Date: June 30, 2018
Abstract
Children with high levels of narcissism appear highly confident, dominant and charismatic. Therefore, they are likely to emerge as leaders in groups. Narcissists feel entitled to a leadership role and can feel humiliated in lower status positions. As a reaction, narcissists might feel angry and break social norms, in order to be perceived as more powerful. This is the first study to examine how narcissism in children (ages 8 to 16) is related to their feelings and behavior in a higher status (leader) or lower status (follower) role and how their behavior affects group members’ perceptions of leadership. Using a hidden-profile paradigm, 332 children were randomly assigned to be the leader or follower in a group decision-making task. Children completed questionnaires to measure their feelings and personality traits. Norm-breaking behavior was measured from videotaped group discussions using event-coding techniques. Contrary to our expectations, narcissistic followers did not experience more anger or break more social norms compared to narcissistic leaders and compared to non-narcissists. In addition, even though narcissists were more likely to emerge as leaders in classrooms, narcissism was neither positively nor negatively associated with leader emergence in the group task, through norm breaking behavior. These results extend our knowledge on how narcissistic children respond to lower status positions and indicate that they are not successful in pursuing leader roles during group tasks.
Keywords: Narcissism, Role Assignment, Leader Emergence, Norm Violations.
Thrown off the Throne: How Narcissistic Children React to Role Assignment
When we think of leadership, certain traits come to mind such as power, strength, intelligence, and charisma. From an early age, leaders naturally emerge from interactions and have a substantial influence over peers and the classroom environment (van der Ploeg, 2011). Narcissists are especially likely to emerge as leaders. Due to their constant craving for admiration and their inflated view of the self, narcissists are drawn to leadership positions and resist roles of lesser status (Brunell et al., 2008; Benson, Jordan, & Christie, 2016). Since narcissists desire to display their feelings of superiority, they might even lash out in a lower status role (Thomaes & Brummelman, 2016). What is unclear, however, is how narcissism in children is related to their feelings and behavior when they are allocated to different social positions. Will narcissistic children (i.e., those with relatively high narcissism scores), if assigned to a follower position, feel angry out of shame? Will narcissistic children break social norms in their attempt to receive more power? And if so, how do such behaviors shape the perceptions of other group members? The present study is the first to examine these questions during children’s group decision-making tasks. Since children constantly cooperate in group settings (Blatchford, 2003), investigating how narcissistic children might disrupt group interactions when they feel thrown of the throne is essential.
Narcissism and Social Hierarchy in Groups
The emergence of social hierarchy starts in the preschool years. Young children can already influence their peers and manifest themselves as leaders (Hawley, 2002; van der Ploeg, 2011). Research revealed that child leaders can promote a positive classroom climate, group cohesion, and a pro-social orientation toward peers (Scharf & Mayseless, 2010). In addition, children can contribute to increasing students’ motivation and achievement in school by showing leadership related behavior, for example by tutoring others (O’Donnell, Chinn, Hmelo-Silver, & Chan, 2013). An important individual difference that can influence leadership behavior is narcissism (Leckelt, Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2015).
Narcissism develops during middle childhood and increases with the onset of adolescence (Thomaes & Brummelman, 2016). It can be seen as a subclinical personality trait that differs between individuals. Narcissistic traits are especially common in youth and do not necessarily indicate that an individual will develop a narcissistic personality disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Comparable to narcissistic adults, narcissistic children tend to view themselves and their accomplishments as superior, dominate others, and expect to deserve special treatment (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001). Although it is normative for young children to have grandiose fantasies, children with high levels of narcissism use these fantasies to maintain their inflated self-views or even believe that their fantasies reflect reality. In addition, narcissistic children have the intense desire to obtain approval from peers and show ‘false self-behavior’. This refers to suppressing or hiding your authentic ‘true self’ and behaving contradictory with your true thoughts and feelings. Narcissistic children use this false-self behavior to impress others and to act in line with peer expectations (Shirk, Burwell, & Harter, 2003). Given these findings, it is not surprising that narcissists seek out high status positions in groups (Nevicka, Ten Velden, De Hoogh, & Van Vianen, 2011).
