Climbing up or falling down: Narcissism predicts physiological sensitivity to social status in children and their parents

Developmental Science, vol. 24, pp. e13062

Abstract

Children's narcissism may be rooted in sensitivity to social status (i.e., prominence, respect, and influence in a social group), and this sensitivity might be shared with parents. Testing this idea, a randomized experiment examined how children with high narcissism levels and their parents respond to gains and losses of social status. On a simulated social media platform, children (N = 123, ages 8-13) competed with fictitious peers for status and were randomly assigned to gain or lose status. Unbeknownst to children, parents viewed the course of the task. Children's and parents' affective reactions during the task were measured with facial electromyography, which detects spontaneous facial muscle activity linked to positive affect (i.e., zygomaticus major activity, involved in smiling) and negative affect (i.e., corrugator supercilii activity, involved in frowning). Children with higher narcissism levels showed steeper increases in negative affect during status loss and steeper increases in both positive and negative affect during status gain. Their parents mirrored the steeper increase in positive affect during their child's status gain, but they did not mirror the increase in negative affect. These results suggest that children with high narcissism levels and their parents show intensified affective-motivational responses to children's status-relevant experiences. These responses may be transmitted from one generation to the other (e.g., genetically or through parent-child socialization).

Authors 5

1. Stathis Grapsas corresponding

   Tilburg University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Developmental Psychology Tilburg University Tilburg the Netherlands

   Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands

2. Jaap J. A. Denissen

   Utrecht University · Tilburg University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Developmental Psychology Tilburg University Tilburg the Netherlands

   Department of Developmental Psychology Utrecht University Utrecht the Netherlands

   Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, the Netherlands

   Department of Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands

3. Hae Yeon Lee

   Stanford University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Psychology Stanford University Stanford CA USA

   Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

4. Peter A. Bos Aachen Institute of Education and Child Studies Leiden University Leiden The Netherlands Institute of Education and Child Studies

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Education and Child Studies Leiden University Leiden the Netherlands

   Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands

5. Eddie Brummelman

   University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Research Institute of Child Development and Education University of Amsterdam Amsterdam the Netherlands

   Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands