal relations, with those scoring high having the lowest. Research has been done on the extent of the low emotionality of those who score high on the Machiavellianism scale. Doris Mcllwain noted that "Machiavellians do not inhabit the realm of emotion in the same way as others, yet they use it to manipulate others. They do not experience feelings, empathy, or morality in normative ways. yet they are consummate manipulators and deceivers precisely by playing upon these sentiments and convictions in others. Thus they induce in others the guilt they hardly feel themselves." A study done by Farah Ali and others noted that Machiavellianism seems to have emotional reactions to stimuli similar to primary psychopathy, differing only in higher levels of anxiety, which those who score highly on machiavellianism may be prone to. Machiavellianism has an unclear relation with anxiety levels, some researchers have found positive correlations, while some have found no relation at all. High Machs demonstrate reduced skills in expressing their emotions.

A recent analysis discovered that, in addition to acting for mostly self interest and profit, High Machs used significantly less words when referring to emotional involvement. They concluded that "this study confirmed previous findings that High Machs have a cool and rational character and a pro-self orientation and showed that their lack of group orientation may account for their low cooperation in social dilemmas."

Alexithymia is also considered a key trait that is correlated heavily with Machiavellianism. It is the lack of awareness of one's own emotions as well as the emotions of others. When tested, healthy alexithymic individuals have been found to obtain high Machiavellianism scores. This was not surprising to researchers, seeing as the unemotionality of Machiavellianism shows similarities to what alexithymics experience. One study examined the relationship between alexithymia and endorsement of beliefs associated with Machiavellianism amongst university students. Results showed a positive correlation between alexithymia and exploitative beliefs, suggesting those with higher levels of alexithymia were more likely to endorse the view that manipulating others is an effective strategy.

### Neuroticism/Depression

Researchers have often debated the potential links between Machiavellianism and a neurotic, anxious disposition. In a study done by psychologists Hans Eysenck, his wife Sybil, and John Allsopp, they note that they found "virtually no relationship" between Machiavellianism and neuroticism, unlike the relationships they found with Machiavellianism and Extraversion - Psychoticism respectively. However John McHoskey found links between Machiavellianism and neuroticism, along with the other personality traits popularized by Eysenck. Studies using measures of the Big Five personality traits have variously found positive or no correlation between Machiavellianism and Neuroticism.

Machiavellianism has very scant correlations with depression, and the higher one's Machiavellianism score was, the lower their depression level was. One study even noted that depressed males "were significantly less Machiavellian than were nondepressed males". They then estimate that "depression in males, then, may be of a more self-aggressive, self-destructive nature". High Machs who have higher levels of emotional intelligence scores show less depressive symptoms.

### Motivation

A 1992 review described the motivation of those high on the Machiavellianism scale as related to cold selfishness and pure instrumentality, and those high on the trait were assumed to pursue their motives (e.g. sex, achievement, sociality) in duplicitous ways. More recent research on the motivations of high Machs compared to low Machs found that they gave high priority to money, power, and competition and relatively low priority to community building, self-love, and family commitment. High Machs admitted to focusing on unmitigated achievement and winning at any cost.

The research on behaviors which high Machs engage in suggest that they are willing to achieve their goals by bending and breaking rules, cheating, and stealing. People high in Machiavellianism are able to easily switch between working with others to taking advantage of others to achieve their goals, and they are more willing to do things others see as terrible or immoral.

### Intelligence and other cognitive skills

Due to their skill at interpersonal manipulation, there has often been an assumption that high Machs possess superior intelligence, or ability to understand other people in social situations. Recent research provides some support for this assumption. However, other research has established that Machiavellianism is unrelated to IQ. Paulhus and Williams found "significant associations of psychopathy and Machiavellianism with a relatively higher nonverbal to verbal IQ score".

Studies on emotional intelligence have usually found that high Machiavellianism is associated with low emotional intelligence as assessed by both performance and questionnaire measures.

Research has examined the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (EI), Machiavellianism, and the personality trait of agreeableness. The findings of one paper revealed that while trait EI and the ability to manage others' emotions were negatively correlated with Machiavellianism, this relationship was mediated by agreeableness. Specifically, those high in trait EI tended to be low in Machiavellianism primarily because they were high in agreeableness, reflecting a cooperative and prosocial nature. One study found that Machiavellianism was negatively associated with most facets of socio-emotional intelligence (SEI), including social expressivity, social sensitivity, emotional expressivity, and emotional sensitivity. However, Machiavellianism showed no significant relationship with emotional control, which involves regulating one's own emotional displays. Machiavellianism was positively associated with emotional manipulation, the tendency to strategically influence others' emotions. Despite this association, Machiavellianism did not moderate the relationship between any facet of SEI and emotional manipulation. This suggests that while High Machs have a propensity for emotionally manipulative behavior, they may not be utilizing socio-emotional skills towards that end. The authors propose this could be due to the High Mach's externally-oriented and unemotional perspective.

