A Sociocultural Approach to Narcissism: The Case of Modern China

Abstract

Using large Internet samples, we examined the possible influence of sociodemographic factors on the Chinese self–concept and in particular, on the level of narcissism. We found that (i) younger persons are more narcissistic than older ones; (ii) persons from higher socioeconomic classes are more narcissistic than those from lower socioeconomic classes; (iii) persons from only–child families are more narcissistic than those from families with multiple children; (iv) persons from urban areas are more narcissistic than those from rural areas; and (v) individualistic values are predictive of individual differences in narcissism. The findings suggest that sociocultural changes contribute to the rise of narcissism in China. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords

narcissism self-concept individualism China

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler

N. E.

, & Matthews

(1994). Health psychology: Why do some people get sick and some stay well? Annual Review of Psychology, 45, 229–259.

Adler

N. E.

, & Rehkopf

D. H.

(2008). U.S. disparities in health: Descriptions, causes, and mechanisms. Annual Review of Public Health, 29, 235–252.

Antithrombotic Trialists (ATT) Collaboration. (2009). Aspirin in the primary and secondary prevention of vascular disease: Collaborative meta–analysis of individual participant data from randomised trials. Lancet, 373, 1849–1860.

Bond

M. H.

(1996). The handbook of Chinese psychology. New York, NY, US: Oxford University Press.

Bristow

(2007, September 20). Has China's one–child policy worked? BBC News. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia–pacific/7000931.stm

Buchanan

, & Smith

J. L.

(1999). Using the internet for psychological research: Personality testing on the world wide web. British Journal of Psychology, 90, 125–144.

Cai

, Lin

, Wu

, Yan

, & Huang

(2008). Examining the measurement invariance between paper–and–pencil and internet–administered tests in China. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 40, 228–239.

Cai

, Sedikides

, Gaertner

, Wang

, Carvallo

, Xu

, … Jackson

L. E.

(2011). Tactical self–enhancement in China: Is modesty at the service of self–enhancement in East–Asian culture? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 59–64.

Campbell

W. K.

, Brunell

A. B.

, & Finkel

E. J.

(2006). Narcissism, interpersonal self–regulation, and romantic relationships: An agency model approach. In Vohs

K. D.

, & Finkel

E. J.

(Eds.), Self and relationships: Connecting intrapersonal and interpersonal processes (pp. 57–83). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

10.

Campbell

W. K.

, Rudich

, & Sedikides

(2002). Narcissism, self–esteem, and the positivity of self–views: Two portraits of self–love. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 358–368.

11.

Chen

S. X.

(2009). Explaining individuating behavior across cultures: The contributions of values and social axioms. In Leung

, & Bond

M. H.

(Eds.), Psychological aspects of social axioms: Understanding global belief systems (pp. 293–315). New York: Springer SBM.

12.

Chen

, Chiu

C.–y.

, & Chan

S. F.

(2009). The cultural effects of job mobility and the belief in a fixed world: Evidence from performance forecast. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 851–865.

13.

Chen

, Lee

S.–Y.

, & Stevenson

H. W.

(1995). Response style and cross–cultural comparisons of rating scales among East Asian and North American students. Psychological Science, 6, 170–175.

14.

Cohen

, West

S. G.

, Cohen

, & Aiken

(2002). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd edn). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Association Inc.

15.

Curtis

J. M.

, & Cowell

D. R.

(1993). Relation of birth order and scores on measures of pathological narcissism. Psychological Reports, 72, 311–315.

16.

Elder

G. H.

Jr. , King

, & Conger

R. D.

(1996). Intergenerational continuity and change in rural lives: Historical and developmental insights. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 19, 433–455.

17.

Eyring

W. E.

, & Sobelman

(1996). Narcissism and birth order. Psychological Reports, 78, 403–406.

18.

Foster

J. D.

, Campbell

W. K.

, & Twenge

J. M.

(2003). Individual differences in narcissism: Inflated self–views across the lifespan and around the world. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 469–486.

19.

Freeman

M. A.

(1997). Demographic correlates of individualism and collectivism: A study of social values in Sri Lanka. Journal of Cross–Cultural Psychology, 28, 321–341.

20.

Gaertner

, Sedikides

, Cai

, & Brown

J. D.

(2010). It's not WEIRD, it's WRONG: When Researchers Overlook uNderlying Genotypes, they will not detect universal processes. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 33–34.

21.

Georgas

(1989). Changing family values in Greece. Journal of Cross–Cultural Psychology, 20, 80–91.

22.

Greenfield

M. P.

(1997). Culture as process: Empirical methods for cultural psychology. In Berry

J. W.

, Poortinga

Y. H.

, & Pandey

(Eds.), Handbook of cross–cultural psychology (2nd edn, Vol. 1, pp. 301–346). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

23.

