On the popularity of agentic and communal narcissists: The tit-for-tat hypothesis




Faculty/Professorship: Psychology  
Author(s): Rentzsch, Katrin ; Gebauer, Jochen
Publisher Information: Bamberg : Otto-Friedrich-Universität
Year of publication: 2023
Pages: 1365-1377
Source/Other editions: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45 (2019), 9, S. 1365-1377. - ISSN: 0146-1672
is version of: 10.1177/0146167218824359
Year of first publication: 2019
Language(s): English
Licence: German Act on Copyright 
URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:473-irb-587142
Abstract: 
Among well-acquainted people, those high on agentic narcissism are less popular than those low on agentic narcissism. That popularity-difference figures prominently in the narcissism literature. But why are agentic narcissists less popular? We propose a novel answer―the tit-for-tat hypothesis. It states that agentic narcissists like other people less than non-narcissists do and that others reciprocate by liking agentic narcissists less in return. We also examine whether the tit-for-tat hypothesis generalizes to communal narcissism. A large round-robin study (N = 474) assessed agentic and communal narcissism (Wave 1) and included two round-robin waves (Waves 2-3). The round-robin waves assessed participants’ liking for all round-robin group members (2,488 informant-reports). The tit-for-tat hypothesis applied to agentic narcissists. It also applied to communal narcissists, albeit in a different way. Compared with non-narcissists, communal narcissists liked other people more and―in return―those others liked communal narcissists more. Our results elaborate on and qualify the thriving literature on narcissists’ popularity.
GND Keywords: Narzissmus; Beliebtheit; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Spieltheorie
Keywords: grandiose narcissism, agentic narcissism, communal narcissism, interpersonal liking, social relations model
DDC Classification: 150 Psychology  
RVK Classification: CR 3000   
Type: Article
URI: https://fis.uni-bamberg.de/handle/uniba/58714
Release Date: 30. March 2023

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