Both emotional empathy and emotion recognition have been shown to have negative correlations with Machiavellianism. Additionally, research has shown that Machiavellianism is unrelated to a more advanced theory of mind, that is, the ability to anticipate what others are thinking in social situations. However, research results have suggested the contrary viewpoint that high Machiavellianism is associated with excellent theory of mind skills.

When it comes to manipulation, individuals high in Machiavellianism may, according to Bereczkei, "have certain cognitive and social skills that enable them to properly adapt to the challenges of environmental circumstances". They also are incredibly perceptive to the presence of others, and are able to feign altruism to enhance their reputation. A recent study investigated whether Machiavellianism is associated with the production of "bullshit" - inaccurate or meaningless information intended to impress, persuade or mislead. The researchers found that the manipulative aspect of Machiavellianism (Machiavellian approach) was linked to "persuasive bullshitting", aimed at gaining desired resources. The distrustful aspect (Machiavellian avoidance) was associated with "evasive bullshitting", spreading vague information to prevent disadvantages. Those high in Machiavellian avoidance were even better at distinguishing misinformation from valuable information.

### Neurological studies

There have been few studies on the neural correlates of Machiavellianism. Research has shown that Machiavellianism has been correlated with changes in gray matter in the areas of the basal ganglia, left prefrontal cortex, bilaterally in the insula, and in the right hippocampus and the left parahippocampal gyrus. Researcher Tamas Bereczkei stated that the manipulation skill in High Machs is associated with neural correlates that are responsible for decision making. He also noted that behaviors associated with Machiavellianism need to "recruit more neural resources than a honest behavior, especially when manipulators face a cooperative partner as a potential victim. Machiavellians have to inhibit the norm of reciprocity and, additionally, generate an opposite response." Machiavellianism has also been linked with lesions in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Frontal dysfunction was also linked with Machiavellianism. Daniel Jones also concluded that those who score high on Machiavellianism have the "neurological structure of a strategic manipulator". The activation of the task-positive network (TPN) and the default mode network (DMN) have also been associated with a lack of genuine empathy, and also have been observed in Machiavellianism. A recent study linked regional gray matter volume in the left superior frontal gyrus to both Machiavellianism and social aggression, which is "intentional antisocial behavior directed to damage others’ social reputations or interpersonal relationships through socially manipulative tactics".

## Social relationships

The effects that one's level of Machiavellianism has on a person's socialization and interpersonal relationships, such as friendships and romantic relationships, has been studied extensively. High Machs are highly likely to ingratiate themselves within social groups via compliments and conforming their opinions to those around them. High Machs are more than likely to choose better quality friends, as they have a better time at guessing who is a good person and thus more pliable for manipulation. Machiavellianism was also correlated with withdrawal and avoidance in romantic relationships. Individuals high in all dark triad traits find it easy to end relationships, and tend to prefer short-term relationships over long term ones. Studies done on courtship showed that women higher on machiavellianism tend to go on dates not for sexual reasons but for free food, a phenomenon known as a "foodie call". Because a lack of empathy and affect with regards to others is one of the main features of Machiavellianism, individuals high on the trait tend to act in a utilitarian, self interested manner, prefer emotionally detached relationships, and are not concerned with the other person's needs. High machs report lower relationship satisfaction than those lower on the scale. Though there has been research on the potential "attractiveness" of the dark triad traits, out of all of the traits in the dark triad, Machiavellianism was the least attractive to the opposite sex. One of the studies concluded that "The third DT trait, Machiavellianism, was significantly negatively associated with being chosen and mate appeal for STR in women." Another study claimed that this was because high Machs tend to be way less extroverted than narcissists and psychopaths, and that "it is possible that individuals do not like cynical, manipulative, aggressive, remorseless, and duplicitous people such as Machiavellians and psychopaths".

Like the other dark triad traits, those high on Machiavellianism have been reportedly more willing to troll or flame others on the internet, however a 2021 study found no particularly strong connection between trolling and dark personality traits. Machiavellianism has also been correlated with a higher than average belief in conspiracy theories. Because of their emphasis on hierarchy, high scorers in Machiavellianism were also found with higher levels of prejudice, and higher social dominance orientation scores.

