Narcissism And Personality: A Study On Gender And Age Differences

Personality and its importance in distinguishing people

Question:

Discuss about the Analysis Of Personality Theories And Narcissism.

Personality is the most important feature that helps in differentiating people in the human race. Other factors may be common across humanity but personality is a unique and conspicuous factor that brings distinctions among people. Personality can be defined as personal or individual differences in terms of patterns of thinking, behaving and feeling. Personality may express both desirable and undesirable characteristics of an individual (Grijalva & Zhang, 2015) Although many scholars have tried to define personality in different ways, these definitions share the same assumptions about personality in that personality is characterized by continuity and stability and that it plays a major internal role in affecting individuals behavior (Smith, 2008) .Under the aspect of personality is a common trait among people commonly known as narcissi. This can be simply defined as too much or excessive interest in oneself or too much admiration of oneself and the persons physical appearance. This trait in main cases is defined in a way that portrays the fact that it has adverse effects on oneself and one’s behavior. However, this disorder has not been proven clinically to exist (Bardi, 2015). Narcissism according to many scholars is attributed to genetic makeup and inheritances as well few environmental factors. People with this personality trait are said to be thinking too much and working so hard in order to be above others so that they command more admiration (Twenge, Miller & Campbell, 2014) the trait is believed to have been manifested mostly in men than in women. This paper therefore aims at giving a report on narcissism basing its findings on the experimentations carried on the students. The paper is aimed at finding out the prevalence of narcissism between the young and the old, male and female. This was   achieved by the thorough utilization of the resource materials provided and analysis of different personality related theories.

1. Is there any difference in the rate of narcissism between males and female?
2. Is there any difference in the rate of narcissism between young people (18 to 25 years) and the old (above 26)?

1 .Gender

Null hypothesis – Gender   has no significant effect on the rate of narcissism

Alternative hypothesis-Gender has significant effects on the rate of narcissism

2 .Age

Null hypothesis-Age has no significant effect on the rate of narcissism

Alternative hypothesis-Age has a significant effect on the rate of narcissism

(“Psychotherapy in an age of narcissism: modernity, science, and society”, 2013)

Survey sampling with the help of questionnaires was used to collect data .The questionnaires aimed at answering two major questions and also both the null and alternative hypothesis regarding the research.

A sample of 317 participants was chosen to fill the questionnaires. This sample was a mixture of friends and families of the student’s .Out of the 317 participants, on students were 201 while students were 116. 227 participants were female while 90 were male. These participants were between the age of 18 to 84 years whereby116 were between the age of 18 to 25 years were 201 while those above 26 years were 116. And therefore the mean age was 32.94 years while the standard deviation from the mean age was 13.03 years. The questioners used were filled by all the participants less 16 of them. The questionnaire consisted of 16 a must to be answered questions where the respondents had to choose between one of the provided questions either narcissism-consistent response or narcissism –inconsistent response. The final answer or score was computed by finding the mean across the 16 questions that were answered by the participants.

Definition and characteristics of personality

Preparation and collection of data

The aim if the research conducted was to answer two questions in relation to narcissism rates. The first question was to find out whether there is a difference in the rate of narcissism between males and females and the second questions was to find whether there is a difference in the rate of narcissism between the young and the old. The two questions were used to generate two hypotheses. In this questionnaire, every participant was required to fill in the form demographic details plus the 16 items drawn from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory co

Commonly known as N-16 in short form. Basing on the N-16, an average was computed to acquire what each participant scored. This data was collected and analyzed by the use of SPSS statistics and was carried out by the teaching team.

Average agreement with the 16 statements on the N-16 was computed to create a narcissism score for each participant. Data were collated and analyzed by the teaching team using SPSS Statistics.

Findings

A t-test was conducted to ensure that true and consistent results were achieved.

 Gender: t (315) = -5.272, p<.05

Age: t (315) = .823, p>.05

Hypothesis rejection and acceptance

Gender: t (315) =-5.272, p

Age: t (315) =0.823, p>0.05 therefore the null hypothesis will not be rejected neither can the alternative hypothesis be accepted.Therefore; evidence against null hypothesis should be brought forth.

Results

Mean scores of narcissism are presented below for males and females and young and old individuals. See Table 1.

Table 1

Mean rates of narcissism by gender and age

An independent measures t-test was conducted to determine if there were difference rates of narcissism for males and females. Results showed that males scored an average of _________ (SD = 0.18), while females scored an average of __________ (SD=0.16). This difference was significant/not significant …significant……………..

