New research suggests the type of identity that politicians embrace is related to their professional skills, integrity, and commitment to their party. The study, conducted among members of Iceland’s Left-Green Movement, revealed that politicians who identify strongly with their party exhibit better political skills and greater dedication to their party, whereas those exhibiting partisan narcissism – an inflated belief in their party’s superiority – tend to show lower integrity and a greater likelihood of switching political allegiances. The findings appear in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
The research team embarked on this study to explore an area often overlooked in political psychology: how the internal identities of politicians, specifically their sense of belonging to a political party, affect their behavior and attitudes. Politicians’ behaviors are crucial in shaping public policy and governance, yet understanding the psychological underpinnings of these behaviors has not been a focal point of research.
The researchers aimed to distinguish between ‘partisan narcissism’ – a belief in one’s political party as exceptional and entitled to special status – and ‘partisan identification’ – a more balanced and positive sense of belonging and pride in one’s party.
“I have been fascinated by how our identities shape the way we feel, think and behave. Political party identities have been of a particular interest,” said study author Bjarki Gronfeldt, an assistant professor at Bifröst University who conducted the research while a PhD student at the University of Kent.
“In my research, I have examined how collective narcissism, a belief in the greatness of one’s social group that is underappreciated by others, contrasts with group identification, feeling part of the group and evaluating it positively. In the political party context, these types of identities are referred to as partisan narcissism and partisan identification.”
“The organizational psychology literature established a long time ago that the way we identify with our organisations or workplaces can influence our conduct and performance at work,” Gronfeldt explained. “This got me wondering if parallel processes were at play among politicians and begged the question: Do political party identities relate with different outcomes in politicians’ work?”
“In other words, is it possible that partisan identification and partisan narcissism This question had not been addressed yet, since politicians as a group of research participants are notoriously difficult to recruit. I made this my masters project and one part of my PhD thesis.”
The study was conducted between November 2017 and February 2018, involving 214 active members and candidates of the Left-Green Movement, a prominent left-wing political party in Iceland. The participants, averaging 48.53 years in age and including a slight majority of female members. This was significant because politicians and political candidates are often hard to reach for academic studies.
The researchers employed a range of measures to assess the psychological constructs of interest. To gauge partisan narcissism, they used a modified version of the Collective Narcissism Scale, adapting it to the political context of the Left-Green Movement (e.g., “I insist upon the Left-Greens getting the respect they are due”). Partisan identification was measured using the Social Identification Scale, focusing on self-perceived ties with the party (e.g., “I have a lot in common with other members of the Left-Greens”).
The researchers also assessed political skill using the Political Skill Inventory, adapted for the political nature of the participants’ work. Additionally, they measured integrity by reverse coding a politicking scale from the Political Performance Questionnaire and assessed party dedication through questions about intentions to leave the party, history of switching political parties, and hours volunteered for party activities.
Participants who showed higher partisan identification were found to possess better political skills, such as the ability to effectively navigate the political landscape and build networks. They were also more dedicated to their party, evident in their volunteering efforts and lower intentions to leave the party. On the other hand, those exhibiting partisan narcissism tended towards behaviors that undermine political integrity, including deceit and politicking. Interestingly, partisan narcissism was linked to a history of switching political parties, suggesting a lesser degree of loyalty or commitment.
This suggests that while a strong, positive identification with one’s party is linked to a politician’s skills and dedication, an inflated, narcissistic belief in the party’s superiority is associated with lower integrity and less stable political affiliations.
“There is more to partisanship than bias,” Gronfeldt told PsyPost. “In my study, politicians with stronger levels of partisan identification reported higher levels of political skill and integrity in their political work and dedication to their party by volunteering in its grassroots activities and intending to stay with the party.”
“Meanwhile, partisan narcissism was associated with lower integrity in one’s political role, meaning those high in partisan narcissism reported more inclination to engage in secrecy, deception, and political bloodsport (behavior also known as politicking). Further, politicians high in partisan narcissism were more likely to have switched parties in the past. Thus, partisan narcissism was associated with more malevolent behaviors many find stereotypical of politicians, while the same does not apply to partisan identification.”
Despite these significant findings, the study had its limitations. The sample was specific to a left-wing party in Iceland, which might limit the generalizability of the findings to other political contexts and ideologies. Moreover, the cross-sectional nature of the study means that causal relationships between the variables cannot be definitively established. The study also relied on self-reported data, which can be subject to bias.
“There is still a lot to be done in this field,” Gronfeldt said. “For example, some very interesting research is coming out about the role of dark personalities (Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy( both among voters and politicians. I would be very interested in seeing how partisan narcissism relates with these.”
The study, “Party people: Differentiating the associations of partisan identification and partisan narcissism with political skill, integrity, and party dedication“, was authored by Bjarki Gronfeldt, Aleksandra Cislak, Madeleine Wyatt, and Aleksandra Cichocka.
