Grandiose or vulnerable? Narcissism subtype differentiates materialistic pursuit

Abstract

The study sought the unravel the differential materialistic tendencies of narcissists as a function of their grandiosity and vulnerability (GN and VN). We propose that self-esteem lies at core of materialistic behavior and hypothesize that any differential GN/VN and materialism relationship is influenced by the nature of association between self-esteem and GN/VN. Two empirical studies were conducted. Study – 1 examined the mediating role of self – esteem among working managers (n = 327). Further, in Study – 2, the shopping cart of a large group (n = 233) of regular Amazon shoppers was profiled for purchase patterns in an online shopping task. In Study – 1, it was observed that self-esteem significantly mediated the effects of the grandiose and vulnerable narcissism onto materialism. Further, in Study – 2, it was observed that, grandiose (vulnerable) narcissists primarily purchased branded (trendy) products, of higher (lower) average price per product, and spent a larger (smaller) proportion of their money in buying costly products. The research summarizes self-esteem related differences between grandiose and vulnerable narcissists and sheds light on the different motivational basis to this materialistic tendency. The findings further challenge extant ideas concerning the relationship between narcissists and their association with prominent brands.