An independent measures t-test was conducted to determine if there was difference rates of narcissism for young (18-25) and old (25 and above) people. Results showed that young individuals scored an average of _________ (SD = 0.17), while old individuals scored an average of __________ (SD=0.17). This difference was significant/not significant ……neither significant nor insignificant.…………… 

The table above presents results that were obtained after carrying out the analysis of the collected data. From the table above, the results were presented as follows. In the determination to find whether there is difference between rates of narcissism between males and females, the results found were that, SD=0.18 for male and SD=0.16 for women. On the other hand, the t-test based on age that is whether there is difference in the rate of narcissism between the young and the old bearded results as follows; the young people had SD=0.17 while the old had SD=0.17

Discussion

The research was carried out with an aim of answering two questions .One was whether gender affects rate of narcissism and the second question to be addressed using the findings was whether age affects rates of narcissism. The results obtained on the table above and the calculation of p value can be used to reject or accept the null and alternative hypotheses of both age and gender

Narcissism and its effects on behavior

In gender is less than 0.05 which means that the null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted. This therefore means that gender has got significant effects on the rate of narcissim.In other words, the rate of narcissism is not equal across both gender. Either male or females have a higher rate of narcissism over the other and vice versa. Studies will help to find and know the right answer to this.

 In age, the value of p is greater that o.o5 and therefore the null hypothesis will not be rejected neither is the alternative hypothesis accepted. By this, it does not mean that age affects rate of narcissism neither does it mean that age does not affect the rate of narcissism. However, in such a case, the only way forward is to find evidences against null hypothesis that is, to find evidences that age affects the rate of narcissism.

In the research carried out and the results tabled as shown above, the  hypothesis has been rejected and the alternative accepted which means that gender plays a role in the determination of an individual’s rate of narcissim.In other words, the rate of narcissism among male and female varies.Therefore,to make it clear, some literature contributions by different scholars will be used Campbell a scholar who had interest in finding more knowledge about narcissism conducted an investigation on narcissism and ethnicity, age and gender. The findings of the study showed that the rate of narcissism among the male is dominant over that of women That is, male tend to have self-admiration and recognition more than women… ( Campbell, and Twenge 2003) In the real world situation, it is true that men always want to express their dominance either in physical features or even by use of their talents. Self-admiration is manifested in different aspects for example walking styles, interactions and the relationships that men have amongst themselves. It is true that no man on earth would like to be defeated (“Supplemental Material for Consensual Lay Profiles of Narcissism and Their Connection to the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory“, 2018). Everyone feels that he is more superior that the other, trait that may adversely affect personality development. For instance if a man has narcissism and feels that he is above others, in case someone else defeats him or beats him in certain aspects, It may result in an aggressive response or inferiority complex. According to the research done by Campbel, it shows that men have a high self-esteem and self-efficiency than women.

From the results obtained above, the p value is more than 0.05 and therefore the null hypothesis was neither rejected nor the alternative hypothesis accepted. In other words, we cannot conclude that age has no relationship with the rate of narcissism neither can we conclude that age has effect on the rate of narcissism (“Recentering Pedagogy in an Age of Narcissism”, 2013)  To arrive at the right answer, evidences against the null hypothesis must be found. These evidences therefore support the fact age affects the rate of narcissim.One of the studies to support these evidences is by the use of a study carried out by Mac Stewart and Chris Sibley in the New Zealand. The research indicated a high prevalence of narcissism among the young people and the main reason given by these scholars is that people at the young age tend to exhibit sexual attractive behavior and this is what increases the rate if narcissism among them because they are trying to attract each other by expressing their superiority and a high self-esteem (Macenczak, Campbell, Henley & Campbell, 2016).  Another evidence that can be used is a study by Campbel.In his discussion after the study, the scholar concluded that the rate of narcissism was higher among the young compared to the old (??? & Lim Sung Moon, 2016) He gave out the argument that this is because as one grows up, he or she encounters many difficulties that suppress personality and by old age, all the narcissism in an individual will have been removed. On the other hand, at young age, one has not experienced the troubles of the world. The young are still living in fantasies and temporary pleasures like the pleasures of dating, joining university, finding new jobs and earning salary but as life goes on some problem which are beyond the young people’s ability emerge and the rate of their narcissism automatically starts reducing. In real world situation, (Miller, Gentile, Wilson & Campbell, 2013).  It is true because young people are seen to be hyper and excited about life. They party a lot, club, and go for picnics and hikes compared to the old who are calm. (“A REVIEW ON NARCISSISM AND RESEARCHES RELATED NARCISSISM”, 2013). However,as time goes by, the young people settle down some get married and the trend changes because they encounter bigger problems because the challenges they are facing become tough and tougher and their level of narcissism slows starts to become low (Oh & Park, 2017)

