Trolling, the dark tetrad, and the four-facet spectrum of narcissism

Trolling is an antisocial online behavior that involves the aggressive provocation of others by causing conflict for the “troll's” own personal amusement. In the current study, we explore the utility of the facets of narcissism (agentic, communal, antagonistic, and neurotic) to predict perpetration of trolling, over and above the variance explained by gender, psychopathy, and sadism. We hypothesised that men would troll more than women, that psychopathy, sadism, and antagonistic narcissism would be positive predictors, and agentic, communal, and neurotic narcissism would be negative predictors. Participants (N = 444; 66 % women, 34 % men; Mage = 34.95, SD = 14.84) were recruited via social media (i.e., Facebook) and Cloud Research to complete an anonymous, online questionnaire that comprised measures of personality and trolling behaviors. Results partially supported the hypothesis, with men, people with high psychopathy, and people with high sadism perpetrating more trolling. Unexpectedly, people with high communal narcissism and neurotic narcissism perpetrated more trolling. Antagonistic narcissism and agentic narcissism were nonsignificant predictors. These findings implicate the utility of exploring the facets of narcissism and provide important information regarding the psychological profile of trolls. © 2023 The Author

The effect of leader and follower personality on work processes : analysing the influence of humility and narcissism

In the past few years, the interest in the constructs of humility and narcissism has been increasing because of unhumble manager behaviour and the appearance of Donald Trump. Consequently, researchers have been investigating the influence of leaders and followers humility and narcissism in the work context. Nevertheless, previous research used self-reports of humility and did not consider facets of narcissism, thus presenting drawbacks of earlier studies. Keeping this in mind, the dissertation focuses on these two personality traits and examines their effect on the leader-follower interaction and follower performance. The leader-follower interaction is assessed by the leadership behaviour perceived by the followers and relationship conflict between the leader and the follower. With regard to follower performance, the focus is on followers extra-role behaviour including follower voice behaviour and Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). In Chapter 2, the influence of leaders implicit humility on leadership behaviour is investigated. The humility measurement paradox describes that humble people do not indicate their humbleness when asked directly and vice versa. Therefore, an Implicit Association Test (IAT) of humility is developed to assess a leaders true humility. The results from a multi-source multi-wave field study with 250 leader-follower dyads show that implicit leader humility predicts humble leadership behaviour, abusive supervision and followers trust in leader, whereas explicit (i.e., self-reported) humility does not. These findings show that measurement aspects are of critical importance when assessing personality characteristics such as humility that might be prone to socially desirable responding. Therefore, the use of an IAT of humility might present a solution to the humility measurement paradox by avoiding problems associated with the use of explicit measures of humility. The results also suggest that genuine humility is a valuable personality trait of a leader. Personality traits such as extraversion and dominance have been associated with an effective leader in the past. These findings, however, point to the leaders humility as a valuable trait of a leader. Chapter 3 focuses on follower narcissism and its influence on follower empowerment and follower voice behaviour, which describes the expression of constructive challenge in order to improve rather than to criticise. Based on the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept, two facets of narcissism are assessed. Narcissistic rivalry represents the dark side of narcissism. Contrary to that, narcissistic admiration describes the bright side of narcissism. In a multi-source multi-wave field study with 268 leader-follower dyads, follower narcissistic rivalry negatively influences follower empowerment and in turn voice, whereas narcissistic admiration has a positive effect. Moreover, two moderators, leaders implicit followership theories and followers promotion focus are examined. When leaders have a positive view towards their followers and think that their followers are in general productive and loyal, the negative effect of follower narcissistic rivalry on empowerment is attenuated. Similarly, this effect is also damped when the follower has a high promotion focus. The analysis of follower narcissism reveals that a sophisticated point of view is necessary when investigating the influence of follower narcissism on work outcomes. The results show that narcissism should not be considered globally. Instead, the differentiation of facets seems reasonable to identify both negative and positive effects of narcissism that are present. Chapter 4 deals with the question what might happen if both leaders and followers are high on narcissism. Again, different facets of narcissism are considered. The interaction of leader and follower narcissism is considered in the prediction of relationship conflict and OCB, which is a behaviour beneficial for an organization and not explicitly described in the formal job description. In a multi-source field study with 104 leader-follower dyads, follower narcissistic rivalry positively predicts relationship