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The role of narcissism in self-promotion on Instagram
Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 22–25
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid
Short Communication
The role of narcissism in self-promotion on Instagram Jang Ho Moon a, Eunji Lee b, Jung-Ah Lee b, Tae Rang Choi c, Yongjun Sung b,⁎ a b c
Department of Public Relations & Advertising, Sookmyung Women's University, Republic of Korea Department of Psychology, Korea University, Republic of Korea Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 27 January 2016 Received in revised form 8 April 2016 Accepted 17 May 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: Narcissism Social networking site (SNS) Self-promoting behavior Instagram
a b s t r a c t Instagram, the rising photo-sharing social networking site, has gained an enormous amount of global popularity. This study examined the relationship between narcissism and Instagram users' self-promoting behavior. A total of 212 active Instagram users in Korea completed an online survey. The results showed that individuals higher in narcissism tended to post selfies and self-presented photos, update their profile picture more often, and spend more time on Instagram, as compared to their counterparts. They also rated their Instagram profile pictures as more physically attractive. Additionally, the results showed that Grandiose Exhibitionism positively predicted and Leadership/Authority negatively predicted the frequency of selfie postings and profile picture updates, as well as profile picture evaluations. However, Entitlement/Exploitativeness exhibited no effect on any of the self-promotion behaviors on Instagram. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Social networking sites (hereafter SNSs), such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provide a new venue for individuals to present themselves and manage their social relationships online. With the emergence of social technologies available to Internet and smartphone users, SNSbased communication provides novel venues for self-disclosure, selfpresentation, and impression management (Rui & Stefanone, 2013). In particular, Instagram, a mobile photo-sharing application, has attracted SNS users to present themselves via a variety of photographs and short videos by making the process easier than ever. A recent study indicated that two key motivations for using Instagram are self-expression and social interaction, suggesting that Instagram users utilize pictures of all sorts of things to present their actual and ideal selves, as well as to maintain social relationships (Lee, Lee, Moon, & Sung, 2015). A growing body of personality research suggests that narcissism is one of the most powerful predictors of self-promotional content via social media (Carpenter, 2012). Narcissism refers to “a personality trait reflecting a grandiose and inflated self-concept” and is characterized by an unrealistic positive self-view (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008), especially of traits, such as status, physical appearance, social popularity, and intelligence (Campbell, Rudich, & Sedikides, 2002). The most widely used Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) has been analyzed repeatedly by psychologists to delineate its multidimensional construct (Emmons, 1984; Raskin & Terry, 1988). Ackerman et al. (2011) ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.H. Moon), [email protected] (E. Lee), [email protected] (J.-A. Lee), [email protected] (T.R. Choi), [email protected] (Y. Sung).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.05.042 0191-8869/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
identified a three-factor model, in which they proposed Leadership/Authority (LA), Grandiose/Exhibitionism (GE), and Entitlement/ Exploitativeness (EE) as the three key factors of narcissism. The three factors differ in terms of being either adaptive or maladaptive forms of narcissism. Specifically, the LA factor (e.g., “I like having authority over people”) is regarded as an adaptive type of narcissism, marked by social boldness, optimism, and a focus on interpersonal relations with others (Brown, Budzek, & Tamborski, 2009; Emmons, 1984; Hickman, Watson, & Morris, 1996). Comparatively, maladaptive forms of narcissism, including the GE factor (e.g., I like to look at myself in the mirror) and the EE factor (e.g., I find it easy to manipulate people), are characterized by an intrapersonal focus on the self, neuroticism, and a willingness to exploit others (Ackerman et al., 2011; Brown et al., 2009). The rise in levels of narcissism among millennials (Twenge, Konrath, Foster, Campbell, & Bushman, 2008), in addition to the development of a variety of SNSs, warrants more academic research regarding the relationship between narcissism and SNS usage. Empirically, individuals high in narcissism are very active on SNSs (Ong et al., 2011), and more likely than their counterparts to display self-promotional content on their static profiles (Mehdizadeh, 2010). Nevertheless, to the authors' best knowledge, no studies have investigated the relationship between narcissism and users' self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. Thus, the current study focused on the relationship between narcissism and users' self-promoting behaviors on Instagram, profile picture-related behaviors, and general Instagram usage. Research shows that nearly half of the photos posted and shared on Instagram are categorized as “selfies” (24.2%) or self-presented photos with friends (22.4%) (Hu, Manikonda, & Kambhampati, 2014). In line with prior literature on this topic, the current study hypothesized that narcissism would be positively associated with the frequency of selfie postings (H1-a), the proportion of selfies
J.H. Moon et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 22–25
(i.e., a self-portrait photograph that one has taken of oneself; only one human face is present in the photo) in a photo collection (H1-b), and the proportion of self-presented photos (i.e., a photograph that one has taken with others; at least two human faces are in the photo) in a photo collection (H1-c). With regard to profile pictures, it was hypothesized that individuals higher in narcissism would update their profile picture more frequently (H2-a) and evaluate their physical attractiveness in the current profile picture more positively than those lower in narcissism (H2-b). Further, it was hypothesized that narcissism scores would positively correlate with the time spent per day (H3-a), the number of photos posted (H3-b), the number of followers (H3-c), and the number of followings (H3-d) on Instagram. Finally, this study examined the relative effects of the three key components of the NPI (LA, GE, and EE) on self-promoting behaviors on Instagram.
