Self-Worth and Politics: The Distinctive Roles of Self-Esteem and Narcissism

Abstract

One of the classic questions in political psychology has been whether feelings of self-worth are relevant for politics. In this review, we summarize seven decades of research attempting to address this question, focusing on three sets of political outcomes: (1) political ideology, (2) political interest and engagement, and (3) intergroup relations. We rely on the distinction between self-esteem (feelings of adequacy and satisfaction with oneself) and narcissism (feelings of entitled self-importance and superiority over others). We argue that this distinction allows us to integrate the literature and explain the mixed effects observed in past research on self-evaluation and politics. Our review points to a key role of narcissistic status pursuit and psychological defensiveness in predicting potentially problematic political attitudes and behaviors. We discuss practical implications these associations might have for democratic functioning and for understanding political leaders. We conclude by identifying outstanding questions and promising new research directions.