Do Narcissism and Emotional Intelligence Win Us Friends? Modeling Dynamics of Peer Popularity Using Inferential...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Network Analysis
• Personality Psychology

Background:

• Understanding the drivers of social popularity is crucial for social dynamics.
• Narcissism and emotional intelligence (EI) are key personality traits influencing social interactions.
• Longitudinal studies are needed to explore the dynamic nature of popularity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differential effects of narcissism and EI on the trajectory of popularity in social networks.
• To examine how these traits influence popularity changes over a three-month period.
• To differentiate the impact of narcissism and EI from self-esteem on social popularity.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal field study involving 15 peer groups (N=273).
• Measurement of narcissism, ability EI, explicit and implicit self-esteem.
• Popularity assessed at zero acquaintance and after 3 months, analyzed using temporal exponential random graph modeling (TERGM).

Main Results:

• Individuals high in narcissism achieved initial popularity but showed slower growth over time.
• Emotionally intelligent individuals demonstrated greater increases in popularity over the study period.
• These effects remained significant after controlling for explicit and implicit self-esteem.

Conclusions:

• Narcissism may be disadvantageous for achieving sustained popularity in social networks.
• Emotional intelligence is advantageous for enhancing popularity over the long term.
• The findings highlight the distinct roles of personality traits in shaping social network dynamics.