23
Instagram accounts. They were asked to report the frequency of profile picture updates and rate their physical appearance in their current profile picture on three adjectives (attractive, fashionable, and cool) using a 7-point Likert scale. In this study, all respondents reported being in their current profile picture. A profile picture rating score was obtained by summing these three self-ratings; Cronbach's alpha was high (0.85). Finally, the participants were requested to report the amount of time spent on Instagram per day, the number of all photos posted, the number of followers, and the number of followings. 3. Results 3.1. Hypotheses tests To control for the effects of age and gender, partial correlations among the variables of interest were calculated. As shown in Table 1, higher scores on the NPI-13 were positively correlated with the frequency of selfie postings (pr = 0.30, p b 0.001), the proportion of selfies (pr = 0.17, p b 0.05), and the proportion of self-presented photos (pr = 0.14, p b 0.05), supporting H1-a, b, and c. The correlations between narcissism and participants' frequency of profile picture updates (pr = 0.31, p b 0.001), and self-evaluation of their profile picture (pr = 0.49, p b 0.001) were statistically significant, thereby supporting H2-a and b. (See Table 1.) In addition, we observed significant positive correlations between narcissism and the amount of time spent per day on Instagram (pr = 0.15, p b 0.05), supporting H3-a. However, narcissism was not significantly related to the number of all photos posted (H3-b; pr = 0.12, p = 0.08), the number of followers (H3-c; pr = 0.11, p = 0.11), or the number of followings (H3-d; pr = 0.08, p = 0.25). Furthermore, a series of regression analyses were performed to examine the relative effects of the three factors of narcissism on self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. The proportion of selfies, frequency of selfie postings, frequency of profile picture updates, and self-evaluations of profile pictures were regressed, respectively, on the average ratings of the three factors of narcissism (See Table 2).
2. Method 2.1. Participants An online consumer survey was conducted during a 3-week period from November to December 2014 in Korea. The sample for this study was recruited by a major research firm in Asia (Macromill Embrain) with an office in Seoul, Korea. Potential survey respondents, who were members of a virtual research panel managed by the research company, were randomly selected and notified by e-mail of the opportunity to take part in this study. All participants who completed the survey received virtual currency incentives from the research firm. The initial sample consisted of 239 Instagram users aged 20–39 years. The final sample size (N = 212; 110 females) reflects a reduction in the initial number of participants who were eliminated due to incomplete surveys. The average age of respondents was 28.8 years (SD = 5.28). 2.2. Measures Narcissism was assessed using a translated version of the 13-item Narcissism Personality Inventory (NPI-13) (Gentile et al., 2013). Respondents rate how much they agree with the items' descriptions of themselves on a 7-point Likert scale. The NPI-13 yields a total score and three subscale scores: LA (4 items, α = 0.89), GE (5 items, α = 0.85), and EE (4 items, α = 0.84). In the present study, the total NPI-13 score, ranging from 13 to 89 (α = 0.95), was used to test the three proposed hypotheses. Higher scores indicate higher levels of narcissism. In addition, the three separate subscale scores were employed to examine the relative effects of each factor of narcissism on self-promoting behavior. With regard to user behavior, measures were derived from prior SNS studies (Carpenter, 2012; Moore & McElroy, 2012; Ong et al., 2011). Participants were requested to estimate their frequency of selfie postings, and the percentage of selfies and self-presented photos in their
3.1.1. Proportion and frequency of selfie postings The overall regression model was significant, R2 = 0.07, F(3, 208) = 5.10, p b 0.01. The result of the regression analysis indicated that both GE (β = 0.35, p b 0.001) and LA (β = −0.35, p b 0.05) were significant predictors of the proportion of selfies in their Instagram account. However, EE was not a significant predictor (β = 0.18, p = 0.31). In the analysis of the frequency of selfie postings, the regression model was also significant, R2 = 0.15, F(3, 208) = 13.78, p b 0.001, and both GE (β = 0.55, p b 0.001) and LA (β = −0.40, p b 0.01) were found to be significant predictors. Yet, EE (β = 0.16, p = 0.33) was not a significant predictor of selfie-posting frequency.
