Affective contingencies of narcissism
- PMID: 35113630
- DOI: 10.1037/pspp0000406
Affective contingencies of narcissism
Abstract
Several theories propose that narcissism is rooted in affective contingencies. Given narcissists' focus on power, these contingencies should be strong in the power domain but not in the affiliation domain. We systematically investigated narcissists' contingencies and explored whether these contingencies might link narcissism to social behavior. In a multimethod longitudinal study, we assessed unidimensional narcissism levels as well as two main narcissistic strategies: Admiration and rivalry. We measured 209 participants' affective contingencies (i.e., affective responses to satisfying and frustrating experiences of power and affiliation) via self-reports (n = 207) and facial electromyography (fEMG, n = 201). In a 1-year follow-up, we observed participants' power- and affiliation-related behaviors in the laboratory (valid n = 123). Results indicated that narcissism was linked to increased affective reactivity to power, and this pattern was present for both admiration and rivalry. Narcissism was unrelated to affective reactivity to affiliation, with an important exception: Individuals with higher levels of narcissistic rivalry exhibited decreased reactivity toward satisfactions and increased reactivity toward frustrations of affiliation. Results were more robust for self-reported than for fEMG-indexed reactivity. Although overall narcissism and narcissistic admiration were related to power-related behaviors 1 year later, affective contingencies did not generally account for these links. These findings inform why narcissists have a relatively strong power motive and why some narcissists high in rivalry have a relatively weak affiliation motive. More broadly, these findings provide insight into the affective contingencies underlying personality traits and call for research on the contexts in which these contingencies guide behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Similar articles
-
Behavioral processes underlying the decline of narcissists' popularity over time.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2015 Nov;109(5):856-71. doi: 10.1037/pspp0000057. Epub 2015 Jul 20. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2015. PMID: 26191958
-
Narcissistic admiration and rivalry: disentangling the bright and dark sides of narcissism.J Pers Soc Psychol. 2013 Dec;105(6):1013-37. doi: 10.1037/a0034431. Epub 2013 Oct 14. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2013. PMID: 24128186
-
Will they stay or will they go? Narcissistic admiration and rivalry predict ingroup affiliation and devaluation.J Pers. 2019 Aug;87(4):871-888. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12441. Epub 2018 Nov 12. J Pers. 2019. PMID: 30317647
-
Narcissism and Self-Insight: A Review and Meta-Analysis of Narcissists' Self-Enhancement Tendencies.Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2016 Jan;42(1):3-24. doi: 10.1177/0146167215611636. Epub 2015 Nov 4. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2016. PMID: 26542339 Review.
-
Impulsivity and the self-defeating behavior of narcissists.Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006;10(2):154-65. doi: 10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_4. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2006. PMID: 16768652 Review.
Cited by
-
Early physiological indicators of narcissism and self-esteem in children.Psychophysiology. 2022 Oct;59(10):e14082. doi: 10.1111/psyp.14082. Epub 2022 May 3. Psychophysiology. 2022. PMID: 35503928 Free PMC article.
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Miscellaneous