Gregg, Aiden P.

Mahadevan, Nikhila

English

Roehampton University Research Repository

Acknowledgements: Part of this research was supported by a grant from the John Templeton FoundationIs Self-Regard a Sociometer or a Hierometer?: The Impact of Manipulating Status and Inclusion on Self-Esteem and NarcissismNikhila Mahadevan1*, Aiden P. Gregg2, & Constantine Sedikides21University of Roehampton, UK, 2University of Southampton, UK*Contact: N.Mahadevan@soton.ac.uk1. Leary, M.R. (1999). Making Sense of Self-Esteem. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 32-35.2. Leary, M.R., Tambor, E.S., Terdal, S.K., & Downs, D.L. (1995). Self-esteem as an interpersonal monitor: The sociometer hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 518-530.3. Mahadevan, N., Gregg, A.P., Sedikides, C., & De Waal-Andrews, W.G. (2016). Winners, losers, insiders, and outsiders: Comparing hierometer and sociometer theories of self-regard. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 334.6. References 5. Conclusions and Implications 1. Why do we possessself-esteem? One theory, namely, Sociometer Theory(SMT; Leary, 1999) proposes that becauseinclusion in social groups was crucial to ourancestors’ survival, self-esteem evolved totrack our level of inclusion in social groups,and raise this level of inclusion when it got toolow.In support of SMT, being included raises self-esteem and being excluded lowers it (Leary,Tambor, Terdal, & Downs, 1995).An evolutionary approach to self-esteemSelf-esteem or how we feel about ourselves is one of the most popular topics in psychology. But what evolutionary function does it serve?3. Hypotheses1. Higher status and higher inclusion both predict higher self-esteem.2. Higher status but not higher inclusion predicts higher narcissism.Self-esteem operates as both a sociometer and a hierometer, tracking both status and inclusion.Narcissism operates predominantly as a hierometer, chiefly tracking status.2. Hierometer TheoryScientific  Objective To develop and test anew theory of self-regard called Hierometer Theory (HMT). HMT proposes that self-esteem and narcissismtrack status.Apes fight for statusMost primate and human societies possess social hierarchies and competition:Human beings desire and pursue statusHMT proposes that self-esteem and narcissism track people’s position in the social hierarchy, and motivate behaviour suitable to their social role (Mahadevan, Gregg, Sedikides, & De Waal-Andrews, 2016).Study 1Experimental Study  (Conducted at the University of Southampton, UK)4 Feedback Conditions (2×2):1 High Status High Inclusion2High Status Low Inclusion3Low Status High Inclusion4Low Status Low InclusionParticipants: 104 undergraduates (17 ♂, 87 ♀;MAGE = 19.69; SDAGE = 4.39; From UoS).Method: Participants completed a fake test & received false feedback indicating they had either high or low potential to achieve status, and either high or low potential to be included, in life. Their self-esteem and narcissism were measured in response.2×2 ANOVA(IVs: Status & Inclusion, DVs: Self-esteem & Narcissism)1. This research sheds light on the function of self-regard. It shows that self-esteem operates not only as a sociometer that tracks inclusion, but also and no less strongly, as a hierometer that tracks status.2. It proposes and tests a functional role for narcissism in addition to self-esteem, showing that narcissism operates chiefly as a hierometer that tracks status.3. It establishes, for the first time, independent causal links between these constructs: changes in status cause corresponding changes in self-esteem, independent of inclusion. Changes in inclusion cause corresponding changes in self-esteem but not narcissism, independent of status.4. It adds to recent work on state narcissism.5. Future research should examine the second part of the causal chain, that changes in self-esteem cause changes in assertive behaviour, and that self-esteem mediates the link between status and assertive behaviour.Higher status and higher inclusion both predicted higher self-esteem. Higher status predicted higher narcissism; however, inclusion did not affect narcissism.Measures:Self-esteem: Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES); Narcissism: Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-16)5.35 5.224.54 4.613.544.555.5High StatusLow StatusHigh InclusionLow InclusionSelf-Esteem4.01 3.913.61 3.673.544.555.5High StatusLow StatusHigh InclusionLow InclusionNarcissismImpactDevelops and tests a new theory and establishes independent causality for the first timeStudy 2Experimental Study  (Conducted at the University of Southampton, UK)4 Feedback Conditions (2×2):1 High Status High Inclusion2High Status Low Inclusion3Low Status High Inclusion4Low Status Low InclusionParticipants: 259 undergraduates (60 ♂, 199 ♀;MAGE = 19.50; SDAGE = 2.74; From UoS).Method: Participants completed a fake test & received false feedback indicating they had either high or low potential to achieve status, and either high or low potential to be included, in life. Their self-esteem and narcissism were measured in response.2×2 ANOVA(IVs: Status & Inclusion, DVs: Self-esteem & Narcissism)Self-esteem Narcissism Status F(1, 255) = 87.42*** F(1, 255) = 5.14*Inclusion F(1, 255) = 39.95*** F(1, 255) = 8.52***p < .05; **p < .01, **p < .001. Higher status and higher inclusion both predicted higher self-esteem. Higher status predicted higher narcissism; however, higher inclusion predicted lower narcissism.Measures:Self-esteem and Narcissism: Specially-constructed single-item measures5.875.524.164.4344.555.56High StatusLow StatusHigh InclusionLow InclusionSelf-Esteem4.193.733.794.223.544.555.5High StatusLow StatusHigh InclusionLow InclusionNarcissism*** ns**** *****Self-esteem Narcissism Status F(1, 103) = 9.10** F(1, 103) = 4.07*Inclusion F(1, 103) = 4.59* F(1, 103) = 1.08 ns*p < .05; **p < .01. *

Is Self-Regard a Sociometer or a Hierometer? The Impact of Manipulating Status and Inclusion on Self-Esteem and Narcissism.

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Is Self-Regard a Sociometer or a Hierometer? The Impact of Manipulating Status and Inclusion on Self-Esteem and Narcissism.

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