A study from the University of Michigan has identified the countries with the highest levels of narcissism. As well as ranking the world in terms of narcissism levels, the research found that men were more narcissistic than women, while older adults were less narcissistic than their younger counterparts.
Narcissism is a personality type characterized by an excessive need to be admired and a preoccupation with the self, accompanied by a self-aggrandizing manner. While clinical narcissistic personality disorder can be a problem for the individual and those around them, narcissistic traits are on a spectrum, with everybody displaying them to a certain degree.
“It is normal for people to possess a healthy amount of self-esteem where they are accepting of their strengths and limitations while maintaining a positive self-image. It is normal and healthy for individuals to seek adaptive and realistic ways to improve their self-concept and feel good about who they are,” the Canadian Psychological Association explains.
“Clinical narcissism, on the other hand, reflects unhealthy strategies to cope with disappointments and threats to positive self-image. Persistent difficulty in this area is what typically constitutes a clinical diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD).”
While the concept of narcissism – named for Greek mythology’s Narcissus, who deemed himself so pretty he fell in love with his own reflection in a pond – has been known about for some time, psychological research has tended to focus on the US, Australia, or Western Europe.
“Preliminary research, however, suggests that psychological characteristics, like narcissism, vary across cultures,” the team write in their paper. “Moreover, demographic differences might also depend on important cultural characteristics. For example, men’s and women’s narcissism levels may differ more in some cultures than others.”
It was this that the researchers hoped to address, with a study of over 45,000 participants across 53 different countries. Specifically, they wanted to explore whether narcissism levels differed with levels of collectivism in different countries, or other factors like wealth, measured in gross domestic product (GDP). For example, one hypothesis is that narcissism is more prevalent in indulgent contexts, which suggests that countries with high GDP may have higher levels of narcissism, while another hypothesis suggests that narcissism might be more prevalent where resources are scarce, making it more likely that there is greater competition for status within the society. But there has not been much study into the topic across cultures.
The team asked respondents to mentally place themselves on a ladder with 10 rungs, with the top rung representing the people who are the best off in society in terms of money, education, and jobs, and one being the lowest, in order to measure self-perceived social status.
Next, their narcissism levels were measured using an assessment called the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire-Short Form. This involves ranking statements such as “I want my rivals to fail” and “I manage to be the center of attention with my outstanding contributions”.
The team found significant differences, as well as a lot of similarities, in narcissism across the world. In line with previous research, they found that men had higher levels of narcissism than women, which the team puts down to the differences in the way people are socialized, with men generally being pressured to be more assertive and competitive, while women are encouraged to prioritize communal goals and relationships.
While you might think that somewhere like the US would take the top spot (very narcissistic of you/not very narcissistic of you, depending on your location), the five countries with the highest narcissism levels were found to be Germany, Iraq, China, Nepal, and South Korea. At the bottom end of the spectrum were Serbia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The USA ranked at number 16.
The researchers found there was a correlation between GDP and narcissism, with higher-income countries having higher levels of narcissism. However, they found that countries with more “collective” attitudes had high narcissism scores, particularly in narcissistic admiration, challenging the hypothesis that narcissism is fostered by environments that value personal achievement and self-promotion.
“Traditionally, collectivistic cultures are thought to emphasize group harmony and social conformity over individual achievement, which should theoretically suppress narcissistic tendencies,” they write. “However, our findings suggest that collectivistic cultures may also foster narcissistic traits, albeit for different reasons than individualistic cultures.”
The team suggests this includes the encouragement of highlighting personal achievement as a way of enhancing the overall group, and narcissism being useful in order to navigate more pronounced social hierarchies in these societies.
Across the board, the study found that men had higher levels of narcissism than women, and that the young displayed these traits more than older adults.
“We found that there were differences across cultures, including that people from higher GDP countries were more narcissistic, but the degree to which younger adults were narcissistic compared to older adults didn’t matter much on what country you were from,” William Chopik, co-author of the study and associate professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Psychology, explained in a statement.
“Being young nearly everywhere involves focusing on yourself and thinking you’re better than you are,” Chopik added. “But life can be a humbling experience, and it seems to humble people in a similar way across cultures.”
The team highlights that narcissism, while there are differences across cultures, may be more of a universal human thing, transcending cultural boundaries.
“Even cultures we may consider to be group-oriented don’t necessarily suppress self-focused behaviors,” Macy Miscikowski, co-author and research associate, added. “Insights like these encourage us to think about the balance between cultural and biological influences on personality. It also suggests exciting avenues for studies on how life experiences, societal expectations and economic contexts interact to shape the expression of narcissistic traits across one’s lifespan.”
The study is published in Self and Identity.
Source Link: Countries With The Most Narcissists Identified By 45,000-Person Study, And The Results Might Surprise You
