A New Measure of Interpersonal Exploitativeness

Abstract

Measures of exploitativeness evidence problems with validity and reliability. The present set of studies assessed a new measure [the Interpersonal Exploitativeness Scale (IES)] that defines exploitativeness in terms of reciprocity. In Studies 1 and 2, 33 items were administered to participants. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated that a single factor consisting of six items adequately assess interpersonal exploitativeness. Study 3 results revealed that the IES was positively associated with “normal” narcissism, pathological narcissism, psychological entitlement, and negative reciprocity and negatively correlated with positive reciprocity. In Study 4, participants competed in a commons dilemma. Those who scored higher on the IES were more likely to harvest a greater share of resources over time, even while controlling for other relevant variables, such as entitlement. Together, these studies show the IES to be a valid and reliable measure of interpersonal exploitativeness. The authors discuss the implications of these studies.

Social Motivation: Costs and Benefits of Selfishness and Otherishness

“…For example, people high in psychological entitlement, interpersonal exploitativeness, and/or dispositional greed make more competitive and fewer cooperative choices in resource allocation tasks, such as the commons dilemma and the dictator game. These competitive choices result in greater gain for the selfish person in the short term, to the detriment of others (Brunell et al 2013, Seuntjens et al 2015.…”

“…Self-interest is at best a weak predictor of attitudes and behavior (Sears & Funk 1990). Although some people are self-interested most of the time (Brunell et al 2013), and some situations tend to elicit selfinterested behavior and motivations in many people (Li et al 2013), people are also capable of acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion (for reviews, see Mikulincer & Shaver 2010). Humans, like other mammals, have an evolved caregiving system that promotes and motivates caring for their young, who are incapable of surviving on their own.…”

“…For example, narcissistic personality characteristics, particularly entitlement (Campbell et al 2004) and exploitativeness (Brunell et al 2013), reflect selfish motivation. Dispositional greed (Seuntjens et al 2015), materialism , and aspiring for fame and fortune (Kasser & Ryan 1996) generally reflect selfish tendencies, although people can aspire to be wealthy or famous, or loved and community-oriented, for either selfish or otherish reasons (Carver & Baird 1998).…”

The Strategic Helper: Narcissism and Prosocial Motives and Behaviors

“…Although other important work relies on hypothetical dilemmas, it is still the most akin to behavior that currently exists. These studies have found that narcissism is associated with less contributions to the common good in a resource dilemma game (Brunell et al, 2013;Campbell et al, 2005).…”

“…These studies found that narcissism (especially narcissistic exploitativeness) was associated with a greater tendency to harvest more natural resources (i.e., forests) in hypothetical resource dilemma games, which in turn, depleted these resources for the larger community (Brunell et al, 2013;Campbell, Bush, Brunell, & Shelton, 2005). In other words, more narcissistic people behaved more selfishly and less prosocially in these games.…”