Are narcissists all the same? A new study by Fatvota and Schroeder-Abe, published in the October issue of the Journal of Research in Personality, examines whether communal narcissists differ from other narcissists. What is sectarian narcissism? Before answering that, let me first clarify the meaning of sectarianism and narcissism.
What is a group?
In his 1966 book, Bakan proposed two basic modes of human existence: agency and participation.
Effectiveness refers to aspects of being related to the individual, such as self-assertion, decisiveness, and competence. Company refers to aspects of life related to community, such as helpfulness, cooperation, and trustworthiness.
What is narcissism?
In social psychology, narcissism is generally considered synonymous with grandiose narcissism, a personality trait characterized by inflated views of the self, a sense of entitlement, exploitation, and limited empathy.
Narcissists’ inflated views of themselves are reinforced by power-related self-evaluations (e.g., I am exceptionally smart, competent, attractive, and elegant).
However, narcissists consider themselves exceptional only in traits related to power (such as competence and intelligence) – not communication (such as honesty, agreeableness, and helpfulness).
So a narcissist may think of herself as the most intelligent, beautiful, sexy, or competent person; But not as the friendliest, most sympathetic, considerate or supportive person.
What is sectarian narcissism?
In a 2012 paper, Gebauer and colleagues proposed the agency-communication model, arguing that there are two types of narcissists: operant narcissists (i.e., typical narcissists) and communal narcissists.3
The authors did suggest that some narcissists are highly cooperative and trustworthy. No, communal narcissists have great self-related needs as well. However, the authors suggested that communal narcissists differ from operant narcissists in that they use communal means to meet those same great needs.
To illustrate this difference, let’s use an example to see how these two types of narcissists justify their feelings of entitlement.
Imagine the case of a man who always expects his friends’ gatherings to be planned according to his availability and preferences – even though he rarely stays for long, and sometimes doesn’t show up at all.
If the narcissist is a client (i.e., a typical narcissist), he may justify the current situation by saying, “I deserve special treatment because I am exceptionally intelligent. I am an expert on almost any topic of conversation.
However, a communal narcissist may think this way: “I deserve special treatment because I am kind-hearted, trustworthy, and very helpful; everyone feels comfortable telling me all their problems.
Sectarianism in words only?
Communal narcissists are likely to rate themselves high in prosocial behavior, but does this translate into actual prosocial tendencies, such as being trustworthy, working well with others, listening to others’ problems and offering support?
Related : Is My Mother a Narcissist?
Sociable narcissists, according to the people they interact with, have prosocial traits and low sociability behaviors. What is happening? If societal narcissists are not more positive than other individuals, are they lying to others? Or are they lying to themselves?
According to Schroeder-Abe and Vtvota, one way to answer these questions is to measure narcissists’ implicit and explicit self-perceptions.
Implicit/explicit views on sectarian narcissism
Explicit self-views describe deliberate evaluations of what makes a person different from others. For example, you may think that you look better than the average person (in your class).
Implicit self-views refer to evaluations made unconsciously. Because they are subliminal, they are less likely to be influenced by self-presentational concerns and are therefore more honest reflections of your feelings. For example, although you believe that you are more beautiful than the average person, examining your implicit self-views may show that you have deep doubts about your appearance.
Likewise, a communal narcissist who believes on a conscious level that he or she is extraordinarily helpful may not feel that way at all on a subconscious level. So her explicit and implicit views of herself will be very different.
If so, for the sectarian narcissist, the group may represent “mere talk in the form of hypocritical self-declaration.”
The current study of sectarian narcissism
The current study was conducted to examine the implicit and explicit self-views of societal narcissists. The sample consisted of 630 people (164 males, 466 females, average age 23 years).
Societal narcissism was measured using the 16-item Societal Narcissism Inventory, which includes items such as “I am a great listener” and “I (would be) the best parent on the planet.”
Implicit and explicit societal self-views were assessed using a modified version of the Implicit Association Test, a computerized behavioral test that measures implicit associations based on reaction times.
Analysis of the results showed support for the authors’ hypothesis. Communal narcissism was associated only with explicit collectivist self-views.
Concluding thoughts about sectarian narcissism
Societal narcissists differ from operant narcissists in that they rely on societal means to satisfy their self-needs. The study reviewed in this post suggests that communal narcissists may not, on a subconscious level, believe they are very sociable. Other findings have shown that communal narcissists’ claims about prosocial behavior are not matched by prosocial actions.
However, the results of this investigation do not indicate that communal narcissists are intentionally deceiving the public. The narcissist’s communal beliefs may reflect self-deception, not just public impression management. Narcissists may try to persuade the public in order to deceive themselves. They may be subconsciously saying, “I desperately need to believe that I am exceptional. If you all believe that, then maybe I can really believe that, too.” More research is needed to shed light on the unconscious beliefs of communal narcissists.
