Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study.
Humans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behav...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2020-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243588 |
| _version_ | 1830429920689389568 |
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| author | Anna Szücs Katalin Szanto Jade Adalbert Aidan G C Wright Luke Clark Alexandre Y Dombrovski |
| author_facet | Anna Szücs Katalin Szanto Jade Adalbert Aidan G C Wright Luke Clark Alexandre Y Dombrovski |
| author_sort | Anna Szücs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Humans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behavioral mechanisms is scant. We investigated the effects of dimensionally-assessed narcissism and depression on behavioral responses to social defeat in a rigged video game tournament designed to elicit rivalry (stealing points from opponents) and admiration-seeking (paying for rank). We tested an undergraduate sample (N = 70, mean age = 21.5 years) and a clinical sample of predominantly depressed elderly (N = 85, mean age = 62.6 years). Both rivalry and admiration-seeking increased with time on task and were particularly enhanced in individuals high in narcissism. Participants engaged in more rivalry when pitted against high-ranked opponents, but depression partially mitigated this tendency. Our findings provide behavioral evidence that narcissism manifests in increased rivalry and admiration-seeking during social contests. Depression does not suppress general competitiveness but selectively inhibits upward-focused rivalry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T01:41:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-32d11e1ef9a94b15a638e3b0035f5ab1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T01:41:59Z |
| publishDate | 2020-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-32d11e1ef9a94b15a638e3b0035f5ab12022-12-21T19:20:08ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032020-01-011512e024358810.1371/journal.pone.0243588Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study.Anna SzücsKatalin SzantoJade AdalbertAidan G C WrightLuke ClarkAlexandre Y DombrovskiHumans seek admiration to boost their social rank and engage in rivalry to protect it when fearing defeat. Traits such as narcissism and affective states such as depression are thought to influence perception of rank and motivation for dominance in opposite ways, but evidence of the underlying behavioral mechanisms is scant. We investigated the effects of dimensionally-assessed narcissism and depression on behavioral responses to social defeat in a rigged video game tournament designed to elicit rivalry (stealing points from opponents) and admiration-seeking (paying for rank). We tested an undergraduate sample (N = 70, mean age = 21.5 years) and a clinical sample of predominantly depressed elderly (N = 85, mean age = 62.6 years). Both rivalry and admiration-seeking increased with time on task and were particularly enhanced in individuals high in narcissism. Participants engaged in more rivalry when pitted against high-ranked opponents, but depression partially mitigated this tendency. Our findings provide behavioral evidence that narcissism manifests in increased rivalry and admiration-seeking during social contests. Depression does not suppress general competitiveness but selectively inhibits upward-focused rivalry.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243588 |
| spellingShingle | Anna Szücs Katalin Szanto Jade Adalbert Aidan G C Wright Luke Clark Alexandre Y Dombrovski Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study. PLoS ONE |
| title | Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study. |
| title_full | Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study. |
| title_fullStr | Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study. |
| title_short | Status, rivalry and admiration-seeking in narcissism and depression: A behavioral study. |
| title_sort | status rivalry and admiration seeking in narcissism and depression a behavioral study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243588 |
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