Showbiz

Quiz: Can we guess how narcissistic you are based on the TV you watch?

Quiz: Can we guess how narcissistic you are based on the TV you watch?

A study has found that people with more narcissistic personality traits are more likely to watch certain genres of television.

The research, which included 565 men and women whose personalities and viewing habits were evaluated, found that certain genres were more likely to gain a viewership who had vain and narcissistic traits.

So, take our brief quiz to see which camp you fall into:

The study, published in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture, found that people exhibiting more narcissistic traits were more likely to watch reality TV, in addition to sport, political talk shows and thrillers.

Those who enjoyed watching the news, however, were found to be less likely to exhibit vain traits.

The study's authors said:

Interestingly, preference for news was negatively related to narcissism.

One possible explanation for this finding is that individuals who pay attention to the news are also more civically engaged and less individualistic.

The study also found that levels of narcissism were on the increase - at least among college students.

The authors wrote:

Many of the messages to which we are exposed on the TV today feature rampant self-interest, disregard of others’ well-being, and a focus on the individual above all else, which are all components of narcissism.

Our research suggests that those messages may in turn be cultivating narcissism in society.

HT Spring

More: It's official: men are more narcissistic than women

More: One sign that you are a narcissist

The Conversation (0)
x