British Journal of Psychology (2010). 101.411^32 »UWVK (- © 20/0 The British Psycho/ogica/Society •i ' ' * ^ ^ bociety 411 The British Psychological www.bpsioumals.co.uk An interest in fame: Confirming the measurement and empirical conceptualization of fame interest John Maltby* University of Leicester, UK The following paper introduces and develops the conceptualization of Fame Interest Study I (N = 1,978), through the use of factor analysis techniques, introduces the Fame Interest Scale which comprises six dimensions of Fame Interest (intensity, vulnerability, celebrity life-style, drive, perceived suitability, and altruistic) with evidence for the reliability and validity of the scale. Study 2 (N = 376) examined the relationship between an interest in fame and measures of the five-factor model of personality, narcissism, self-esteem, curiosity, attachment style and perceived family, and peer and media influence. From this second study four findings emerge; ( I ) Fame Interest typified by a perceived suitability and intensity for a celebrity life-style was associated with perceived family, peer and media influence, (2) Fame Interest that arises from a vulnerability is a reflection of neuroticism, low self-esteem, and problematic attachments, (3) Fame Interest for altruistic reasons is associated with agreeableness, and (4) Fame Interest that reflects an overall drive is associated with conscientiousness. According to the UK's Learning and Skills Council (2006), 16% of 16-19-year-olds presently believe they are going to become famous, and 11% are prepared to abandon formal education in pursuit ofthat goal, regardle.ss of any particular talent. A survey for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that 60% of teachers qtiestioned felt that their pupils most aspired to be like David Beckham, and tbat 32% said their pupils modelled themselves on P:iris Hilton (BBC News online, 2008; Pattinson, 2008). The psycbological reasons why people, who are not famous, show an interest in being famous, bas not been directly examined. ' Primarily, ctirrent theory and research is based on observations of tbose that are famous. Giles (2000), drawing largely on celebrity biograpbies and media interview material, suggests that establisbed celebrities are driven to identify honourable reasons for their success, reflecting artistic or athletic endeavour and tend to give altruistic explanations for any desire for fame. Other theory •* Correspondence should be addressed to Dr John Maltby. School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Lancaster Road, Leicester LEI 9HN, UK (e-mail: jml48@le.ac.uk). Previous research hos labelled those wanting fame as either 'wishing to become famous', 'desiring fame', or 'seeking fame', which may be misleading as these terms attribute emotional or behavioural aspects to the phenomena and there is no theoretical or empirical support for such a description. Therefore, it seems prudent to use a term with less powerful connotations and for this reason the term 'interest' is used throughout this paper. DOI: 10.1348/000712609X466568