“I suppose all fictional characters, especially in adventure or heroic fiction, at the end of the day are our dreams about ourselves. And sometimes they can be really revealing.”
- Alan Moore
A new study published in Psychology of Popular Media proposed that individuals who admire comic books heroes (as opposed to villains) are more likely to be narcissistic and engage in a one-sided emotional relationship with their favorite character.
This research was carried out by Zara Brodie and Joanne Ingram, lecturers at the School of Education and Social Science at the University of the West of Scotland.
On the seventh season of The Walking Dead, the show’s most beloved character was gruesomely killed off and the backlash from his death was unlike anything the show had experienced before. Some fans filmed videos of themselves crying, while others vowed to never watch the show again.
This intense negative reaction to the death of a fictional character can be explained by the existence of a parasocial relationship. This type of relationship occurs when one person develops an intimate and one-sided connection with someone who is unaware of their existence. Fans often develop this relationship with celebrities, athletes or fictional characters who they greatly admire.
The researchers were curious whether the dark triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism) are associated with the formation of a parasocial relationship with a comic book hero or villain.
Machiavellianism is reflected by a willingness to manipulate and exploit others for personal gain while psychopathy is characterized by poor impulse control, callousness and lack of empathy. Conversely, feelings of superiority, grandiose sense of self-importance and preoccupation with presenting oneself in a positive light are markers for narcissism.
The researchers designed the following experiment to test the link between the dark triad personality traits and parasocial relationships. They were also curious whether the results would differ for people who identified their favourite character as a villain as opposed to a hero.
In this experiment, the researchers defined a parasocial relationship by four dimensions.
Guidance: the individual will look upon the character as a role model for advice
Face-to-face desire: the individual will wish to communicate with the character
Intimacy: the individual feels closeness and comfort with the character
Familiarity: the degree of knowledge or familiarity the individual has with the character
Participants between the age of 16 to 57 were recruited through Facebook and Twitter, three local comic book conventions and MTurk. They completed a series of questionnaires regarding their engagement with comic books, including their favourite character.
Based on their response, the most popular heroes were Batman, Spiderman, Superman and Wonder Woman, while the most popular villains were Harley Quinn, Joker, Deadpool and Poison Ivy. Although Harley Quinn and Deadpool were rated as heroes by some, and villains by others.
Next, participants were given a survey to assess their dark triad personality traits and instructed to respond between 1 (strongly disagree) to 9 (strongly agree). The survey included statements such as, “I tend to seek prestige or status” (narcissism), “I tend to lack remorse” (psychopathy) and “I have used deceit or lied to get my way” (Machiavellianism).
Lastly, to assess their parasocial relationship with their favourite character, they responded to statements such as, “I treat my favourite character as a role model” (guidance), “If given the opportunity, I would contact my favourite character” (face-to-face desire), “I see my favourite character as a close friend” (Intimacy) and “I am familiar with the habits of my favourite character” (familiarity).
The results revealed that those who indicated that their favourite comic book character was a hero were significantly higher in narcissism. In turn, narcissism predicted increased guidance seeking and desire to engage in face-to-face contact, as well as elevated feelings of intimacy and familiarity with their favourite comic book character.
Recall, narcissism entails a chronic desire for admiration and approval, which some refer to as an “addiction to esteem”. Since heroes are often perceived in a positive light, individuals high in narcissism may hope to emulate these heroic characters as a way to gain the adoration and admiration of others.
As for the other two traits in the dark triad, psychopathy and Machiavellianism weren’t significantly associated with the formation of parasocial relationships. Individuals high in psychopathy and Machiavellianism often exploit and manipulate others for their personal gain. However, in a one-sided relationship, this isn’t possible, which may cause them to quickly lose interest.
In sum, the researchers found that those whose favourite comic book character was a hero were more likely to display qualities of narcissism and engage in a parasocial relationship with that character. This association may occur due to a desire to be praised and viewed in the same positive regard that’s often reserved for those who commit heroic acts.