### Gender differences

Research has consistently shown that men score higher than women in Machiavellianism. There is evidence to suggest that Machiavellianism is represented differently in both sexes, with men being more opportunistic, self confident, and willing to take risks, while women higher in Machiavellianism are more likely to be avoidant and have anxious features. While only psychopathy was an indicator of future infidelity amongst men, both psychopathy and Machiavellianism were predictors amongst women. The findings of one research paper showed that men, but not women, high in Machiavellianism were non-impulsive and high in planning, which suggests that the apparent impulsivity of Machiavellianism may be a question of gender. Peter Jonason suggested that the reason why men score much higher than women in dark triad traits is because men require less emotional connection in order to get ahead in life.

### Cross-cultural studies

There have been many studies on how Machiavellianism is presented in people from different countries and with different cultures. Multiple studies found that in nearly all countries, men scored higher than women in Machiavellianism, and that the gender differences were notable. The populations of many other countries varied from their western counterparts in their levels of dark triad traits overall, which the authors of one study attributed to sociopolitical factors and levels of economic engagement. In another cross cultural study, Machiavellianism also showed associations with limited interactive or normative values. A study investigated the relationship between emotion recognition and dark personality traits (including Machiavellianism) across cultures. The effects were gender and culture-dependent. Among both German males and females, Machiavellianism showed strong positive associations with emotionally manipulative tactics. Some scholars noted an issue with many cross cultural studies on machiavellianism, primarily that "researchers have used measures of Machiavellianism (Mach IV) which were derived from Western concepts and which may not have similar meanings when applied to non-Western groups."

### Aggression and antisocial behavior

Machiavellianism has little association with the outright display of overt aggression. Those high in Machiavellianism tend to be more more aggressive to short term as opposed to long term partners. While Machiavellianism is associated with hostility, those high on the trait may mask it depending on the manipulation tactic used. Machiavellianism also is associated with the tuning of aggression to the benefit long term objectives, only engaging in antisocial behavior when the stakes are low and it proffers benefits, unlike psychopathy and narcissism. In a study by Delroy Paulhus and Daniel Jones, High Machs were found to refrain from cheating under risky situations, preferring to sustain their reputation for the long term than to engage in short term financial gain. The authors then state that High Machs may cheat under high risk scenarios, but only when "ego-depleted", which then makes their behavior appear similar to those of psychopaths. McHoskey found that MACH is associated with "cheating, divulging intimate sexual secrets to third parties, and both feigning love and inducing intoxication to secure sex". He also suggested that Machiavellianism is correlated with an extensive focus on financial gain, and is also correlated with antisocial behaviors such as stealing, vandalism, and cheating as opposed to prosocial actions like helping others.

## In the workplace

Machiavellianism is also studied by organizational psychologists, especially those who study manipulative behaviors in workplace settings. Workplace behaviors associated with this concept include flattery, deceit, coercion, and the abuse of others through one's position of leadership. These behaviors in the workplace are ultimately done to advance personal interests. Research has shown that one's level of Machiavellianism can be a major factor in situations where workplace manipulation is involved because this trait can have an effect on the ability for an individual to "fit" into a highly political work environment. Research has found individuals with Dark Triad traits are drawn to entrepreneurship. Certain qualities found in the Dark Triad are similar to traits needed for effective entrepreneurship, such as confidence, charisma and risk taking.

### Career choice and advancement

Individuals high in machiavellianism tend to gravitate towards particular careers, especially those that require a high degree of competitiveness needed to succeed. High Machs are ambitious enough to cut corners and use aggressive means if it is necessary to get ahead in their careers. One study found that "Machiavellianism was positively related to leadership position and career satisfaction". Individuals high in machiavellianism are especially drawn to leadership and management positions, which became an important subject in the primary literature. Sales careers also attract dark triad individuals, with one study stating that such individuals are "prevalent" in the industry. One study noted that those who possess high Machiavellianism levels "are more productive but received lower overall managerial ratings", and that "Machiavellianism may in certain circumstances, be somewhat advantageous for long-term sales performance." Machiavellianism was also associated with the use of "hard" (i.e. aggressive and hostile behavior) and "soft" (i.e. joking/kidding, offering compliments) tactics in the workforce. One's political skill in the workplace and elsewhere may even mask the behaviors and characteristics associated with machiavellianism.

