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Reducing narcissistic aggression by buttressing self-esteem: an experimental field study.

Sander Thomaes¹, Brad J Bushman, Bram Orobio de Castro

¹Department of Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. s.thomaes@uu.nl

Psychological Science

|November 13, 2009

Summary

Self-affirmation interventions can reduce narcissistic aggression in adolescents by helping them reflect on important values. This psychological strategy offers a way to decrease aggressive behaviors linked to ego threats.

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Area of Science:

Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Social Psychology

Background:

Narcissistic individuals exhibit aggression when their egos are threatened.
Understanding and mitigating narcissistic aggression is crucial, especially in at-risk youth.

Purpose of the Study:

To test if a social-psychological intervention, self-affirmation, reduces narcissistic aggression.
To investigate the impact of ego threat on aggression in adolescents.

Main Methods:

A randomized field experiment involving 405 adolescents (mean age 13.9 years).
Participants were assigned to either a self-affirmation writing task or a control task.
Self-affirmation involved reflecting on personally important values.

Main Results:

The self-affirmation writing assignment significantly reduced narcissistic aggression.
This reduction in aggression lasted for up to a school week, a duration significantly longer than the intervention itself.
Results indicate that buttressing self-esteem, not merely boosting it, is effective.

Conclusions:

Self-affirmation is an effective intervention for reducing narcissistic aggression in at-risk youth.
The findings provide the first empirical evidence for this approach in this population.
This intervention offers a promising strategy for managing aggression stemming from ego threats.