Political parties, politicians, and media increasingly reference narcissism in relation to politics. However, systematic research on this topic was lacking until now.
This study fills the gap by analyzing narcissism levels among a nationally representative sample of Americans surveyed days before the 2016 presidential election.
The key findings: Overall, individuals across different political ideologies displayed similar levels of narcissism traits.
But crucial differences emerged in how these traits were linked to political orientations:
Entitlement: Strongly associated with conservative positions and values.
Exhibitionism: More closely connected to liberal values including party identification.
These relationships highlight that
narcissism, as a multifaceted construct,
is significant for understanding political ideology.
