The person in the purchase: Narcissistic consumers prefer products that positively distinguish them.

Abstract

Narcissists, who seek keenly to self-enhance, strive to positively distinguish themselves. Might they therefore be inclined to purchase consumer products that enable them to do so? Study 1 found that narcissism, but not self-esteem, predicted dispositions to purchase products for the purpose of promoting personal uniqueness. Studies 2 and 3 found that narcissism predicted greater interest in exclusive, customizable, and personalizable products. Study 3 also found participants higher in narcissism regarded their prized possessions as less likely to be owned by others. Finally, Studies 3 and 4 found that interest in a hypothetical product, respectively, to be bought either for oneself or someone else, covaried with an experimental manipulation of product exclusivity and scarcity, but principally when levels of narcissism were high. Our findings illustrate the impact of narcissism on consumer preferences and support an agentic interpretation of narcissistic self-enhancement.