Interpersonal Transgressions and Interest in Spiritual Activities: The Role of Narcissism

As levels of narcissism rise among Americans, it is important to understand how being narcissistic affects individuals’ day-to-day lives. One domain in which narcissism may have particularly interesting effects is individuals’ spirituality. When interpersonal expectations have been violated, individ...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Current psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.) N.J.), 2016-06, Vol.35 (2), p.195-206
Main Authors: Simpson, Austin J., Hermann, Anthony D., Lehtman, Mark J., Fuller, Robert C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Biblical literature
Emotions
Narcissism
Personal relationships
Personality
Personality traits
Prayer
Psychology
Religion
Social Sciences
Spirituality
Traditions
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:As levels of narcissism rise among Americans, it is important to understand how being narcissistic affects individuals’ day-to-day lives. One domain in which narcissism may have particularly interesting effects is individuals’ spirituality. When interpersonal expectations have been violated, individuals experience a variety of emotions. Chief among these emotions is guilt, which is linked both thematically and empirically to many aspects of Western religion. Given narcissism’s complex relationship with guilt, it is important to investigate how narcissists may react to failings in the interpersonal domain, particularly in a spiritual context. The current study investigated the effects of a simulated interpersonal failing on narcissists’ interest in a variety of spiritual behaviors, including prayer, seeking spiritual guidance, and participating in spiritual activities aimed at self-enhancement. After reading a scenario designed to induce feelings associated with interpersonal failings, participants reported their interest in a variety of religious activities, including prayer. Results indicated that the manipulation tended to decrease interest in a variety of spiritual activities across the sample, but that these effects were only robust among participants high in narcissism.
ISSN:1046-1310
1936-4733
DOI:10.1007/s12144-015-9393-z