Summary: A large international study of more than 45,000 people shows that narcissism is a universal personality trait, not concentrated in a single country. Although the nations differed somewhat, the five highest-scoring countries were Germany, Iraq, China, Nepal and South Korea, with the United States at No. 16. Across all 53 countries, the same patterns emerged: Young adults scored higher than older adults, and men scored higher than women.
The findings suggest that age-related declines in narcissism and gender differences in the trait are remarkably consistent across the world. These results challenge assumptions about cultural influences and highlight how both biology and life experience shape egocentric tendencies.
Key facts
Universally present: Narcissism appeared consistently in 53 countries, showing shared global patterns. It’s not a U.S.-centric trait: The United States ranked 16th, well below the highest-scoring nations. Age and gender effects: Young adults and men scored higher on narcissism in almost all countries studied.
Source: Michigan State University
If you watch television, read popular books, or even study research articles, you may end up believing that narcissism is a characteristic unique to the United States, whether it is most common in American young adults, legal, business or entertainment professionals, or politicians.
But a recent study by researchers at Michigan State University’s Department of Psychology found that narcissism is a universal trait with consistent patterns across cultures. Interestingly, their findings indicate that the United States is not even among the five countries with the highest levels of narcissism, and that rates are highest among young adults and men.
Narcissism, which is a psychological trait involving excessively high self-esteem but relatively low empathy, also involves excessive positive focus on oneself and low regard for others.
The study, published in Self and Identity, included more than 45,000 people from 53 countries who provided survey data on how narcissistic they were. This data set used one of the largest and most culturally diverse data collections on psychological characteristics available.
The researchers examined how age, gender, and perceived status differences in narcissism manifested across countries, including examining the roles of individualism/collectivism values and each country’s gross domestic product, or GDP.
The study found that the five countries with the highest overall narcissism scores did not include the United States, which was 16th on the list. Rather, the five countries with the lowest narcissism scores were Germany, Iraq, China, Nepal, and South Korea, with the five countries with the lowest narcissism scores being Serbia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
The researchers also found consistently across cultures that younger adults were more narcissistic than older adults and that men were more narcissistic than women.
“We found that there were differences across cultures, including that people from countries with higher GDP were more narcissistic, but the degree to which younger adults were narcissistic compared to older adults didn’t matter much which country you were from,” said William Chopik, study co-author and associate professor in the Department of Psychology.
Previous research has shown that cultures play an important role in shaping the personality and lived experiences of people from different demographic backgrounds, but this study suggests that there are aspects of cultures that may not exert as strong an influence.
“Being young almost everywhere means focusing on yourself and thinking that you are better than you are,” Chopik said. “But life can be a humiliating experience, and it seems to humiliate people in similar ways across cultures.”
The researchers were also surprised to find that people from highly collectivistic or group-oriented countries had similar patterns to those from more individualistic thinking countries.
“Even cultures that we may consider group-oriented do not necessarily suppress self-focused behaviors,” said Macy Miscikowski, co-author and research associate.
“Perspectives like these encourage us to think about the balance between cultural and biological influences on personality. They also suggest interesting avenues for studies of how life experiences, social expectations, and economic contexts interact to shape the expression of narcissistic traits across the lifespan.”
Key questions answered:
A: No. The study found that several countries scored higher overall, putting the United States in the middle of the world rankings.
A: No. Young adults consistently scored higher than older adults, and men scored higher than women in almost all countries.
A: Not significantly. Even group-oriented cultures showed egocentric patterns similar to those in more individualistic countries.
Editorial notes:
This article was edited by a Neuroscience News editor. Magazine article reviewed in its entirety. Additional context added by our staff.
About this research news on psychology and egocentrism
Author: Jack Harrison
Source: Michigan State University
Contact: Jack Harrison – Michigan State University
Image: Image is credited to Neuroscience News.
Original research: Open access.
“Cultural Moderation of Demographic Differences in Narcissism” by William Chopik et al. Self and identity
Abstract
Cultural moderation of demographic differences in narcissism.
This study examined demographic differences in narcissism in 53 countries, with a sample of more than 45,000 participants.
We explored how age, gender, and perceived social status were associated with narcissistic admiration and rivalry, and whether these associations were moderated by cultural factors such as individualism/collectivism and gross domestic product (GDP).
Consistent with previous research, younger adults (compared to older adults), men (compared to women), and those who viewed themselves as higher status (compared to lower status) reported higher levels of narcissism. Narcissistic admiration and rivalry followed similar demographic trends.
People from higher GDP and more collectivistic cultures reported higher levels of narcissism (particularly admiration), and this latter effect challenged conventional views that narcissism is predominantly a product of individualistic societies.
Despite variation in mean levels of narcissism, demographic differences were largely consistent across cultures.