It was shown that those high on Machiavellianism are more drawn to academic majors like economics, law, and politics, as opposed to the "person-oriented" majors like education, nursing, and social work that were associated with lower Machiavellianism scores.

## Scale Evaluation

### Dimensions of the MACH scale

Although there have been a myriad of proposed factor structures, two dimensions emerge most consistently within factor-analytic research which separates the views from the behaviors in Machiavellianism. Although many posit that the Mach IV scale is unable to reliably capture the two dimensions, a 10-item subset of the scale known as the "two-dimensional Mach IV" (TDM-V), reproduces the views and tactics dimensions across countries, genders, sample types, and scale category length. The "Views" dimension appears to capture the neurotic, narcissistic, pessimistic, and distrustful aspects of Machiavellianism, while the "Tactics" component captures the more unconscientious, self-serving, and deceitful behavioral aspects. More recently, in response to criticisms of the Mach-IV, researchers developed the Five-Factor Machiavellianism Inventory (FFMI), which attempts to include concepts (like being calculated and planful) that are not adequately captured by the Mach-IV.

### Construct validity and criticism

There has been debate on how valid scales of Machiavellianism are in tapping the construct. It is often stated by those critical of Machiavellianism scales that it does not actually measure the theoretical trait, but something nearly identical to psychopathy and narcissism. For example, it is often stated that Machiavellianism is marked by less impulsivity and better long term thinking as opposed to psychopathy, but some empirical research shows that even High Machs can act impulsive in certain scenarios. Lynam and others stated "we suggest that existing measures of Machiavellianism are functioning as proxy measures of psychopathy." Psychologist John Rauthmann viewed the MACH-IV as more of a measure of cynicism, and that it doesn't really capture other qualities of Machiavellianism.

Most of the research done on Machiavellianism has been done with either the Mach IV or Mach V, though the Mach V is no longer in use due to psychometric issues. Many have expressed concerns with the reliability of the Mach IV scale to capture all of the features of Machiavellianism, thus many proposals have been made in favor of other Machiavellianism scales.

John Rauthmann and others have stated that, while the MACH-IV is "a generally reliable and valid scale", it has its shortcomings. These include the response styles of the test takers, the varying factor structures, and "insufficient content and construct validity". The researchers developed their own scale instead to study Machiavellianism multidimensionally instead of unidimensionally to prevent the construct from becoming hard to study effectively. Psychologist Jason Dahling and others have created another measure of Machiavellianism, dubbed the Machiavellian Personality Scale (or MPS for short).

Daniel Jones has stated that the MACH IV, despite all of its merits, is an "outdated instrument" and "is not helping the field with precision". He ultimately states that it "should be replaced by assessments that are more precise reflections of the construct."

### Application of the scale in other research

In 2002, the Machiavellianism scale of Christie and Geis was applied by behavioral game theorists Anna Gunnthorsdottir, Kevin McCabe and Vernon L. Smith in their search for explanations for the spread of observed behavior in experimental games, in particular individual choices which do not correspond to assumptions of material self-interest captured by the standard Nash equilibrium prediction. It was found that in a trust game, those with high Mach-IV scores tended to follow Homo economicus ' equilibrium strategies while those with low Mach-IV scores tended to deviate from the equilibrium, and instead made choices that reflected widely accepted moral standards and social preferences.

A study done by David Wilson and other researchers noted that while High Machs tend to defect from their groups, they are also unlikely to succeed in the long term simply by manipulating others, and that some cooperation is necessary for further success and to avoid a situation in which they are retaliated against. Wilson also noted that since those who are high in Machiavellianism often come across as charming and attractive in brief social encounters, it is unclear whether they are being deceitful or just very skilled socially. The researchers had people who scored high and low on Machiavellianism write first-person stories. Other participants then evaluated these stories. The results showed that people with low Machiavellianism tended to be more cooperative, while those with high Machiavellianism were more exploitative. Based on these stories, high Machs were generally rejected as social partners, except when their manipulative skills could be used against members of other groups.

## Sources


Westminster School (Connecticut)

# Westminster School (Connecticut)

## Abstract

The Westminster School is a private, coeducational college-preparatory, boarding and day school located in Simsbury, Connecticut, United States, accepting around 20% of applicants. The total student population is approximately 400, and includes pupils from 25 US states and 30 countries. It is also a member of the Founders League, an athletic league comprising ten college preparatory boarding schools in Connecticut and one in New York.