Table 1 Partial correlations among the variables and their means and standard deviations. Measure 1. NPI-13 2. Frequency of selfie postings 3. Proportion of selfies 4. Proportion of self-presented photos 5. Frequency of profile picture updates 6. Self-evaluation of profile picture 7. Time spent per day on Instagram 8. Number of all photos posted 9. Number of followers 10. Number of followings
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
M
SD
–
0.30⁎⁎
0.17⁎ 0.65⁎⁎
0.14⁎ 0.48⁎⁎ 0.62⁎⁎
0.31⁎⁎ 0.64⁎⁎ 0.46⁎⁎ 0.37⁎⁎
0.49⁎⁎ 0.33⁎⁎ 0.25⁎⁎ 0.25⁎⁎ 0.30⁎⁎
0.15⁎ 0.27⁎⁎ 0.24⁎⁎ 0.19⁎ 0.23⁎⁎ 0.22⁎⁎
0.12 0.15⁎ 0.09 0.07 0.23⁎
0.11 0.15⁎ 0.10 0.13 0.15⁎ 0.19⁎ 0.37⁎⁎ 0.52⁎⁎
0.08 0.08 0.05 0.14⁎
49.22 3.07 19.25 32.08 3.14 4.35 30.07 61.06 59 69
14.56 1.63 24.31 30.70 1.55 1.17 27.51 109.92 85.73 96.25
–
–
Notes: Control variables: age, gender. M = mean; SD = standard deviation. ⁎⁎ p b 0.01. ⁎ p b 0.05.
–
–
–
–
0.12 0.27⁎⁎ –
–
0.12 0.20⁎ 0.25⁎⁎ 0.39⁎⁎ 0.82⁎⁎ –
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J.H. Moon et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 22–25
Table 2 Results of the multiple regression analyses. Item
Proportion of selfie postings Frequency of selfie postings Frequency of profile picture updates Self-evaluation of profile picture
GE
LA
EE
B
SE
β
t
B
SE
β
t
B
SE
β
t
7.55 0.80 0.52 0.62
2.84 0.18 0.17 0.12
0.35 0.55 0.38 0.59
2.65⁎⁎ 4.45⁎ 2.97⁎⁎ 5.17⁎⁎⁎
−6.78 −0.51 −0.38 −0.26
3.04 0.19 0.19 0.13
−0.35 −0.40 −0.31 −0.27
−2.22⁎ −2.27⁎⁎ −2.05⁎ −2.00⁎
3.71 0.23 0.35 0.21
3.63 0.23 0.22 0.15
0.18 0.16 0.26 0.20
1.02 0.98 1.54 1.35
Note: β is the standardized regression coefficient. ⁎⁎⁎ p b 0.001. ⁎⁎ p b 0.01. ⁎ p b 0.05.
3.1.2. Profile picture update and evaluation Both GE (β = 0.38, p b 0.01) and LA (β = − 0.31, p b 0.05) were found to be significant predictors of profile picture updates (R2 = 0.13, F(3, 208) = 10.64, p b 0.001). Finally, similar results were found for the profile picture evaluation. That is, both GE (β = 0.59, p b 0.001) and LA (β = − 0.27, p b 0.05) were significant predictors (R2 = 0.30, F(3, 208) = 29.93, p b 0.001). However, EE was not a significant predictor of profile picture updates or evaluation (p N 0.10).