conflict and in turn negatively affects OCB, whereas follower narcissistic admiration did not lead to conflict and OCB. The Narcissistic Leaders and Dominance Complementarity Model (Grijalva & Harms, 2014) argues that submissive followers are on good terms with narcissistic (dominant) leaders. Based on this complementarity, it was suggested that narcissistic followers should not get along with their narcissistic leaders when both of them are high on narcissistic rivalry. The results showed that if both leader and follower are high on narcissistic rivalry, relationship conflict is strengthened. Other combinations of leaders and followers narcissistic facets do not enhance relationship conflict.In den letzten Jahren ist das Interesse an den Konstrukten Bescheidenheit und Narzissmus durch unbescheidenes Managerverhalten und das Auftreten von Donald Trump gestiegen. Infolgedessen untersuchen Forscher den Einfluss von Bescheidenheit und Narzissmus von Führungskräften und Mitarbeitern im Arbeitskontext. Die bisherige Forschung nutzte allerdings Selbstberichte zur Messung von Bescheidenheit und berücksichtigte keine Facetten von Narzissmus, was Mankos früherer Studien darstellt. Unter Berücksichtigung dieser Aspekte fokussiert sich die Dissertation auf diese beiden Persönlichkeitseigenschaften und untersucht ihren Einfluss auf die Führungskraft-Mitarbeiter-Interaktion und Mitarbeiterleistung. Die Interaktion wird erfasst durch wahrgenommenes Führungsverhalten und Beziehungskonflikt zwischen der Führungskraft und dem Mitarbeiter. In Bezug auf die Mitarbeiterleistung liegt der Fokus auf Extra-Rollen-Verhalten der Mitarbeiter einschließlich der Mitarbeiterstimme und Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). In Kapitel 2 wird der Einfluss der impliziten Bescheidenheit der Führungskraft auf Führungsverhalten untersucht. Das Bescheidenheitsmessparadox beschreibt, dass bescheidene Personen nicht ihre Bescheidenheit angeben, wenn sie direkt danach gefragt werden und umgekehrt. Daher wird ein Impliziter Assoziationstest (IAT) zu Bescheidenheit entwickelt, um die wahre Bescheidenheit einer Führungskraft zu messen. Die Resultate einer Feldstudie mit mehreren Quellen und Erhebungszeitpunkten mit 250 Führungskraft-Mitarbeiter-Dyaden zeigen, dass implizite Bescheidenheit der Führungskraft bescheidenes Führungsverhalten, missbräuchliche Führung und Vertrauen der Mitarbeiter in die Führungskraft vorhersagt, explizite (selbst-berichtete) Bescheidenheit dagegen nicht. Diese Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Messaspekte von großer Wichtigkeit sind, wenn Persönlichkeitseigenschaften wie Bescheidenheit gemessen werden, die anfällig für sozial erwünschtes Antwortverhalten sind. Daher kann der Gebrauch eines IAT zu Bescheidenheit eine Lösung für das Bescheidenheitsmessparadox darstellen, indem Probleme vermieden werden, die beim Gebrauch expliziter Maße zur Messung von Bescheidenheit auftreten. Die Ergebnisse weisen auch darauf hin, dass wahre Bescheidenheit eine wertvolle Persönlichkeitseigenschaft einer Führungskraft ist. Kapitel 3 beschäftigt sich mit Mitarbeiternarzissmus und seinem Einfluss auf Mitarbeiterempowerment und Mitarbeiterstimme. Basierend auf dem Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept werden zwei Facetten von Narzissmus erfasst. Narzisstische Rivalität stellt die dunkle Seite von Narzissmus dar. Im Kontrast dazu kann narzisstische Bewunderung als helle Seite betrachtet werden. Die Ergebnisse einer Feldstudie mit mehreren Quellen und Zeitpunkten mit 268 Führungskraft-Mitarbeiter-Dyaden zeigen, dass narzisstische Rivalität Empowerment negativ beeinflusst und daraufhin die Mitarbeiterstimme, wogegen narzisstische Bewunderung einen positiven Effekt hat. Darüber hinaus werden zwei Moderatoren untersucht, implizite Mitarbeitertheorien der Führungskraft und der Promotionsfokus des Mitarbeiters. Wenn Führungskräfte eine positive Sicht auf ihre Mitarbeiter haben und denken, dass diese im Allgemeinen produktiv und loyal sind, wird der negative Effekt von narzisstischer Rivalität auf Empowerment abgeschwächt. Der Effekt wird auch gedämpft, wenn der Mitarbeiter einen hohen Promotionsfokus hat. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Narzissmus nicht global betrachtet werden sollte. Die Differenzierung von Facetten scheint stattdessen sinnvoll zu sein, um sowohl negative als auch positive Effekte von Narzissmus zu identifizieren. Kapitel 4 beschäftigt sich mit der Frage, was passiert, wenn sowohl die Führungskraft als auch der Mitarbeiter beide hohe Ausprägungen auf Narzissmus haben. Die Interaktion von Führungskraft- und Mitarbeiternarzissmus wird in Bezug auf die Vorhersage von Beziehungskonflikt und OCB betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse einer Feldstudie mit mehreren Quellen und Zeitpunkten mit 104 Führungskraft-Mitarbeiter-Dyaden zeigen, dass narzisstische Rivalität des Mitarbeiters Beziehungskonflikt positiv vorhersagt und als Folge OCB negativ beeinflusst, wohingegen narzisstische Bewunderung nicht zu Konflikt und OCB führt. Dem Narcissistic Leaders and Dominance Complementarity Model zufolge verstehen sich unterwürfige Mitarbeiter gut mit narzisstischen (dominanten) Führungskräften. Basierend auf dieser Komplementarität wird erwartet, dass Mitarbeiter nicht gut mit ihren Führungskräften auskommen sollten, wenn beide hohe Ausprägungen auf narzisstischer Rivalität haben. Die Befunde zeigen, dass Beziehungskonflikt verstärkt wird, wenn sowohl die Führungskraft als auch der Mitarbeiter beide hohe Ausprägungen auf narzisstischer Rivalität haben. Andere Kombinationen der narzisstischen Facetten von Führungskraft und Mitarbeiter verstärken Beziehungskonflikt nicht

