Macho Man : Narcissism, Homophobia, Agency, Communion, and Authoritarianism - A Comparative Study Among Israeli Bodybuilders and a Control Group / Gidi Rubinstein. - (Psychology of Men & Masculinity 4 (2003) 2 (July); p. 100-110)
- DOI: 10.1037/1524-9220.4.2.100
Abstact
The present study quantitatively examined the ethnographic social–psychological profile suggested by A. M. Klein (1993) for American bodybuilders using Israeli bodybuilders. Eighty male gym trainees and 80 men who have never trained completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and Bem’s Sex Role Inventory, the Attitudes Toward Homosexuality (AHS) and the Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) Scales, and a demographic questionnaire. The bodybuilders showed the highest levels of narcissism and traits socially desirable for men and exhibited the highest scores on both agenetic and communal traits. Their AHS and RWA scores did not significantly differ from the other 2 groups, but their political affiliation was significantly more right wing. Cultural and methodological differences between Klein’s study and the present study as well as personality factors involved in bodybuilding are discussed.