4. Discussion This study examined the relationships among narcissism and selfpromoting behaviors on Instagram. Our study confirmed that more narcissistic individuals tend to post selfies and self-presented photos and update their profile picture more often as compared to less narcissistic individuals (Fox & Rooney, 2015). In addition, more narcissistic individuals rated their Instagram profile pictures as more physically attractive, lending some support to the notion that more narcissistic people are concerned about their physical appearance (Vazire, Naumann, Rentfrow, & Gosling, 2008). Finally, users with higher levels of narcissism tend to spend more time on Instagram, supporting the current understanding of the relationship between narcissism and SNS behavior (Mehdizadeh, 2010). Notably, narcissism was not associated with the total number of photos posted. These results are consistent with those of Ong et al. (2011) whereas, they contradict those of Buffardi and Campbell (2008), thereby calling for additional research. More importantly, our regression analyses showed that regardless of the dependent variables, the results were consistent. That is, GE was significant in predicting the proportion of selfies, frequency of selfie postings, frequency of profile picture updates, and profile picture evaluations in Instagram. Our findings are consistent with those of prior research (Ackerman et al., 2011; Carpenter, 2012), suggesting that individuals high in GE tend to have a more inflated self-view and are more likely to express a somewhat distorted self-concept via a variety of SNSs. Wright (2012) suggested that, unlike those high in LA, narcissists with high GE try to compensate for low self-esteem through selfpromoting behaviors online, especially via selfies on SNSs. Further, the LA factor was a significant but negative predictor of all the self-promoting variables. As discussed, LA is regarded as an adaptive type of narcissism, marked by social boldness, optimism, and a focus on interpersonal relatedness to others, suggesting that individuals high in LA value social relationships. Thus, they are less likely to promote themselves using pictures and SNSs than are those high in GE. As they have relatively higher levels of self-esteem, they do not see a strong need for online self-promotion, especially on Instagram (Sedikides, Rudich, Gregg, Kumashiro, & Rusbult, 2004). Thus, additional research with the LA subscale of the NPI is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the links between narcissism and self-promoting behaviors online. Finally, the EE factor was not a significant predictor of any of the dependent variables. As a form of maladaptive narcissism, those high in EE
tend to underevaluate others to increase their low self-esteem (Ackerman et al., 2011). Thus, future research should examine the relationship between EE and Instagram users' evaluations and reactions to others' selfies and self-promoting behavior online. For example, follow-up research might empirically examine whether individuals who are high in EE read, comment, or “like” others posts (including varied self-promotional content, such as selfies). It is worth noting that the current study is limited by the use of the shorter measure of trait narcissism, the NPI-13. Future research employing the longer version (40-items) of the NPI is needed. Another limitation is the use of self-reported data for measuring participants' self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. Further investigations with actual measures of self-promoting behaviors on social media are necessary. Despite these limitations, the current study provided evidence that personality, and narcissism in particular, might account for various self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. In addition, the findings of this study call for additional studies examining the relative impact of the three sub-components of narcissism. Such findings should help researchers and practitioners alike further appreciate the important concept of narcissism as an individual difference factor as well as its impact on self-promoting behaviors on social media. Author disclosure statement No competing financial interests exist. Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Sookmyung Women's University Research Grant (#1-1503-0065). References Ackerman, R. A., Witt, E. A., Donnellan, M. B., Trzesniewski, K. H., Robins, R. W., & Kashy, D. A. (2011). What does the narcissistic personality inventory really measure? Assessment, 18(1), 67–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1073191110382845. Brown, R. P., Budzek, K., & Tamborski, M. (2009). On the meaning and measure of narcissism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(7), 951–964. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1177/0146167209335461. Buffardi, L. E., & Campbell, W. K. (2008). Narcissism and social networking web sites. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(10), 1303–1314. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1177/0146167208320061. Campbell, W. K., Rudich, E. A., & Sedikides, C. (2002). Narcissism, self-esteem, and the positivity of self-views: Two portraits of self-love. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(3), 358–368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167202286007. Carpenter, C. J. (2012). Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and anti-social behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(4), 482–486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.paid.2011.11.011. Emmons, R. A. (1984). Factor analysis and construct validity of the narcissistic personality inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(3), 291–300. Fox, J., & Rooney, M. C. (2015). The dark triad and trait self-objectification as predictors of men's use and self-presentation behaviors on social networking sites. Personality an Individual Differences, 76, 161–165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.017. Gentile, B., Miller, J. D., Hoffman, B. J., Reidy, D. E., Zeichner, A., & Campbell, W. K. (2013). A test of two brief measures of grandiose narcissism: The narcissistic personality
J.H. Moon et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 22–25 inventory–13 and the narcissistic personality inventory-16. Psychological Assessment, 25(4), 1120–1136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0033192. Hickman, S. E., Watson, P. J., & Morris, R. J. (1996). Optimism, pessimism, and the complexity of narcissism. Personality and Individual Differences, 20(4), 521–525. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(95)00223-5. Hu, Y., Manikonda, L., & Kambhampati, S. (2014). What we Instagram: A first analysis of Instagram photo content and user types. AAAI: Proceedings of ICWSM. Lee, E., Lee, J. -A., Moon, J. H., & Sung, Y. (2015). Pictures speak louder than words: Motivations for using Instagram. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 18(9), 552–556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2015.0157. Mehdizadeh, S. (2010). Self-presentation 2.0: Narcissism and self-esteem on Facebook. Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 13(4), 357–364. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1089/cyber.2009.0257. Moore, K., & McElroy, J. C. (2012). The influence of personality on Facebook usage, wall postings, and regret. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(1), 267–274. http://dx.doi. org/10.1016/j.jchb.2011.09.009. Ong, E. Y., Ang, R. P., Ho, J. C., Lim, J. C., Goh, D. H., Lee, C. S., & Chua, A. Y. (2011). Narcissism, extraversion and adolescents' self-presentation on Facebook. Personality and Individual Differences, 50(2), 180–185. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.09.022. Raskin, R., & Terry, H. (1988). A principal-components analysis of the narcissistic personality inventory and further evidence of its construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 890–902.