Selfies On Social Media: The Role Of Appearance Contingent Self-Worth And Impact On Self-Esteem

In this dissertation, women’s motivation to post selfies, defined as self-taken photographs of only themselves, and the impact of feedback received on these images on self-esteem was investigated. It was hypothesized that women higher in appearance contingent self-worth would have a stronger desire for positive appearance feedback, and that this would result in more frequent selfie posting, as this could be a means of soliciting positive feedback. In addition, it was hypothesized that women higher in appearance contingent self-worth would be more strongly impacted by feedback received on selfies than would women lower in appearance contingent self-worth given that this feedback could be perceived as being appearance-based. Three studies were conducted online, all with female undergraduate students. In Study I (N = 297), survey-based data were collected, and the results indicated that although the correlation between appearance-contingent self-worth and frequency of selfie posting was not significant, there was a significant indirect relationship through the desire to obtain positive appearance feedback. Further, exploratory analyses revealed that appearance contingent self-worth was both directly and indirectly related to the extent to which women edit their photos. In Study II (N = 48), women’s Instagram accounts were accessed to obtain information about the average proportion of their followers who liked their selfies and provided positive appearance-based comments over two months. This information was used in conjunction with self-report measures to determine whether the amount of feedback received was associated with women’s trait self-esteem and appearance satisfaction over that time period. However, due to difficulties with recruitment, all analyses were underpowered and limited conclusions could be drawn about the relationships between selfie feedback on one hand and trait self-esteem and appearance satisfaction on the other. Lastly, in Study III (N = 175), an experimental design was used to determine whether receiving more or less likes than expected on a posted selfie affected women’s state appearance and social self-esteem and resulted in changes in women’s global state self-esteem. The results indicated that receiving more or less likes than expected on a selfie affected changes in global self-esteem, such that women who received more likes than expected experienced increases in state global self-esteem. Appearance contingent self-worth was assessed as a moderator of these potential effects, but was not significant. However, appearance contingent self-worth affected the interpretation of women’s number of received likes. Women higher in appearance contingent self-worth were more likely to attribute their number of received likes to their appearance than were women lower in appearance contingent self-worth. Taken together, the findings of this research suggest that although women higher in appearance contingent self-worth may have a stronger desire for appearance feedback and therefore post selfies more frequently, selfie posting may not always be an appearance-driven act. Appearance contingent self-worth was not directly related to selfie posting, nor did it moderate the impact of received likes on self-esteem. Further, research on the uses and gratifications associated with posting selfies on social media indicates that posting selfies to show one’s appearance and/or gain self-confidence is only one potential motivator underlying the posting of these photos (Alblooshi, 2015; Sung et al., 2016)