Greenfield

P. M.

(2009). Linking social change and developmental change: Shifting pathways of human development. Developmental Psychology, 45, 401–418.

24.

Gregg

A. P.

, & Sedikides

(2010). Narcissistic fragility: Rethinking its links to explicit and implicit self–esteem. Self and Identity, 9, 142–161.

25.

Hart

C. M.

, Sedikides

, Wildschut

, Arndt

, Routledge

, & Vingerhoets

Ad J. J. M.

(2011). Nostalgic recollections of high and low narcissists. Journal of Research in Personality, 45, 238–242.

26.

Heine

S. J.

, & Hamamura

(2007). In search of East Asian self–enhancement. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11, 1–24.

27.

Henrich

, Heine

S. J.

, & Norenzayan

(2010). The weirdest people in the world? The Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, 61–83, 111–135.

28.

Horton

R. S.

, & Sedikides

(2009). Narcissistic responding to ego threat: When the status of the evaluator matters. Journal of Personality, 77, 1493–1525.

29.

Horton

R. S.

, Bleau

, & Drwecki

(2006). Parenting narcissus: What are the links between parenting and narcissism? Journal of Personality, 74, 345–376.

30.

Jordan

C. H.

, Spencer

S. J.

, Zanna

M. P.

, Hoshino–Browne

, & Correll

(2003). Secure and defensive high self–esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 969–978.

31.

Joubert

C. E.

(1989). Birth order and narcissism. Psychological Reports, 64, 721–722.

32.

Kitayama

(2010). Editorial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36, 3–4.

33.

Kohn

M. L.

, & Schooler

(1983). Work and personality: An inquiry into the impact of social stratification. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publ.

34.

Konrath

, Bushman

, & Grove

(2009). Seeing my world in a million little pieces: Narcissism, self–construal, and cognitive–perceptual style. Journal of Personality, 77, 1197–1228.

35.

Kwan

V. S. Y.

, Hui

C. M.

, & McGee

J. A.

(2010). What do we know about the Chinese self? In Bond

M. H.

(Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (2nd edn, pp. 279–294). Oxford, England: Dover Publications.

36.

Kwan

V. S. Y.

, Kuang

L. L.

, & Hui

N. H. H.

(2009). Identifying the sources of self–esteem: The mixed medley of benevolence, merit, and bias. Self and Identity, 8, 176–195.

37.

Lachman

M. E.

, & Weaver

S. L.

(1998). The sense of control as a moderator of social class differences in health and well–being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 763–773.

38.

T. N.

(2005). Narcissism and immature love as mediators of vertical individualism and ludic love style. Journal of Social and Personal Relationship, 22, 542–560.

39.

Lebeau

(1988). The “Silver–Spoon” syndrome in the super rich: The pathological linkage of affluence and narcissism in family systems. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 42, 425–436.

40.

Leung

A. K.

, Maddux

W. W.

, Galinsky

A. D.

, & Chiu

(2008). Multicultural experience enhances creativity: The when and how. American Psychologist, 63, 169–181.

41.

Loucky

J. P.

(1976). Psychological consequences of cottage industry: A highland Guatemalan comparison. Anthropology UCLA, 8, 115–127.

42.

Markus

H. R.

, & Kitayama

(1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224–253.

43.

Markus

, & Kitayama

(2010). Cultures and selves: A cycle of mutual constitution. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 420–430.

44.

Mesquita

, Frijda

N. H.

, & Scherer

(1997). Culture and emotion. In Berry

J. W.

, Dasen

P. R.

, & Saraswathi

T. S.

(Eds.), Handbook of cross–cultural psychology (2nd edn, Vol. 2, pp. 255–297). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

45.

Miller

J. D.

, & Campbell

W. K.

(2008). Comparing clinical and social–personality conceptualizations of narcissism. Journal of Personality, 76, 449–476.

46.

Millon

(1981). Disorders of personality. New York, NY: Wiley.

47.

Morf

C. C.

, Horvath

, & Torchetti

(2011). Narcissistic self–enhancement: Tales of (Successful?) self–portrayal. In Alicke

M. D.

, & Sedikides

(Eds.), Handbook of self–enhancement and self–protection (pp. 399–424). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

48.

National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2008a). China statistic yearbook. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2008/indexch.htm

49.

National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2008b). China statistic yearbook. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2008/indexch.htm

50.

National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2008c). China statistic yearbook. Retrieved from http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/ndsj/2008/html/D0301e.htm

51.

Nosek

B. A.

, Banaji

, & Greenwald

A. G.

(2002). Harvesting implicit group attitude and beliefs from a demonstration web site. Group Dynamics, 6, 101–115.

52.

