Summary Although several observers have attributed to the Arabs some qualities quite like the constellation of personality characteristics which Christie and Geis have termed “Machiavellianism,” such descriptions have rarely been empirically investigated. The present study compares Arab and American responses to the Mach IV Scale. There was no significant difference between Arab and American male respondents; the image of the Arab male as being more Machiavellian than his American counterpart was not supported. Although the Arabs scored significantly higher than the Americans when sex differences were not considered, the overall difference was essentially due to the higher scores of the Arab females in comparison with the American females. Contrary to the findings of previous studies conducted in other cultural settings, no significant differences were observed between Arab males and females, between traditional and more Westernized respondents or among those from large cities, small cities, or villages.