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Rui, J., & Stefanone, M. A. (2013). Strategic self-presentation online: A cross-cultural study. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(1), 110–118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. chb.2012.07.022. Sedikides, C., Rudich, E. A., Gregg, A. P., Kumashiro, M., & Rusbult, C. (2004). Are normal narcissists psychologically healthy?: Self-esteem matters. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(3), 400–416. Twenge, J. M., Konrath, S., Foster, J. D., Campbell, W. K., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Egos inflating over time: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of the narcissistic personality inventory. Journal of Personality, 76(4), 875–902. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.14676494.2008.00507. Vazire, S., Naumann, L. P., Rentfrow, P. J., & Gosling, S. D. (2008). Portrait of a narcissist: Manifestations of narcissism in physical appearance. Journal of Research in Personality, 42(6), 1439–1447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.06.007. Wright, K. B. (2012). Emotional support and perceived stress among college students using Facebook.com: An exploration of the relationship between source perceptions and emotional support. Communication Research Reports, 29(3), 175–184. http://dx. doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2012.695957.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Personality and Individual Differences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid
Short Communication
The role of narcissism in self-promotion on Instagram Jang Ho Moon a, Eunji Lee b, Jung-Ah Lee b, Tae Rang Choi c, Yongjun Sung b,⁎ a b c
Department of Public Relations & Advertising, Sookmyung Women's University, Republic of Korea Department of Psychology, Korea University, Republic of Korea Stan Richards School of Advertising & Public Relations, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 27 January 2016 Received in revised form 8 April 2016 Accepted 17 May 2016 Available online xxxx Keywords: Narcissism Social networking site (SNS) Self-promoting behavior Instagram
a b s t r a c t Instagram, the rising photo-sharing social networking site, has gained an enormous amount of global popularity. This study examined the relationship between narcissism and Instagram users' self-promoting behavior. A total of 212 active Instagram users in Korea completed an online survey. The results showed that individuals higher in narcissism tended to post selfies and self-presented photos, update their profile picture more often, and spend more time on Instagram, as compared to their counterparts. They also rated their Instagram profile pictures as more physically attractive. Additionally, the results showed that Grandiose Exhibitionism positively predicted and Leadership/Authority negatively predicted the frequency of selfie postings and profile picture updates, as well as profile picture evaluations. However, Entitlement/Exploitativeness exhibited no effect on any of the self-promotion behaviors on Instagram. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Social networking sites (hereafter SNSs), such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provide a new venue for individuals to present themselves and manage their social relationships online. With the emergence of social technologies available to Internet and smartphone users, SNSbased communication provides novel venues for self-disclosure, selfpresentation, and impression management (Rui & Stefanone, 2013). In particular, Instagram, a mobile photo-sharing application, has attracted SNS users to present themselves via a variety of photographs and short videos by making the process easier than ever. A recent study indicated that two key motivations for using Instagram are self-expression and social interaction, suggesting that Instagram users utilize pictures of all sorts of things to present their actual and ideal selves, as well as to maintain social relationships (Lee, Lee, Moon, & Sung, 2015). A growing body of personality research suggests that narcissism is one of the most powerful predictors of self-promotional content via social media (Carpenter, 2012). Narcissism refers to “a personality trait reflecting a grandiose and inflated self-concept” and is characterized by an unrealistic positive self-view (Buffardi & Campbell, 2008), especially of traits, such as status, physical appearance, social popularity, and intelligence (Campbell, Rudich, & Sedikides, 2002). The most widely used Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) has been analyzed repeatedly by psychologists to delineate its multidimensional construct (Emmons, 1984; Raskin & Terry, 1988). Ackerman et al. (2011) ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J.H. Moon), [email protected] (E. Lee), [email protected] (J.-A. Lee), [email protected] (T.R. Choi), [email protected] (Y. Sung).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.05.042 0191-8869/© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
