Narcissists don’t care about approval: the role of narcissism and status motives in explaining the relationship between self-objectification and approval motivation

Abstract

Prior research has established that women who self-objectify seek approval from others more strongly than women who self-objectify less. Yet the boundary conditions of this link remain largely unexamined. Building on hierometer theory, which postulates that narcissism tracks social status and motivates status-optimizing behaviour, we tested whether the desire for social status (e.g., among narcissists) severed the association between self-objectification and approval seeking. Two cross-sectional studies (NS1 = 200; NS2 = 201) using moderated mediation models found support for this proposition. The moderated mediation model shows that the link between self-objectification and approval seeking was attenuated among narcissists, as narcissists seek higher social status, instead of favour and approval from others. Together, the studies suggest that self-objectification no longer predicts approval seeking among individuals who prioritise status over inclusion. The findings help further connect the self-objectification literature to research on social status and self-regard. Practical implications and extensions are discussed.