## History

Westminster School was founded in 1888 as a boys' school by William Lee Cushing, a graduate of Yale University. Girls were first admitted to the school in 1971. Like many boarding schools, Westminster faced difficult times in the 1970s as it competed for a shrinking pool of boarding students. When Donald Werner retired in 1993, after serving as Headmaster for 21 years, he was succeeded by Graham Cole. During the Cole years, enrollment for the school grew from 340 to 385 students, with 88 faculty.

Significant building projects undertaken include:

- Edge House. Designed by Westminster alumnus Graham Gund and built in 1996, Edge House houses 33 students and three faculty families.

- Kohn Squash Pavilion. Completed in the Spring of 2000, The Squash Pavilion contains eight squash courts around a stepped viewing area with natural light from skylights above. The team rooms, locker rooms, and other support spaces are located on a second floor mezzanine overlooking the viewing area and squash courts below.

- Sherwin Health & Athletic Center. Completed in 2003, the Sherwin Health & Athletic Center, the Hibbard Aquatic Center and the Health & Counseling Center is a multipurpose building. The Aquatic Center contains an eight lane competition pool with support facilities and a viewing area on the mezzanine floor.

- Armour Academic Center. This 85,000-square-foot Center houses the Humanities, Math and Science departments, library, and administration. Building features include a centrally located atrium, two-story library, classrooms and laboratories, 120-seat lecture hall, planetarium, faculty and administrative offices, and a variety of lounge spaces.

With Cole's retirement in 2010, Westminster appointed William V.N. Philip as its eighth Headmaster. Philip ascended to the top job after a 26-year career at Westminster as a teacher, coach, dormitory parent, college counselor, and Associate and Assistant Headmaster. Philip stepped down at the end of the 2020–21 academic year.

Elaine B. White was appointed the ninth Head of School in 2021. Prior to her arrival at Westminster, Elaine was Associate Head of School at The Governor's Academy.

## Faculty and staff

### Headmasters

- 1988-1920: William Lee Cushing

- 1920-1922: Lemuel Gardner Pette

- 1922-1936: Raymond McOrmond

- 1936-1956: Arthur Milliken

- 1956-1970: Francis Keyes

- 1970-1993: Donald H. Werner

- 1993-2010: W. Graham Cole Jr.

- 2010–2021: William V.N. Philip

- 2021–Present: Elaine B. White

## Student activities

### Athletics

A student tradition, dating as far back as the 1920s, is stickball, a game in which teams made up of dormitory floors and day student teams compete in a baseball-like game on the quad and athletic fields in late spring. Each floor makes its own bat, usually a hockey or lacrosse stick that has been cut, or a wooden dowel of a large diameter. Generally the stickball "season" will culminate in a single-elimination tournament to crown the Hill Stickball champion.

### Theater

Each year the theater program stages three productions in the Werner Centennial Theater: one dramatic production spanning the varied genre of Western theater, a musical production, and the student-directed performances, which offer advanced students the opportunity to direct. Each of these productions offers many opportunities for student involvement and leadership, both on stage and backstage.

Situated at the northeastern corner of the campus's central quadrangle, Centennial Center was upgraded in 1988 into a 30,000 square-foot building including a two-story lobby, a 400-seat, multi-use Shakespearean-style theater, music and dance studios and rehearsal room, dressing rooms, a scene shop/laboratory and other production support spaces. Particular to the “courtyard” theater form, all 400 seats are within 40 feet of the front of the stage, and there is built-in flexibility for both audience size and style of production.

## Notable alumni

- William Acquavella, art dealer, head of Acquavella Galleries

- Lake Bell '97, actress

- Eric Boguniecki, NHL hockey player

- Ethan Brooks '91, NFL football player

- Joy Bryant '92, actress

- William S. Beinecke, ‘32, Namesake of Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

- Tommy Cross '08, Boston Bruins 2nd round draft pick and currently with the Columbus Blue Jackets

- David Doubilet '65, National Geographic photographer

- Jack Du Brul, writer

- Patrick Ellis, radio personality

- Andrew Firestone '94, The Bachelor TV series

- Peter Fonda, actor

- Bryan Nash Gill, '80, artist

- Graham Gund '59, architect

- Bertil Hille

- John William Kilbreth, 1894, U.S. Army brigadier general

- Alec Musser, actor

- Ben Smith '06, NHL Hockey player

- John V. Tunney '52, former United States Senator and Representative from the state of California

- Wellesley Wild '90, writer and executive producer of Family Guy