Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating: universal links across 11 world regions of the international sexuality description project-2

David P. Schmitt*, Lidia Alcalay, Jüri Allik, I. C. B. Alves, Craig A. Anderson, A. L. Angelini, Jens B. Asendorpf, Ivars Austers, Isabel Balaguer, Américo Baptista, Sóley S. Bender, Kevin Bennett, Gabriel Bianchi, Behrooz Birashk, April Bleske-Rechek, Fredrick A. Boholst, Lynda Boothroyd, Teresa Borja, Arjan Bos, Edwin BrainerdGary L. Brase, José Brites, M. Burakova-Lorgnier, Mark Byrd, J. A. Camilleri, Andrea Camperio Ciani, Leo Gerard A. Caral, Katherine B. Carnelley, Marina Carvalho, Janette Casson, Isabel Castillo, Alejandro Castro, Mariamartina Casullo, Valery I. Chirkov, Jean Choi, Danielle Cohen, Cecilie Amalie Collin-Hansen, Melissa A. Commisso, Elvira Consuegra, Lorena Cordovez, Cem Safak Cukur, Mary Ann Borg Cunen, Michael Cunningham, Layton Seth Curl, Petra Daniel, Jaap J.A. Denissen, Serge Desmarais, Eros Desouza, Rolando Diaz-Loving, M. Shamsuddin Elias, Aukse Endriulaitiene, Ekin Eremsoy, Francisca Expósito, Ruth Falzon, Ana Maria Fernandez, Kumari Fernando, José H.B.P. Ferreira, Bernhard Fink, Maryanne Fisher, Julie Fitness, Karissa Flowers, David Frederick, Sirpa Fry, Osamu Fukushima, Stanley O. Gaines, Renee V. Galliher, E. Gandari, Glenn Geher, Douglas A. Gentile, Jessica M. Geri, V. N. Giri, Deborah Golden, Fiona Gordon, Kristina C. Gordon, Karl Grammer, Liria Grimaldi, Stephen Giunta, Endre Hajdú, Jamin Halberstadt, Gert Hald, Magdalena S. Halim, Shamsul Haque, Siri Katinka Harlem, Krystle A. Hearns, Patrick Heaven, Marie Helweg-Larsen, Eduardowills Herrera, Dora Herrera, Janine Hertel, Heather Hoffmann, Henrik Høgh-Olesen, Barbara J. Houle, Jasna Hudek-Knezevic, Jas Jaafar, Konstantinos Kafetsios, Igor Kardum, Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Brigitte Khoury, Tibor Kökény, Silvia Koller, Solvina Konrads, John R. Kraft, Barry X. Kuhle, Agota Kun, Anton Rupert Laireiter, Katalin Lányi, Maryanne Lauri, Shiri Lavy, Olufemi Adigun Lawal, Visvaldas Legkauskas, Chen Li, Hung Yu Lin, Robert Lloyd, Kenneth D. Locke, Sylvie A. Lombardo, Ivan Luksik, Brian Lythe, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Sanna Malinen, Heather J. Martin, Teresa Anne B. Mashego, Michael E. Mills, Mario Mikulincer, Imelu G. Mordeno, Miguel Moya, C. Ndeya-Ndereya, Mark Nelissen, Franz J. Neyer, Helmuth Nyborg, V. B. Oliveira, Adrian Opre, Suzanne L. Osman, Delroy L. Paulhus, Boguslaw Pawlowski, Lars Penke, Letitia Anne Peplau, Nebojsa Petrovic, Steven M. Platek, Nuška Podobnik, Tünde Polonyi, Miroslav Popper, Ulf Dietrich Reips, Wade C. Rowatt, Willibald Ruch, Margaret Makore Rukuni, Velko S. Rus, Brad J. Sagarin, Kikue Sakaguchi, Sonia Salas, N. Kenneth Sandnabba, Pekka Santtila, Dory A. Schachner, Monika Schmidt, Astrid Schütz, Todd K. Shackelford, Phillip R. Shaver, Lindiwe B.T. Sibisi, Francis Sichona, Franco Simonetti, Tilahun Sineshaw, Toshihiko Souma, Tatjana Stefanovic Stanojevic, Irmina Sukiennik, Nebi Sümer, Petra Szeghy, Sara Leyla Szente, Tomasz Szlendak, Daniel Tefera, Niki Thoma, Sigal Tifferet, Chris Tkach, Zita Tordai, Eleanor Tranthan, Ioannis Tsaousis, F. S.K. Tungaraza, Marijke Van Duynslaeger, Pepijn Van Empelen, Frank Van Overwalle, Ine Vanwesenbeeck, Marco Antônio Corrêa Varella, Pablo Vera-Villarroel, Martin Voracek, Dmitry Vorontsov, Wendy Wan, Petr Weiss, Deborah P. Welsh, Siswa Widyatmoko, Liesbeth Woertman, Eileen Wood, Lucinda Woodward, Hai Ye, Gahyun Youn, Agata Zupančič

*Corresponding author for this work

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    Abstract

    Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)89-137
    Number of pages49
    JournalPsihologijske Teme
    Volume26
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2017

    Bibliographical note

    Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

    Spanish title translation - Narcisismo y búsqueda estratégica del emparejamiento a corto plazo a través de las culturas: enlaces omnipresentes a través de 11 regiones mundiales del Proyecto de la descripción de la sexualidad internacional 2

    Keywords

    • narcissism
    • sexuality
    • personality
    • cross-cultural psychology

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