Research aim and methodology

The use of t-test in comparison sometimes may yield inaccurate results for instance, the difference found may be insignificant but if the same data is subjected to regression, the results will indicate that there exists a significant difference between variables under study.The following may have been the limitations (Macenczak, Campbell, Henley & Campbell, 2016)

Effect sizes. There should be defined tools that help in the rejection and hypothesis. Failure occurs when the only tool used in decision making is the p value. This is because a small value of p does not necessarily mean that there is no significant difference because if the same sample is subjected to regression test, the results will be opposite (“Measures of Narcissism and Their Relations to DSM-5 Pathological Traits”, 2014)

Psychological factors are qualitative in nature and therefore subjecting a qualitative data to quantitative tools of analysis and interpretations may result in biased results or unrealistic results. Therefore when carrying out such a study, an appropriate method should be chosen (Miller et al., 2011)

Conclusion

Narcissism as one of personality trait is an important aspect that affects personality development though it varies according to gender and age (“The Narcissism Epidemic, edited by Jean W. Twenge & W. Keith Campbell”, 2011) Scholars in many ways have conducted different tests to expand knowledge on narcissism and it is from these publications that the above conclusions and assumptions about narcissism have been made basing on the results obtained from the survey. In conclusion therefore, after the study was carried out, the following conclusions can be made. First is that narcissism rates are high among the young than the old. Two is that when compared to female, male have a higher rate of narcissism than females (Leckelt et al., 2016)

References

A Review On Narcissism And Researches Related Narcissism. (2013). Nesne Psikoloji Dergisi, 1(2). https://dx.doi.org/10.7816/nesne-01-02-03

Bardi, C. (2015). Narcissism, narcissism everywhere. Psyccritiques, 60(31). https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039264

Controversies in Narcissism. (2017). Annual Review Of Clinical Psychology, 13(1), 291-315. https://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045244

Grijalva, E., & Zhang, L. (2015). Narcissism and Self-Insight. Personality And Social Psychology Bulletin, 42(1), 3-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167215611636

Leckelt, M., Back, M., Foster, J., Hutteman, R., Jaeger, G., & McCain, J. et al. (2016). Entering adulthood in a recession tempers later narcissism – But only in men. Journal Of Research In Personality, 60, 8-11. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2015.10.006

Macenczak, L., Campbell, S., Henley, A., & Campbell, W. (2016). Direct and interactive effects of narcissism and power on overconfidence. Personality And Individual Differences, 91, 113-122. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.11.053

Measures of Narcissism and Their Relations to DSM-5 Pathological Traits. (2014). Assessment,23(1), 3-9. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1073191114522909

Miller, J., Gentile, B., Wilson, L., & Campbell, W. (2013). Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism and theDSM–5Pathological Personality Trait Model. Journal Of Personality Assessment, 95(3), 284-290. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2012.685907

Miller, J., Hoffman, B., Gaughan, E., Gentile, B., Maples, J., & Keith Campbell, W. (2011). Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism: A Nomological Network Analysis. Journal Of Personality, 79(5), 1013-1042. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00711.x

Oh, H., & Park, k. (2017). The Mediation Effects of Shame between Covert Narcissism and Social Anxiety. Korean Journal Of Youth Studies, 24(1), 335. https://dx.doi.org/10.21509/kjys.2017.01.24.1.335

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The Narcissism Epidemic, edited by Jean W. Twenge & W. Keith Campbell. (2011). Psychiatry: Interpersonal And Biological Processes, 74(2), 166-169. https://dx.doi.org/10.1521/psyc.2011.74.2.166

Twenge, J., Miller, J., & Campbell, W. (2014). The narcissism epidemic: Commentary on Modernity and narcissistic personality disorder. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, And Treatment, 5(2), 227-229. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/per0000008

???, & Lim Sung Moon. (2016). The relationship between self-esteem and aggression among adolescents: The moderating effects of narcissism and self-concept clarity. Studies On Korean Youth, 27(4), 231-258. https://dx.doi.org/10.14816/sky.2016.27.4.231

 Supplemental Material for Consensual Lay Profiles of Narcissism and Their Connection to the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory. (2018). Psychological Assessment. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pas0000460.supp

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