Empirical research on narcissism in child leaders is lacking, yet literature on adults revealed that narcissistic adults are very skilled at creating an image of being an effective leader (e.g., Judge, LePine, & Rich, 2006; Campbell & Campbell, 2009). Narcissists appear highly confident, authoritative and charismatic. These are all characteristics closely associated with a leader role (Nevicka, et al., 2011).
Not only do narcissistic leaders see themselves as great leaders by overestimating their own leadership abilities, group members consider narcissists as effective leaders as well. Research revealed that narcissists are considered very likable during early stages of acquaintance in a group of strangers (Oltmanns, Friedman, Fiedler, & Turkheimer, 2004) and arise as leaders in situations that are ego-involving, such as during leaderless group discussions (Brunell, 2008). So, especially during early interactions, narcissists are seen as popular, based on positive evaluations by their peers (Leckelt, et al., 2015).
On the other hand, research revealed that narcissistic leaders are not always preferred. Their self-absorbed attitude leads them to ignore the view of others (Padilla, Hogan, & Kaiser, 2007). They can be hostile and provoke negative emotions from followers (Braun, 2017). Recent studies discovered that narcissists are generally popular and admired in early acquaintance situations but after a while, narcissists are seen as aggressive, arrogant, and untrustworthy (Leckelt, et al., 2015; Ong et al., 2016). Furthermore, when people have more opportunities to interact with narcissistic leaders, they experience their leadership as less effective (Nevicka, Van Vianen, De Hoogh, & Voorn, 2018). Thus, positive impressions of narcissists can decrease and change into aversion over time.
Narcissism in relation to leadership is extensively studied. However, narcissists are also likely to emerge in lower status positions, merely due to the hierarchical nature of most organizations, social groups or even educational contexts (Benson et al., 2016; Blatchfield, Kutnick, Baines, & Galton, 2003). For example, in classrooms, teachers assign children together in groups and structure group activities for many different learning purposes. So, narcissistic children engage in group settings, not always able to take the lead. These group settings shape educational experiences of all children in the classroom (Blatchfield, Kutnick, Baines, & Galton, 2003). Research has yet to examine how narcissism in children is related to how they enact in a higher status (leader) or lower status (follower) role.
Narcissism and Follower Roles
For narcissists, leadership means that there is an opportunity to gain external admiration and a stage to shine on. Consequently, narcissists are most satisfied when functioning in a higher social position (Judge et al., 2006). In their willingness to achieve high social status, narcissists might view lower status roles as less appealing and less suited for them (Brunell et al., 2008). Narcissistic adults in lower social positions can even feel threatened by others, because they feel entitled to a high-status position (Benson et al., 2016). These effects might already be visible from a young age, since narcissism emerges in children from 8 years old (Thomaes, Stegge, Bushman, Olthof, & Denissen, 2008).
