Narcissism or Self-Esteem, Which is a Better Predictor for Selfie-Modification?
By: Soyeong Bak, Divya Shettigar
Department: Psychology
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Matsumoto
The new form of self-presentation, selfies has been examined in many research papers (Cohen et al., 2018; Mills et al., 2018; Ridgeway & Clayton, 2016). Previous research studies have examined the association between selfies-related behaviors and personality traits including Narcissism and Self-esteem (Biolcati & Passini, 2018; Halpern et al., 2016; Shane-Simpson et al., 2020; Sung et al., 2016). A few studies suggested a positive association between selfies-taking, selfies-posting, and narcissism (Biolcati & Passini, 2018; Sung et al., 2016). One study suggested a negative association between selfies-taking, selfies-posting, and self-esteem (Veldhuis & Alleva, 2020). However, the association between selfie-modification and related personality traits have not been examined yet. Therefore, in the present study, we examined how narcissism and self-esteem are associated with selfie-modification behavior. An online survey was conducted via Qualtrics, and a total of 75 participants in San Francisco State University participated (M age = 22.07, SD = 6.96). A principal component analysis was conducted on the 9-item Selfie-modification Questionnaire. Three components of selfie-modification have been found including, (a) Beliefs on difference between original and modified picture, (b) Frequency of selfie-taking and posting, and (c) Frequency of selfie-modification. A series of multiple regression analysis was conducted for each component as dependent variable. First multiple linear regression was calculated to predict Beliefs on difference between original and modified picture. A significant regression equation was found F(2, 72) = 3.82, p < .05, with an R2 of .10. Among the predictors, one’s narcissism was statistically significant predictor, t(72) = -2.69, p = .009. Second multiple linear regression was calculated to predict Frequency of selfie-taking and posting. A significant regression equation was found F(2, 72) = 3.91, p < .05, with an R2 of .10. Among the predictors, one’s narcissism was statistically significant predictor, t(72) = 2.74, p = .008. Third multiple linear regression was calculated to predict Frequency of selfie-modification. A non-significant regression equation was found F(2, 72) = .607, p > .05, with R2 of .02. None of the predictors were statistically significant. These results suggest that narcissism predicts more on one’s beliefs on difference between original and modified picture and frequency of selfie-taking and posting compared with self-esteem.