Öberg

, Jaakkola

M. S.

, Woodward

, Peruga

, & Prüss–Ustün

(2011). Worldwide burden of disease from exposure to second–hand smoke: A retrospective analysis of data from 192 countries. Lancet, 377, 139–146.

53.

Oishi

(2010). The psychology of residential mobility: Implications for the self, social relationships, and well–being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 5–21.

54.

Prentice

D. A.

, & Miller

D. T.

(1992). When small effects are impressive. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 160–164.

55.

Raskin

, & Terry

(1988). A principal–components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 890–902.

56.

Roberts

B. W.

, & Helson

(1997). Changes in culture, changes in personality: The influence of individualism in a longitudinal study of women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 641–651.

57.

Saxe

G. B.

(1982). Culture and the development of numerical cognition: Studies among the Oksapmin of Papua New Guinea. In Brainerd

C. J.

(Ed.), Children's logical and mathematical cognition (pp. 157–176). New York, NY: Springer–Verlag.

58.

Sedikides

, Campbell

W. K.

, Reeder

, Elliot

A. J.

, & Gregg

A. P.

(2002). Do others bring out the worst in narcissists? The “Others Exist for Me” illusion. In Kashima

, Foddy

, & Platow

(Eds.), Self and identity: Personal, social, and symbolic (pp. 103–123). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

59.

Sedikides

, Gaertner

, & Toguchi

(2003). Pancultural self–enhancement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 60–70.

60.

Sedikides

, Gaertner

, & Vevea

J. L.

(2005). Pancultural self–enhancement reloaded: A meta–analytic reply to Heine (2005). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 539–551.

61.

Sedikides

, Rudich

E. A.

, Gregg

A. P.

, Kumashiro

, & Rusbult

(2004). Are normal narcissists psychologically healthy? Self–esteem matters. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 400–416.

62.

Seymour

S. C.

(1999). Women, family, and child care in India: A world in transition. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

63.

Simon

(2007). China's me generation. Time, June 26, 2007. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1647228,00.html

64.

Singelis

T. M.

, Triandis

H. C.

, Bhawuk

D. P. S.

, & Gelfand

M. J.

(1995). Horizontal and vertical dimensions of individualism and collectivism: A theoretical and measurement refinement. Journal of Cross–Cultural Research, 29, 240–275.

65.

Stephens

, Markus

H. R.

, & Townsend

S. S. M.

(2007). Choice as an act of meaning: The case of social class. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 814–830.

66.

Tao

& Chiu

(1985). The only–child–per–family policy: A psychological perspective. In Tseng

W. S.

, & Wu

D. Y. H.

(Eds.), Chinese culture and mental health (pp. 153–166). Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

67.

Triandis

H. C.

, & Gelfand

M. J.

(1998). Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 118–128.

68.

Trzesniewski

K. H.

, & Donnellan

M. B.

(2010). Rethinking “Generation Me”: A study of cohort effects from 1976–2006. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 58–75.

69.

Trzesniewski

K. H.

, Donnellan

M. B.

, & Robins

R. W.

(2008). Do today's young people really think they are so extraordinary? An examination of secular trends in narcissism and self–enhancement. Psychological Science, 19, 181–188.

70.

Twenge

J. M.

, & Foster

J. D.

(2008). Mapping the scale of the narcissism epidemic: Increases in narcissism 2002–2007 within ethnic groups. Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1619–1622.

71.

Twenge

J. M.

, & Foster

J. D.

(2010). Birth cohort increases in narcissistic personality traits among American college students, 1982–2009. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 1, 99–106.

72.

Twenge

J. M.

, & Im

(2007). Changes in the need for social approval, 1958–2001. Journal of Research in Personality, 41, 171–189.

73.

Twenge

J. M.

, Campbell

W. K.

, & Gentile

(in press). Generational increases in agentic self–evaluations among American college students, 1966–2009. Self and Identity.

74.

Twenge

J. M.

, Konrath

, Foster

J. D.

, Campbell

W. K.

, & Bushman

B. J.

(2008a). Egos inflating over time: A cross–temporal meta–analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality, 76, 875–901.

75.

Twenge

J. M.

, Konrath

, Foster

J. D.

, Campbell

W. K.

, & Bushman

B. J.

(2008b). Further evidence of an increase in narcissism among college students. Journal of Personality, 76, 919–927.

76.

Vohs

K. D.

, Mead

N. L.

, & Goode

M. R.

(2006). Merely activating the concept of money changes personal and interpersonal behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 208–12.

77.

Wang

N. Z.

(1984). The socialization of the only child in China. Paper presented at the Conference on Child Socialization and Mental Health, East–West Center, Honolulu, HI.

78.

Zhang

, Zhang

, Xu

, & Zhao

(2006). Investigation on the self–esteem, identity and attribution tendencies of secondary vocational technical school students. Chinese Journal of Clinical Psychology, 14, 513–514.