As a consequence to feeling humiliated in a lower status role, narcissists might become angry or even lash out. More specifically, research has shown that narcissistic children externalize their humiliation by responding with anger, aggression and other forms of norm-breaking behavior such as lying and excluding others (Thomaes et al., 2008; Thomaes, Stegge, Olthof, Bushman, & Nezlek, 2011). According to the self-regulatory model by Morf and Rhodewalt (2001) narcissists use self-regulatory mechanisms in social relationships to regulate their feelings of shame and minimize damage to their self-esteem. For example, aggressive behavior towards peers can help narcissists to cope with peer rejection (Morf & Rhodewalt 2001). Research has shown that when narcissistic adolescents feel socially rejected, they respond with more anger (such as irritation, hostile behavior, and rage) compared to the responses of their socially rejected peers (Twenge & Campbell, 2003). Because of their vulnerability to experiencing shame, narcissistic children might be predisposed to become angry in response to follower positions. Another mechanism for coping with social rejection is breaking social norms, as a strategic attempt to acquire a leader position in the peer group (Salmivalli, 2001). People associate leaders with certain typical behaviors such as using a louder voice, less smiling and more interruptions during conversations (Hall, Coats, & LeBeau, 2005). Thus, individuals can use specific cues during social interactions to reinsure their authority. By the same logic, narcissists may ‘break the rules to rise in power’: People in lower status positions might exhibit norm-breaking behavior to be perceived as more powerful (Salmivalli, 2001). Research investigated this phenomenon using different norm violations (e.g., putting one’s feet on the table or taking coffee from another person). Results showed that indeed, people breaking the rules are perceived as having the capacity to act as they please, which can increase power in the eyes of others (van Kleef, Homan, Finkenauer, Gündemir, & Stamkou, 2011). Comparable results are found for youth with narcissistic traits. For instance, narcissistic children seem more likely to use bullying compared to less narcissistic peers, which affords them social dominance (Reijntjes et al., 2016). These prior studies confirm the theoretical preposition that narcissists can break social norms in order to nourish their grandiose self and obtain their goals of dominance. Only one prior study investigated how narcissistic adults behave in lower status positions.
Across four studies, Benson and colleagues (2016) examined narcissistic reactions to subordinate role assignment in adults. They conducted a study in which adults completed several psychological tests and were assigned to a low status position (’employee’), high status position (‘manager’) or to the control condition. The study revealed that narcissists were more satisfied with the high-status position and viewed it as more accurately reflecting their personality compared to a subordinate role, even when role assignment was random. Narcissists responded more negatively and defensively to being assigned to subordinate roles, compared to adults low in narcissism (Benson et al., 2016). Up to date, it remains unclear how narcissistic children perceive higher and lower status positions and how they react to them. In addition, if narcissistic children try to pursue power from a lower status position, no study has examined whether they are successful in this regard.
Present Study
This study investigated how narcissism in children (ages 8 to 16) is related to feelings of anger and norm-breaking behavior in a higher status (leader) or lower status (follower) role, using a hidden-profile paradigm (Nevicka et al., 2011). In addition, it was investigated if narcissism in children is related to leader emergence and if this relationship is mediated by norm-breaking behaviors. We expected that narcissistic followers (i.e., children high in narcissism in a follower role) report more feelings of anger compared to narcissistic leaders. We expected that narcissistic children would display more norm violations than non-narcissistic children, especially when assigned as followers. Lastly, we expected narcissism (in both leaders and followers) to be positively related to perceptions of other group members, in the sense that narcissists are more likely to be chosen as a group leader. We expected that when children display more norm-breaking behavior, there might be a stronger positive relation between narcissism and leader emergence.
Children between the age of 8 to 16 since were studied since narcissistic traits have developed during these years (Thomaes & Brummelman, 2016). Moreover, middle childhood and early adolescence are salient periods marked by changing social cognitions, in which children are more susceptible to peer influence and develop a more positive view on violating social norms (LaFontana, & Cillessen, 2002; Bukowski, Sippola, & Newcomb, 2000). We decided to include gender, age, and self-esteem as controlling variables in our model for respectively three reasons. First gender differences are found regarding social dominance in narcissistic youth, which might cause a biased sample. For example, narcissistic boys are more likely than narcissistic girls to bully and tend to be more successful in obtaining power (Reijntjes, 2016). Second, as children grow into adolescence, they are increasingly concerned and self-conscious about their social status during social interactions (Harter, 2006). Therefore, age might influence children’s feelings of shame (Mills, 2005), feelings of anger (Thomaes et al., 2011) and their social or cognitive responses in general (van der Ploeg, 2011). Third, high self-esteem and narcissism are both positive forms of self-evaluation (Brummelman, Thomaes, & Sedikides, 2016; Campbell, Rudich, & Sedikides, 2002). The unique effects of narcissism can only be investigated by taking self-esteem into account. Since these three aspects influence our sample but thoroughly investigating these effects is not within the scope of this study, we included them as covariates.
