Greenwash yourself: The relationship between communal and agentic narcissism and pro-environmental behavior

People's pro-environmental behavior (PEB) can reflect their concern for the environment, but it can also have selfish reasons. The present study (N = 261) addresses the relationship between communal and agentic narcissism on the one hand, and altruistic and egoistic PEB on the other. To assess participant's PEB, a general self-report questionnaire and a diary approach were employed. For the general questionnaire, linear regression models revealed a significant positive correlation between communal narcissism and egoistic PEB. For the diary data, multilevel models showed that communal narcissism was positively linked to both egoistic and altruistic PEB, whereas agentic narcissism and altruistic PEB were negatively related. We discuss possible reasons for why results of the general and multilevel diary approach differ and how leveraging narcissism could be used to enhance PEB.