identified a three-factor model, in which they proposed Leadership/Authority (LA), Grandiose/Exhibitionism (GE), and Entitlement/ Exploitativeness (EE) as the three key factors of narcissism. The three factors differ in terms of being either adaptive or maladaptive forms of narcissism. Specifically, the LA factor (e.g., “I like having authority over people”) is regarded as an adaptive type of narcissism, marked by social boldness, optimism, and a focus on interpersonal relations with others (Brown, Budzek, & Tamborski, 2009; Emmons, 1984; Hickman, Watson, & Morris, 1996). Comparatively, maladaptive forms of narcissism, including the GE factor (e.g., I like to look at myself in the mirror) and the EE factor (e.g., I find it easy to manipulate people), are characterized by an intrapersonal focus on the self, neuroticism, and a willingness to exploit others (Ackerman et al., 2011; Brown et al., 2009). The rise in levels of narcissism among millennials (Twenge, Konrath, Foster, Campbell, & Bushman, 2008), in addition to the development of a variety of SNSs, warrants more academic research regarding the relationship between narcissism and SNS usage. Empirically, individuals high in narcissism are very active on SNSs (Ong et al., 2011), and more likely than their counterparts to display self-promotional content on their static profiles (Mehdizadeh, 2010). Nevertheless, to the authors' best knowledge, no studies have investigated the relationship between narcissism and users' self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. Thus, the current study focused on the relationship between narcissism and users' self-promoting behaviors on Instagram, profile picture-related behaviors, and general Instagram usage. Research shows that nearly half of the photos posted and shared on Instagram are categorized as “selfies” (24.2%) or self-presented photos with friends (22.4%) (Hu, Manikonda, & Kambhampati, 2014). In line with prior literature on this topic, the current study hypothesized that narcissism would be positively associated with the frequency of selfie postings (H1-a), the proportion of selfies
J.H. Moon et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 22–25
(i.e., a self-portrait photograph that one has taken of oneself; only one human face is present in the photo) in a photo collection (H1-b), and the proportion of self-presented photos (i.e., a photograph that one has taken with others; at least two human faces are in the photo) in a photo collection (H1-c). With regard to profile pictures, it was hypothesized that individuals higher in narcissism would update their profile picture more frequently (H2-a) and evaluate their physical attractiveness in the current profile picture more positively than those lower in narcissism (H2-b). Further, it was hypothesized that narcissism scores would positively correlate with the time spent per day (H3-a), the number of photos posted (H3-b), the number of followers (H3-c), and the number of followings (H3-d) on Instagram. Finally, this study examined the relative effects of the three key components of the NPI (LA, GE, and EE) on self-promoting behaviors on Instagram.
23
Instagram accounts. They were asked to report the frequency of profile picture updates and rate their physical appearance in their current profile picture on three adjectives (attractive, fashionable, and cool) using a 7-point Likert scale. In this study, all respondents reported being in their current profile picture. A profile picture rating score was obtained by summing these three self-ratings; Cronbach's alpha was high (0.85). Finally, the participants were requested to report the amount of time spent on Instagram per day, the number of all photos posted, the number of followers, and the number of followings. 3. Results 3.1. Hypotheses tests To control for the effects of age and gender, partial correlations among the variables of interest were calculated. As shown in Table 1, higher scores on the NPI-13 were positively correlated with the frequency of selfie postings (pr = 0.30, p b 0.001), the proportion of selfies (pr = 0.17, p b 0.05), and the proportion of self-presented photos (pr = 0.14, p b 0.05), supporting H1-a, b, and c. The correlations between narcissism and participants' frequency of profile picture updates (pr = 0.31, p b 0.001), and self-evaluation of their profile picture (pr = 0.49, p b 0.001) were statistically significant, thereby supporting H2-a and b. (See Table 1.) In addition, we observed significant positive correlations between narcissism and the amount of time spent per day on Instagram (pr = 0.15, p b 0.05), supporting H3-a. However, narcissism was not significantly related to the number of all photos posted (H3-b; pr = 0.12, p = 0.08), the number of followers (H3-c; pr = 0.11, p = 0.11), or the number of followings (H3-d; pr = 0.08, p = 0.25). Furthermore, a series of regression analyses were performed to examine the relative effects of the three factors of narcissism on self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. The proportion of selfies, frequency of selfie postings, frequency of profile picture updates, and self-evaluations of profile pictures were regressed, respectively, on the average ratings of the three factors of narcissism (See Table 2).