The present study was the first to investigate if narcissistic children in a follower role feel and behave differently compared to narcissistic children in a leader role and how their behavior affects group members’ perceptions of leadership. Contrary to our expectations, narcissistic followers did not experience more anger than narcissistic leaders. In addition, narcissistic followers did not engage in more norm-breaking behavior compared to narcissistic leaders. Unexpectedly, compared to non-narcissistic children, narcissistic leaders were not more likely to be rated as good leaders by their group members, indicating that they are not successful in pursuing leader roles during decision-making group tasks. However, we did find exploratory evidence that narcissistic children were more likely to arise as leaders in the classroom, based on peer ratings.
Results regarding narcissists’ feelings of anger are not in line with previous findings, based on a sample of adults (Benson et al., 2016). Prior research has revealed that narcissistic adults perceive follower roles as poorly reflecting their capabilities and felt unsuited for them (Benson et al., 2016). The current study aimed to extend on these findings for children by measuring their emotional state after role assignment. Additionally, in line with previous findings, we expected that narcissistic followers not only respond to lower status situations with anger but also by social norm violations. Research established that social interactions that typically elicit shame can induce an emotional state of shame-based anger (Lewis,1992; Thomaes et al., 2011). This can especially be the case for narcissists, known for breaking social norms (e.g., becoming aggressive, rejecting others or lashing out towards peers) out of ego-threat (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001; Thomaes et al., 2011). Our findings suggest, however, that narcissistic followers did not feel different emotions of anger or displayed more norm violations compared to narcissistic leaders, and compared to non-narcissists.
What might cause this incongruence? Perhaps, the follower position in this task is not perceived as a ‘threatening situation’ by narcissists because children are already quite aware of their social position in the peer context at school. To elaborate, children are together in a classroom on a daily basis, in which social hierarchy and popularity are persistent (LaFontana, & Cillessen, 2002). All participating children, including narcissists, were familiar with each other during the group task and constantly work together in groups. Therefore, narcissistic followers might not truly have felt ‘subordinate’ and might have considered the group task as an entertaining activity rather than a threat to their ego. Consequently, without a threatening situation, there is no reason for narcissistic followers to feel emotions of humiliation and anger (Busman & Baumeister, 1998; Thomaes et al., 2008). Moreover, if there was no manifestation of shame-based anger, narcissistic followers might not have felt the need to break social norms. Future research should examine this possibility by conducting a similar group experiment in which children are unfamiliar with each other.
Studies also indicated that breaking social norms may signal power and are often used out of motivation to dominate others (van Kleef et al., 2011; Sijtsema et al., 2009). So, narcissistic followers can violate norms during social interactions as a strategic attempt to become a leader in the peer group (Salmivalli, 2001). Our findings contradict with these studies, showing that children who violated social norms were not more likely to be perceived as competent leaders by their peers. This finding could have been influenced by adult presence. It seems reasonable to assume that in situations without adult supervision, social norm-breaking behavior by children is considerably lower than in situation with adult supervision. For example, effective anti-bullying programs established that supervision and monitoring by teachers and parents reduces bullying behavior, presumably because of it’s obvious consequences for the bully (Smith et al., 2003; Flygare, Gill, & Johansson, 2013). By the same logic, children might be detained from breaking norms during a group discussion task with a researcher in the same room. The researcher disengaged from the group discussion during the experiment. However, the presence of an adult might have provoked socially desirable behavior. Especially for narcissists who, as we know by now, are self-aware of interactions with others and consciously attempt to be seen in a favorable way (Wallace & Baumeister, 2002).
The lack of a relation between narcissistic followers and obtaining status through breaking social norms could also resonate with the idea that narcissists are more resilient during role assigned group tasks than expected. Our study differs from prior research that showed that narcissistic children respond angry and aggressively in situations of social rejection and shame (Thomaes et al., 2011; Reijntjes et al., 2016). What if narcissistic children are well capable of functioning in a follower position during a brief group task and don’t feel the urge to lash out? It is unclear if there are specific boundary conditions to this norm-violation-to-power phenomenon. For example, narcissistic children possibly feel little glory to be gained from a leader role, if this is only for a short period of time.
