2021/07/27 by Joshua Hart, Nathaniel Stekler · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Personality Traits and Psychology #Social and Intergroup Psychology
paper · doi:10.1080/00224545.2021.1944035
openalex publication_date 2021/07/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Former US President Donald Trump's 2016 election victory defied expectations. Trump was an unconventional candidate, and his presidency was true to form. What accounts for his popularity? Integrating work on narcissism with the dual-process motivational model of ideology, we propose that individuals higher in narcissism are more likely to adopt right-wing authoritarian and social-dominance oriented attitudes, which lead them to embrace socially and economically conservative policy positions, respectively. Thus, they are receptive to Trump's anti-immigration stance, a centerpiece of his political messaging from the campaign trail to the White House. The present study (N = 302) yielded results consistent with this analysis: Right-wing authoritarianism and social-dominance orientation mediated the association between narcissism and Trump support, via social and economic conservatism and immigration attitudes. The study represents an initial test of a potentially generative framework on which future research can elaborate.