Entering Adulthood in a Recession Linked to Lower Narcissism Later in Life

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/entering-adulthood-in-a-recession-linked-to-lower-narcissism-later-life.html?utm_source=pressrelease&utm_medium=eureka&utm_campaign=recessionnarcissism

We often attribute the narcissistic tendencies of others to parenting practices or early social experiences. But new research reveals that economic conditions in the formative years of early adulthood may also play a role.

The research shows that people who entered their adulthood during hard economic times are less narcissistic later in life than those who came of age during more prosperous times.

“These findings suggest that economic conditions during this formative period of life not only affect how people think about finances and politics, but also how they think about themselves and their importance relative to others,” says psychological scientist and study author Emily Bianchi of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Narcissists view themselves as unique, special, and entitled to the good things that come their way. Research has shown that adversity tempers narcissism, leading Bianchi to wonder whether economic downturns might dampen such inflated self-regard.

Young adults are disproportionately affected by economic downturns and most are likely to endure humbling setbacks. Given the impressionability of this period of life, dampened narcissism is likely to stay with them for decades to come.

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Importantly, economic conditions in later stages of adulthood did not show the same association with narcissism.

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Recent research has shown that narcissistic CEOs tend to pay themselves considerably more than other senior executives, a signal that they believe they provide unique value to the company and deserve much more compensation than their colleagues.

Data from over 2000 CEOs of publicly traded companies in 2007 showed that CEOs who came of age during harder economic times paid themselves less relative to the next highest-paid executive at their company compared to CEOs who entered adulthood in more prosperous times. The results held even after Bianchi accounted for CEO age, gender, company revenues, assets, and industry.

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