The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Narcissism and United States’ culture: the view from home and around the world

Narcissism and United States’ culture: the view from home and around the world
Narcissism and United States’ culture: the view from home and around the world
The issue of Americans’ levels of narcissism is subject to lively debate. The focus of the present research is on the perception of national character (PNC) of Americans as a group. In Study 1, American adults (N = 100) rated Americans as significantly more narcissistic than they perceived themselves and acquaintances. In Study 2, this finding was replicated with American college students (N = 322). PNC ratings of personality traits and externalizing behaviors revealed that Americans were perceived as disagreeable and antisocial as well. In Study 3, we examined the broader characteristics associated with PNC ratings (N = 183). Americans rated the typical American as average on a variety of characteristics (e.g., wealth, education, health, likability) and PNC ratings of narcissism were largely unrelated to these ratings. In Study 4 (N = 1,202) Americans rated PNCs for different prespecified groups of Americans; as expected, PNC ratings of narcissism differed by gender, age, and occupational status such that American males, younger Americans, and Americans working in high-visibility and status occupations were seen as more narcissistic. In Study 5 (N = 733), citizens of 4 other world regions (Basque Country, China, England, Turkey) rated members of their own region as more narcissistic than they perceived themselves, but the effect sizes were smaller than those found in the case of Americans’ perceptions of Americans. Additionally, members of these other regions rated Americans as more narcissistic than members of their own region. Finally, in Study 6, participants from around the world (N = 377) rated Americans as more narcissistic, extraverted, and antagonistic than members of their own countries. We discuss the role that America’s position as a global economic and military power, paired with a culture that creates and reifies celebrity figures, may play in leading to perceptions of Americans as considerably narcissistic.
0022-3514
1068-1089
Miller, J.D.
7815f1b2-c478-46da-8c1e-d2f8561e1e83
Maples, J.L.
30025cbf-f38c-4ac2-bd7c-7f5c7ce92e8b
Cai, H.
b50ecca5-ee0a-4778-94b6-598959608574
Gentile, B.
101a8eed-0a01-44a6-be5b-3e850b7d4178
Kisbu-Sakarya, Y.
bced7505-5374-4561-807d-38c3fa7cd59b
Kwan, V.S.
380e80fd-5b1c-45d2-898e-cd5be225a6e8
LoPilato, A.
81bedcb2-a70f-4e02-922d-c59fc92ae9e4
Sedikides, C.
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Siedor, L.
43b1091b-2e5a-4bee-8db6-654fe791010a
Campbell, W.K.
70175520-339c-478e-accb-e2c260a60d05
Miller, J.D.
7815f1b2-c478-46da-8c1e-d2f8561e1e83
Maples, J.L.
30025cbf-f38c-4ac2-bd7c-7f5c7ce92e8b
Cai, H.
b50ecca5-ee0a-4778-94b6-598959608574
Gentile, B.
101a8eed-0a01-44a6-be5b-3e850b7d4178
Kisbu-Sakarya, Y.
bced7505-5374-4561-807d-38c3fa7cd59b
Kwan, V.S.
380e80fd-5b1c-45d2-898e-cd5be225a6e8
LoPilato, A.
81bedcb2-a70f-4e02-922d-c59fc92ae9e4
Sedikides, C.
9d45e66d-75bb-44de-87d7-21fd553812c2
Siedor, L.
43b1091b-2e5a-4bee-8db6-654fe791010a
Campbell, W.K.
70175520-339c-478e-accb-e2c260a60d05

Miller, J.D., Maples, J.L., Cai, H., Gentile, B., Kisbu-Sakarya, Y., Kwan, V.S., LoPilato, A., Sedikides, C., Siedor, L. and Campbell, W.K. (2015) Narcissism and United States’ culture: the view from home and around the world. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109 (6), 1068-1089. (doi:10.1037/a0039543).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The issue of Americans’ levels of narcissism is subject to lively debate. The focus of the present research is on the perception of national character (PNC) of Americans as a group. In Study 1, American adults (N = 100) rated Americans as significantly more narcissistic than they perceived themselves and acquaintances. In Study 2, this finding was replicated with American college students (N = 322). PNC ratings of personality traits and externalizing behaviors revealed that Americans were perceived as disagreeable and antisocial as well. In Study 3, we examined the broader characteristics associated with PNC ratings (N = 183). Americans rated the typical American as average on a variety of characteristics (e.g., wealth, education, health, likability) and PNC ratings of narcissism were largely unrelated to these ratings. In Study 4 (N = 1,202) Americans rated PNCs for different prespecified groups of Americans; as expected, PNC ratings of narcissism differed by gender, age, and occupational status such that American males, younger Americans, and Americans working in high-visibility and status occupations were seen as more narcissistic. In Study 5 (N = 733), citizens of 4 other world regions (Basque Country, China, England, Turkey) rated members of their own region as more narcissistic than they perceived themselves, but the effect sizes were smaller than those found in the case of Americans’ perceptions of Americans. Additionally, members of these other regions rated Americans as more narcissistic than members of their own region. Finally, in Study 6, participants from around the world (N = 377) rated Americans as more narcissistic, extraverted, and antagonistic than members of their own countries. We discuss the role that America’s position as a global economic and military power, paired with a culture that creates and reifies celebrity figures, may play in leading to perceptions of Americans as considerably narcissistic.

Text
__soton.ac.uk_ude_PersonalFiles_Users_gg_mydocuments_constantine publications pdf's_2015_Miller et al., 2015, JPSP.pdf - Version of Record
Restricted to Repository staff only
Request a copy

More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 21 September 2015
Published date: December 2015

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 387057
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/387057
ISSN: 0022-3514
PURE UUID: 5aabb005-2ee9-4165-8ead-371891539fee
ORCID for C. Sedikides: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 08 Feb 2016 14:24
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:02

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: J.D. Miller
Author: J.L. Maples
Author: H. Cai
Author: B. Gentile
Author: Y. Kisbu-Sakarya
Author: V.S. Kwan
Author: A. LoPilato
Author: C. Sedikides ORCID iD
Author: L. Siedor
Author: W.K. Campbell

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×