2. Method 2.1. Participants An online consumer survey was conducted during a 3-week period from November to December 2014 in Korea. The sample for this study was recruited by a major research firm in Asia (Macromill Embrain) with an office in Seoul, Korea. Potential survey respondents, who were members of a virtual research panel managed by the research company, were randomly selected and notified by e-mail of the opportunity to take part in this study. All participants who completed the survey received virtual currency incentives from the research firm. The initial sample consisted of 239 Instagram users aged 20–39 years. The final sample size (N = 212; 110 females) reflects a reduction in the initial number of participants who were eliminated due to incomplete surveys. The average age of respondents was 28.8 years (SD = 5.28). 2.2. Measures Narcissism was assessed using a translated version of the 13-item Narcissism Personality Inventory (NPI-13) (Gentile et al., 2013). Respondents rate how much they agree with the items' descriptions of themselves on a 7-point Likert scale. The NPI-13 yields a total score and three subscale scores: LA (4 items, α = 0.89), GE (5 items, α = 0.85), and EE (4 items, α = 0.84). In the present study, the total NPI-13 score, ranging from 13 to 89 (α = 0.95), was used to test the three proposed hypotheses. Higher scores indicate higher levels of narcissism. In addition, the three separate subscale scores were employed to examine the relative effects of each factor of narcissism on self-promoting behavior. With regard to user behavior, measures were derived from prior SNS studies (Carpenter, 2012; Moore & McElroy, 2012; Ong et al., 2011). Participants were requested to estimate their frequency of selfie postings, and the percentage of selfies and self-presented photos in their
3.1.1. Proportion and frequency of selfie postings The overall regression model was significant, R2 = 0.07, F(3, 208) = 5.10, p b 0.01. The result of the regression analysis indicated that both GE (β = 0.35, p b 0.001) and LA (β = −0.35, p b 0.05) were significant predictors of the proportion of selfies in their Instagram account. However, EE was not a significant predictor (β = 0.18, p = 0.31). In the analysis of the frequency of selfie postings, the regression model was also significant, R2 = 0.15, F(3, 208) = 13.78, p b 0.001, and both GE (β = 0.55, p b 0.001) and LA (β = −0.40, p b 0.01) were found to be significant predictors. Yet, EE (β = 0.16, p = 0.33) was not a significant predictor of selfie-posting frequency.
Table 1 Partial correlations among the variables and their means and standard deviations. Measure 1. NPI-13 2. Frequency of selfie postings 3. Proportion of selfies 4. Proportion of self-presented photos 5. Frequency of profile picture updates 6. Self-evaluation of profile picture 7. Time spent per day on Instagram 8. Number of all photos posted 9. Number of followers 10. Number of followings
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
M
SD
–
0.30⁎⁎
0.17⁎ 0.65⁎⁎
0.14⁎ 0.48⁎⁎ 0.62⁎⁎
0.31⁎⁎ 0.64⁎⁎ 0.46⁎⁎ 0.37⁎⁎
0.49⁎⁎ 0.33⁎⁎ 0.25⁎⁎ 0.25⁎⁎ 0.30⁎⁎
0.15⁎ 0.27⁎⁎ 0.24⁎⁎ 0.19⁎ 0.23⁎⁎ 0.22⁎⁎
0.12 0.15⁎ 0.09 0.07 0.23⁎
0.11 0.15⁎ 0.10 0.13 0.15⁎ 0.19⁎ 0.37⁎⁎ 0.52⁎⁎
0.08 0.08 0.05 0.14⁎
49.22 3.07 19.25 32.08 3.14 4.35 30.07 61.06 59 69
14.56 1.63 24.31 30.70 1.55 1.17 27.51 109.92 85.73 96.25
–
–
Notes: Control variables: age, gender. M = mean; SD = standard deviation. ⁎⁎ p b 0.01. ⁎ p b 0.05.
–
–
–
–
0.12 0.27⁎⁎ –
–
0.12 0.20⁎ 0.25⁎⁎ 0.39⁎⁎ 0.82⁎⁎ –
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J.H. Moon et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 101 (2016) 22–25
Table 2 Results of the multiple regression analyses. Item
Proportion of selfie postings Frequency of selfie postings Frequency of profile picture updates Self-evaluation of profile picture
GE
LA
EE
B
SE
β
t
B
SE
β
t
B
SE
β
t
7.55 0.80 0.52 0.62
2.84 0.18 0.17 0.12
0.35 0.55 0.38 0.59
2.65⁎⁎ 4.45⁎ 2.97⁎⁎ 5.17⁎⁎⁎
−6.78 −0.51 −0.38 −0.26
3.04 0.19 0.19 0.13
−0.35 −0.40 −0.31 −0.27
−2.22⁎ −2.27⁎⁎ −2.05⁎ −2.00⁎
3.71 0.23 0.35 0.21
3.63 0.23 0.22 0.15
0.18 0.16 0.26 0.20
1.02 0.98 1.54 1.35
Note: β is the standardized regression coefficient. ⁎⁎⁎ p b 0.001. ⁎⁎ p b 0.01. ⁎ p b 0.05.
3.1.2. Profile picture update and evaluation Both GE (β = 0.38, p b 0.01) and LA (β = − 0.31, p b 0.05) were found to be significant predictors of profile picture updates (R2 = 0.13, F(3, 208) = 10.64, p b 0.001). Finally, similar results were found for the profile picture evaluation. That is, both GE (β = 0.59, p b 0.001) and LA (β = − 0.27, p b 0.05) were significant predictors (R2 = 0.30, F(3, 208) = 29.93, p b 0.001). However, EE was not a significant predictor of profile picture updates or evaluation (p N 0.10).