Cross-cultural evidence for the influence of positive self-evaluation on cross-cultural differences in well-being

Poster Session F - Well-Being: abstract F197We propose that cultural norms about realism and hedonism contribute to the cross-cultural differences in well-being over and above differences in objective living conditions. To test this hypothesis, we used samples from China and the United States. Results supported the mediating role of positive evaluative bias in cross-cultural differences in well-being.postprin

Values and need satisfaction across 20 world regions

Poster Session F - Motivation/Goals: abstract F78Intrinsic valuing predicts the satisfaction of psychological needs (Niemiec, Ryan, & Deci, 2009). We conceptually replicate and extend this finding across 20 world regions. In multi-level models, Schwartz’s (1992) self-transcendence value was positively related to autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction, even when controlling for the Big Five.postprin

A LITERATURE ANALYSIS ABOUT SOCIAL INFORMATION CONTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES

Social networking sites (SNSs) have emerged as a center for daily social interactions. Every day, millions of users contribute information about themselves, and consume information about others on SNSs. In recent years, we have witnessed a growing number of studies on the issue of social information contribution and consumption behaviors on SNSs. This paper aims to provide a systematic literature review on this topic across different disciplines to understand the current research state and shed light on controversial findings of SNS usage regarding users’ well-being. We identified 126 relevant articles published between 2008 and 2014, and provide an overview of their antecedents and associated outcomes. Our analysis reveals that a majority of existing work focused primarily on social information contribution, its antecedents and favorable outcomes. Only few studies have dealt with contribution behavior and the dark sides of SNS use. Nevertheless, we could identify different characteristics of social information determining the favorability of contribution behavior. Further, we categorized the scarce papers of consumption behavior regarding the social information characteristics and identified different underlying processes: social comparison, monitoring and browsing. These findings contribute to the Information Systems (IS) discipline by consolidating previous knowledge about SNS usage patterns and individual well-being

Narcissistic aggression: lab-based and naturalistic approaches to establishing subtype differences

The thesis describes a series of experiments that explore different approaches to studying narcissistic aggression. These are an experimental psychology approach using behavioural tasks and eye-tracking, a purely psychometric approach using vignettes and self-report measures, and a more naturalistic qualitative approach using web-scraped data from online communities. The aim of these experiments is to develop more of a holistic understanding of narcissistic aggression and subtype differences in trait narcissism, whilst also providing insight into the viability of these approaches for future research

Moral Grandstanding as a Narcissistic Intrinsic Satisfaction

The aim of this study is to define the concept of moral grandstanding and discuss its antecedents, motivations behind it, and implications. Moral grandstanding is described as contributing to moral discourse to persuade others that one is morally respectable. Individuals who value their moral standing are more concerned about their own self than the topics that they claim to discuss. Therefore, it is likely that individuals who perform moral grandstanding may be high on the narcissistic personality trait. Although moral grandstanding can bring about reputation and fame to individuals, it can be associated with society contribution in some cases. While advertising their prosocial behavior, individuals’ true motivation may not be obvious. Thus, it is essential to understand their actual motivation for the behavior in question as well as their level of narcissism in order to understand whether the behavior is considered as an example of moral grandstanding. Pathological narcissism and the intrinsic-extrinsic motivation concept of self-determination theory were used to extend the current understanding of the moral grandstanding concept in the present study. Lastly, the real-life implications of moral grandstanding were discussed with reference to current issues like the pandemic

Narcissistic aggression: lab-based and naturalistic approaches to establishing subtype differences

The thesis describes a series of experiments that explore different approaches to studying narcissistic aggression. These are an experimental psychology approach using behavioural tasks and eye-tracking, a purely psychometric approach using vignettes and self-report measures, and a more naturalistic qualitative approach using web-scraped data from online communities. The aim of these experiments is to develop more of a holistic understanding of narcissistic aggression and subtype differences in trait narcissism, whilst also providing insight into the viability of these approaches for future research