Community Feeling and Narcissism As Two Opposite Phenomena
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Zurich Open Repository and Archive University of Zurich Main Library Strickhofstrasse 39 CH-8057 Zurich www.zora.uzh.ch Year: 2020 Community Feeling and Narcissism as Two Opposite Phenomena Kałużna-Wielobób, Alina ; Strus, Włodzimierz ; Cieciuch, Jan Abstract: The objective of the current study was to examine the relations between narcissism and Adler’s community feeling. Based on theoretical considerations, we claim that community feeling can be treated as an opposite pole of narcissism and we expected that: (1) both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism would be negatively related to community feeling and that (2) grandiose and vulnerable narcissism would be positively related to anti-community domination and isolation. A sample of 520 university students (Mage D 21.37, SDage D 4.31) completed the Community Feeling Questionnaire (CFQ), the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) and the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS). Structural equation modeling largely confirmed our expectations. These results suggest that narcissism can be understood in terms of a deficit in community feeling. It turned out that community feeling and narcissism are related constructs but they are not reducible to each other. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.515895 Posted at the Zurich Open Repository and Archive, University of Zurich ZORA URL: https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-194257 Journal Article Published Version The following work is licensed under a Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. Originally published at: Kałużna-Wielobób, Alina; Strus, Włodzimierz; Cieciuch, Jan (2020). Community Feeling and Narcissism as Two Opposite Phenomena. Frontiers in Psychology, 11:515895. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.515895 ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 27 October 2020 doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.515895 Community Feeling and Narcissism as Two Opposite Phenomena Alina Kałuzna-Wielobób˙ 1*, Włodzimierz Strus2 and Jan Cieciuch2,3 1 Institute of Psychology, Pedagogical University of Kraków, Kraków, Poland, 2 Institute of Psychology, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland, 3 URPP Social Networks University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland The objective of the current study was to examine the relations between narcissism and Adler’s community feeling. Based on theoretical considerations, we claim that community feeling can be treated as an opposite pole of narcissism and we expected that: (1) both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism would be negatively related to community feeling and that (2) grandiose and vulnerable narcissism would be positively related to anti-community domination and isolation. A sample of 520 university students (Mage = 21.37, SDage = 4.31) completed the Community Feeling Questionnaire (CFQ), the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) and the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS). Structural equation modeling largely Edited by: Liat Levontin, confirmed our expectations. These results suggest that narcissism can be understood Technion Israel Institute in terms of a deficit in community feeling. It turned out that community feeling and of Technology, Israel narcissism are related constructs but they are not reducible to each other. Reviewed by: Emanuel Jauk, Keywords: community feeling, grandiose narcissism, narcissistic admiration and rivalry, vulnerable narcissism, Technische Universität Dresden, social interest Germany Marcin Zajenkowski, University of Warsaw, Poland INTRODUCTION *Correspondence: Alina Kałuzna-Wielobób˙ In the first half of the 20th century, two great analysts, the creator of psychoanalysis – Sigmund [email protected] Freud and the creator of individual psychology – Alfred Adler, independently described two seemingly related constructs. On the one hand, Freud (1914/1955) described the phenomenon Specialty section: of (secondary) narcissism, which was considered to be negative and maladaptive. On the other This article was submitted to hand, Adler (1938/2011) described the phenomenon of community feeling, a positive, pro- Personality and Social Psychology, health disposition, which is beneficial from the viewpoints of both individuals and society. a section of the journal Interestingly, the characteristics of people demonstrating a lack of community feeling resembles Frontiers in Psychology the characteristics of narcissistic people. Additionally, modern narcissism research distinguishes Received: 29 November 2019 two forms: grandiose and vulnerable narcissism (Wink, 1991; Pincus et al., 2009, Miller et al., 2012; Accepted: 09 September 2020 Krizan and Herlache, 2017). Similarly, a lack of community feeling can manifest in two ways: Published: 27 October 2020 the pursuit of domination and anxious isolation (Kałuzna-Wielobób,˙ 2017). The current study Citation: examines the relationship between two forms of narcissism and community feeling including the Kałuzna-Wielobób˙ A, Strus W and two anti-community orientations. Cieciuch J (2020) Community Feeling and Narcissism as Two Opposite Phenomena. Community Feeling Front. Psychol. 11:515895. Community feeling (or social interest: germ. Gemeinschaftsgefühl) was described by Alfred Adler doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.515895 in the 1930s based on data collected by him in psychotherapeutic practice (case studies, clinical Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 1 October 2020 | Volume 11 | Article 515895 Kałuzna-Wielobób˙ et al. Community Feeling and Narcissism research). Below we present the understanding of community operationalized Adler’s community feeling for empirical research feeling proposed by Adler in his classical texts (Adler, 1935, and can be considered a post-Adler approach. 1938/2011, 2005). According to Adler (1935, 1938/2011, 2005) On the basis of Adler’s concept of community feeling and community feeling can be treated as a relatively stable individual incorporating observations from her psychotherapeutic practice, characteristic (personality disposition) throughout life. It refers Kałuzna-Wielobób˙ (2017) created an experimental version of to one’s dominant life motivation and the basis for human the Community Feeling Questionnaire (CFQ), made up of 65 connectedness which is both a sense of unity and harmony. items, which was used to examine 585 adults aged 20–65. A pool People with a high sense of community feeling are motivated of items included in the CFQ was formulated on the basis of by the pursuit of the common good. Caring about the common Adler’s community feeling characteristics. Then, Item Cluster good, they strive to make their actions beneficial both for Analyses (iclust) were performed as an alternative to factor others and for themselves, and consider the effects in different analyses in order to reduce data complexity and to attempt time perspectives – the present and the near future, but also to identify homogeneous subgroupings (Revelle, 2016). This effects for future generations. They have a strong sense of method led to the identification of three clusters. Items indicative bonds, in contrast to people low in community feeling who are of high community feeling created a single cluster, but items egocentric and may feel alienated and isolated. People low in indicative of low community feeling created two separate clusters. community feeling may aim to show their superiority over others, Therefore, there is initial empirical evidence supporting a confirming their value by being better than others and acquiring differentiation between two types of low community feeling: anti- a dominant position, which will compensate for their feelings community domination and anti-community isolation, which of inferiority. People low in community feeling primarily focus differ qualitatively both from high community feeling and on personal benefits, without regard for the welfare of others from each other. or the common good. They try to overcome their inferiority These three clusters point to three community orientations complex by striving to achieve successes that will show their and can be characterized in the following way that combines superiority over other people or withdraw from activities in Adler’s (1938/2011, 2005) theoretical description and Kałuzna-˙ which they do not expect to be successful, which would raise their Wielobób (2017) empirical results. First, a pro-community sense of self-worth. Community feeling is a disposition with far- orientation is characterized by the motivation for a common reaching consequences that are visible in many domains. Table 1 good, a sense of meaning resulting from participating in actions presents the characteristics of people high and low in community for the common good, a feeling of unity with others, a feeling, based on Adler’s (1938/2011, 2005) texts, including the harmonious group cooperation capacity, kindness toward other most important spheres and aspects in which community feeling people, a focus on working on the quality of relationships manifests itself. with people (perfecting relations) and a tendency to experience Adler (1938/2011) believes that the successful completion of gratitude. Second, anti-community domination is characterized life tasks and ability to solve life problems depends on community by a tendency to dominate and overcome others, a tendency feeling. A person high in community feeling makes friends to show one is better than others, a rivalry attitude, a lack in easily, is interested in matters that are important for humanity, feeling harmony with others, perceiving people via categories and is