Exposure to Celebrities as a Possible Explanatory Mechanism in the Perception of American Narcissism

Abstract

Recent studies have examined perceived levels of narcissism as rated by Americans and non-Americans and found support for early assumptions that American culture is perceived as narcissistic (Miller et al., 2015;Wolfe, 1976). However, specific reasons for this phenomenon remain unclear. The aim of the current study was to test if proximal, salient exposure to narcissistic exemplars (i.e., celebrities) acts as one mechanism that explains this perception. Participants (N = 300) were randomly assigned to exposure to either celebrity magazines or neutral magazines conditions, and subsequently asked to provide American PNC ratings. No hypothesized differences by condition were found in terms of narcissism or FFM profile; however, American PNCs were rated as pathologically narcissistic in both conditions. Keywords: narcissism; personality; culture; perception of national character Although theorists have characterized American culture as narcissistic for nearly 40 years (e.g., Lasch, 1979;Twenge & Campbell, 2009;Wolfe, 1976), this assertion has only recently received empirical examination. Researchers have begun to study perception of national character (PNC) ratings, or beliefs about collective features of members within a cultural group, to investigate perceived differences across cultures. To investigate global PNC of Americans, Terracciano and McCrae (2007) surveyed individuals from 49 countries and gathered ratings of "Americans in general" on the Five Factor Model of personality (FFM). Findings suggested that the average American was regarded as particularly assertive, arrogant, and noncompliant. More recently, Campbell, Miller, and Buffardi (2010) used measures of narcissism in addition to the FFM to examine PNC ratings of Americans by American young adults. They also compared the personality profiles obtained by Terracciano and McCrae (2007) to expert-rated and metaanalytically derived profiles of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). As hypothesized, American PNC ratings converged strongly with both expert-rated and metaanalytic NPD profiles, suggesting that Americans were perceived as pathologically narcissistic. In terms of FFM traits, the authors conclude, "we see ourselves, others, and our culture as characterized by higher levels of extraversion; these ratings differ, however, with regard to agreeableness, where we see our culture as being less agreeable than we see ourselves and our close acquaintances" (p. 227).More recently, Miller et al. (2015) conducted an extensive investigation of the magnitude, nature, and generalizability of PNC ratings of Americans by both Americans and non-Americans alike. The authors replicated previous findings about PNCs of American narcissism in a community sample of older adults, and found that in addition to pathological personality traits, the typical American is thought to demonstrate a remarkably high level of antisocial behavior (e.g. committing five or more criminal acts in the past 12 months). Importantly, subsequent results suggest that PNC ratings differed b...