Uncertainty enhances the preference for narcissistic leaders
Abstract
Narcissistic leaders present us with an interesting paradox, because they have positive as well as negative characteristics. As such, we argue that the nature of the context determines how suitable narcissists are perceived to be as leaders. Here we propose that a specific contextual factor, that is, uncertainty, increases the preference for narcissists as leaders. As an initial test of this prediction, the first study showed that narcissistic characteristics were evaluated as more desirable in a leader in an uncertain context rather than a certain context. In Studies 2 and 3, we further hypothesized and found that high narcissists are chosen as leaders more often than low narcissists, especially in uncertain (rather than certain) contexts. In all of the studies, individuals were shown to be aware of the negative features of narcissistic leaders, such as arrogance and exploitativeness, but chose them as leaders in times of uncertainty, regardless. Thus, a narcissistic leader is perceived as someone who can help reduce individual uncertainty. These results reveal the importance of contextual uncertainty in understanding the allure of narcissistic leaders. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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In times of economic or personal uncertainty, groups elect more dominant and narcissistic leaders.
“Indeed, especially in times of economic or personal uncertainty, groups have been shown to elect more dominant (Kakkar & Sivanathan, 2017) and narcissistic (Nevicka, De Hoogh, Van Vianen, & Ten Velden, 2013) leaders.”
From The "Why" and "How" of Narcissism: A Process Model of Narcissistic Status Pursuit (2020) · cites this paper as Nevicka, De Hoogh, Van Vianen, & Ten Velden, 2013
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The "Why" and "How" of Narcissism: A Process Model of Narcissistic Status Pursuit
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- Authors
- Nevicka, B., De Hoogh, A. H. B., Van Vianen, A. E. M., & Ten Velden, F. S.
- Affiliations
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- University of Amsterdam Amsterdam The Netherlands
- Corresponding author
- Nevicka, Barbora
- Venue
- European Journal of Social Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2013-05-11
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 370-380
- ISSN
- 0046-2772 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-0992
- OpenAlex
- W1779989117
- Cited by
- 100
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 10 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 5.56
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › History, Medicine, and Leadership
- Keywords
- narcissistic leadership, leadership preferences, contextual uncertainty, leader evaluation, leadership selection, arrogance, exploitativeness
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