4. Discussion This study examined the relationships among narcissism and selfpromoting behaviors on Instagram. Our study confirmed that more narcissistic individuals tend to post selfies and self-presented photos and update their profile picture more often as compared to less narcissistic individuals (Fox & Rooney, 2015). In addition, more narcissistic individuals rated their Instagram profile pictures as more physically attractive, lending some support to the notion that more narcissistic people are concerned about their physical appearance (Vazire, Naumann, Rentfrow, & Gosling, 2008). Finally, users with higher levels of narcissism tend to spend more time on Instagram, supporting the current understanding of the relationship between narcissism and SNS behavior (Mehdizadeh, 2010). Notably, narcissism was not associated with the total number of photos posted. These results are consistent with those of Ong et al. (2011) whereas, they contradict those of Buffardi and Campbell (2008), thereby calling for additional research. More importantly, our regression analyses showed that regardless of the dependent variables, the results were consistent. That is, GE was significant in predicting the proportion of selfies, frequency of selfie postings, frequency of profile picture updates, and profile picture evaluations in Instagram. Our findings are consistent with those of prior research (Ackerman et al., 2011; Carpenter, 2012), suggesting that individuals high in GE tend to have a more inflated self-view and are more likely to express a somewhat distorted self-concept via a variety of SNSs. Wright (2012) suggested that, unlike those high in LA, narcissists with high GE try to compensate for low self-esteem through selfpromoting behaviors online, especially via selfies on SNSs. Further, the LA factor was a significant but negative predictor of all the self-promoting variables. As discussed, LA is regarded as an adaptive type of narcissism, marked by social boldness, optimism, and a focus on interpersonal relatedness to others, suggesting that individuals high in LA value social relationships. Thus, they are less likely to promote themselves using pictures and SNSs than are those high in GE. As they have relatively higher levels of self-esteem, they do not see a strong need for online self-promotion, especially on Instagram (Sedikides, Rudich, Gregg, Kumashiro, & Rusbult, 2004). Thus, additional research with the LA subscale of the NPI is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of the links between narcissism and self-promoting behaviors online. Finally, the EE factor was not a significant predictor of any of the dependent variables. As a form of maladaptive narcissism, those high in EE
tend to underevaluate others to increase their low self-esteem (Ackerman et al., 2011). Thus, future research should examine the relationship between EE and Instagram users' evaluations and reactions to others' selfies and self-promoting behavior online. For example, follow-up research might empirically examine whether individuals who are high in EE read, comment, or “like” others posts (including varied self-promotional content, such as selfies). It is worth noting that the current study is limited by the use of the shorter measure of trait narcissism, the NPI-13. Future research employing the longer version (40-items) of the NPI is needed. Another limitation is the use of self-reported data for measuring participants' self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. Further investigations with actual measures of self-promoting behaviors on social media are necessary. Despite these limitations, the current study provided evidence that personality, and narcissism in particular, might account for various self-promoting behaviors on Instagram. In addition, the findings of this study call for additional studies examining the relative impact of the three sub-components of narcissism. Such findings should help researchers and practitioners alike further appreciate the important concept of narcissism as an individual difference factor as well as its impact on self-promoting behaviors on social media. Author disclosure statement No competing financial interests exist. Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Sookmyung Women's University Research Grant (#1-1503-0065). References Ackerman, R. A., Witt, E. A., Donnellan, M. B., Trzesniewski, K. H., Robins, R. W., & Kashy, D. A. (2011). What does the narcissistic personality inventory really measure? Assessment, 18(1), 67–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1073191110382845. Brown, R. P., Budzek, K., & Tamborski, M. (2009). On the meaning and measure of narcissism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(7), 951–964. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1177/0146167209335461. Buffardi, L. E., & Campbell, W. K. (2008). Narcissism and social networking web sites. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(10), 1303–1314. http://dx.doi.org/10. 1177/0146167208320061. Campbell, W. K., Rudich, E. A., & Sedikides, C. (2002). Narcissism, self-esteem, and the positivity of self-views: Two portraits of self-love. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(3), 358–368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0146167202286007. Carpenter, C. J. (2012). Narcissism on Facebook: Self-promotional and anti-social behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(4), 482–486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.paid.2011.11.011. Emmons, R. A. (1984). Factor analysis and construct validity of the narcissistic personality inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(3), 291–300. Fox, J., & Rooney, M. C. (2015). The dark triad and trait self-objectification as predictors of men's use and self-presentation behaviors on social networking sites. Personality an Individual Differences, 76, 161–165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.12.017. Gentile, B., Miller, J. D., Hoffman, B. J., Reidy, D. E., Zeichner, A., & Campbell, W. K. (2013). A test of two brief measures of grandiose narcissism: The narcissistic personality
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