We further examined whether narcissists acquire social dominance among peers, by investigating peer nominations of leadership. Exploratory techniques revealed that narcissistic children were more likely to be a leader in the classroom, based on nominations by all classmates. So, our results indicate that narcissistic children were perceived to be more powerful, but neither narcissistic leaders nor followers were more likely to emerge as leaders during a group task. These findings suggest that narcissists might in fact be socially dominant among their peers, but this position of power is acquired over time. As research shows, narcissists have personal qualities that work to their advantage in becoming leaders such as their social extraversion and dominance (Oltmanns, 2004). Possibly, these traits have been present during group tasks, but their behavior might not have been explicit enough in a short period of time to cause change. Continued research is needed on how and when narcissistic children feel undermined in follower roles, to obtain a more complete view on the emotional and behavioral processes involved in narcissistic children.
Strengths, Limitations and Future Considerations
The present research has several strengths, including the large sample size, the developmental timing in middle childhood when narcissistic traits emerge, and the use of a design in which children work together in small groups in a naturalistic research setting. Several limitations can be improved in future research. First of all, the experimental manipulation of role assignment could be reconsidered. Even though the researcher thoroughly instructed participants on their assigned roles, role assignment could be stronger induced in future research. For example, by examining followers in more than one group task, by giving followers restrictions in their contribution to the discussion or by conducting the group task with children unfamiliar with each other. These disadvantages would enhance the perception of an ‘ego-threatening position’ for narcissistic followers. Furthermore, participants in the current study were mainly Caucasian and secondary school participants were all from higher educational levels, which limits the generalizability of the findings beyond the current sample. In addition, it should be noted that norm violations were subtle, and not often displayed during the group task at all. We acknowledge that in group interactions where children display aggression more frequently, associations between narcissism, role assignment and breaking norms can more easily be established. Future work may examine role-assigned discussions in contexts where children are at-risk for aggression and other oppositional behavior, for example in low social economic status contexts or judicial youth detention centres (Thompson, & Bynum, 2016). The content of our study extents to previous work in several ways. First, this research contributes to the field of narcissism in group interactions. In contrast to adult literature, narcissism in the context of group interactions is rarely examined in child literature. This is unfortunate, since narcissism is common in youth (Thomaes & Brummelman, 2016) and children continually work together in group settings (Blatchford, 2003). Second, whereas past literature focused on intrapersonal mechanisms regarding social dominance in narcissistic children with teacher reports (Reijntjes et al., 2016), our study was the first to investigate if narcissistic children can pursue and maintain power by feedback of their peers. This can demonstrate a self-reinforcing process, in which norm violations can lead to power, which can lead to increased freedom to violate social norms (van Kleef, 2011). Lastly, this research examines how narcissists respond to lower social positions, thereby moving beyond the topic of leadership, that has dominated research on narcissism for the past decade (Brunell et al., 2008; Campbell & Campbell, 2009; Ong et al., 2016). This is important since narcissistic behavior cannot be sufficiently understood by only examining actions, feelings and cognitions of narcissists in high status roles (Benson, 2016).
Conclusion
Notwithstanding our findings do not confirm our hypotheses, the current research opens the door to new knowledge regarding the developmental linkages between narcissism, emotional and behavioral responses to lower status roles, and social dominance in youth. Narcissists did not feel or behave differently in follower positions and narcissism was neither positively nor negatively associated with leader emergence in the group tasks. These results extend our knowledge on how narcissistic children respond to lower status position and indicate that they are not successful in pursuing leader roles during group tasks. Even though narcissists are commonly known to respond negatively without sense of power, the results of this study revealed that perhaps, narcissistic children are not that easily thrown of the throne.