Top Research Papers on Narcissism

The aim of this research was to explore the underlying structural organization and centrality of narcissism features by using network analysis. The research was conducted on a sample from the general population using subscales of four narcissism instruments (Narcissism Personality Inventory, Grandiose Narcissism Scale, Pathological Narcissism Inventory, Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory Short Form). The results revealed detection of four communities, one of which was interpreted as vulnerable narcissism, while the remaining three were interpreted as aspects of grandiose narcissism (grandiose ex...

This is the first large-scale, systematic, and multimethod investigation linking grandiose narcissism and prosociality, and it finds that agentic and communal narcissists evinced substantial levels of Prosociality self-enhancement, whereas their non-narcissistic counterparts did not enhance their prossociality at all.

Abstract The young field of research on youth narcissism has begun to bloom. Narcissism is a personality type marked by a sense of grandiosity and a strong need to get attention and admiration from others. Youth narcissism typically emerges at some point in late childhood or adolescence as a derailment of normal self‐development and may yield considerable impairment in psychological and interpersonal adjustment. This chapter provides an integrative overview of current knowledge on youth narcissism—discussing its historical roots, theoretical underpinnings, manifestations, and developmental ori...

Correlations between the grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism with two self-report personality measures (i.e., BIS-11 and I7) and two behavioral tasks (i.e., Stop-Signal Task and Delay-Discounting task) of impulsivity in 338 students were examined. As one of the first studies to apply a two-dimensional approach to narcissism (i.e. grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism) in different self-report and behavioral impulsivity measures, the present results have reported that both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism showed a significant positive correlations with the self-reported i...

Communal narcissism had a notably strong relationship with wanting validation on all platforms and the results suggest that communal narcissism might be especially relevant in the context of social media use.

Are recent cohorts of college students more narcissistic than their predecessors? To address debates about the so-called “narcissism epidemic,” we used data from three cohorts of students (1990s: N = 1,166; 2000s: N = 33,647; 2010s: N = 25,412) to test whether narcissism levels (overall and specific facets) have increased across generations. We also tested whether our measure, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), showed measurement equivalence across the three cohorts, a critical analysis that had been overlooked in prior research. We found that several NPI items were not equivalent a...

The aim of this article is to investigate the role of the grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in the economic game. One widely employed paradigm in this field of experimental economic games is the prisoner's dilemma—used to examine competitive versus cooperative behaviour. In the present study a prisoner's dilemma game was administrated to individuals (N = 320), along with measures of grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism and impulsivity. Specifically, our results show that vulnerable narcissism has a significant positive effect on defecting behaviors, while grandiose narcissism has a si...

In this study, we investigated the relationship between narcissism, creative personality traits, ideational fluency, and accomplishments in various creative activities. We measured narcissism with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Emmons, 1987), creative personality with the Creative Person Profile (Martinsen, 2011), creative potential with a figural measure of divergent thinking, and a biographical inventory was used to measure accomplishments in creative activities. The sample consisted of 1375 young adults, mainly men. The results showed that narcissism was associated with fluency, se...

It is suggested that a failure to distinguish between grandiose and vulnerable presentations of narcissism has led to a less cohesive and coherent literature and that trait-based models of personality and personality disorder can bring greater clarity to many of these important debates.

Abstract The scientific study of narcissism has accelerated in recent years. However, this literature has primarily been cross‐sectional and descriptive in nature, making it difficult to integrate with theories of narcissism, which instead emphasize various dynamics. Theoretical work construes narcissism as a complex dynamical system with processes that interact to contribute to narcissism expression and maintenance. We begin by reviewing theoretical accounts of narcissism and what they suggest about dynamic processes. We then review research that examines processes associated with narcissism ...

Previous research has shown that individuals high in narcissism mistrust others, yet little is known about narcissism's relation to trust. In the current study (N = 727), we aim to close this gap in the literature by examining the relationship between facets of trust (i.e., cognitive bias in the evaluation of others and personal trustworthiness) and facets of grandiose narcissism (i.e., agentic, antagonistic, and communal). We strive to answer the question whether narcissistic individuals believe that others are reliable, honest, and benevolent (how they perceive others) and whether they prese...

We investigated the links between grandiose narcissism (agentic and communal) and social motives (social egosystem vs. social ecosystem). In Study 1, agentic narcissism was positively associated with egosystem (self-serving) motives, and was negatively associated with ecosystem (prosocial) motives, as assessed by explicit and more behavioral means. The pattern for communal narcissism was more complex, depending on mode of assessment. Striving for egosystem (vs. ecosystem) goals interacted with longitudinal goal-attainment to predict increases in agentic narcissism over 30 days. Study 2 replica...

Four studies are presented documenting the construction and psychometric properties of a 15-item Narcissism Scale for Children, adapted from the (adult) NarcISSism Scale, with evidence for good validity and reliability.

Modernism, which appeared as a result of industrialization, has since then developed further, resulting in a postmodern society, characterized by a significant change in values. This shift in values is particularly evident in the quality of education, and man's subsequent relation towards work as a result. Schools have become social institutions in which learners spend their time in the role of served clients. The teacher is therefore assigned the social role of the servant, in which he is to primarily satisfy the pupil in his personal needs. This kind of relationship stems from the phenomenon...

Results are generally consistent with a burgeoning literature that suggests that the FFNI/FFNI-SF is a promising tool for the study of narcissism given its comprehensiveness, flexibility, and ties to the predominant model of personality.

Regression analyses showed that, even after controlling the effects of self-esteem and temperament, vulnerable narcissism was related to increased hostility, anger, and shame, whereas grandiose narcissismwas related to inflated performance estimates following the task.

Traditional conceptualisations of nationalism focus on the need for intergroup domination. We argue that current politics are rather driven by the need for recognition of the greatness of one’s nation. In psychological literature, the need for the nation’s appreciation is captured by the concept of collective narcissism—a belief in in-group greatness contingent on external recognition. We demonstrate that collective narcissism is associated with support for national populist parties and policies. We also review the empirical evidence for the intergroup and intragroup concomitants of collective...

The current article reviews the narcissism–self-enhancement literature using a multilevel meta-analytic technique. Specifically, we focus on self-insight self-enhancement (i.e., whether narcissists perceive themselves more positively than they are perceived by others); thus, we only include studies that compare narcissists’ self-reports to observer reports or objective measures. Results from 171 correlations reported in 36 empirical studies ( N = 6,423) revealed that the narcissism–self-enhancement relationship corrected for unreliability in narcissism was .21 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [...

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) refers to excessive absorption in fantasy worlds, sometimes for many hours a day, which interferes with academic, occupational and social functioning. It shares features of a behavioural addiction which may negatively impact psychotherapy of patients with personality disorders. Links were found between MD and vulnerable narcissism (VN) but no studies have compared MD and specific types of narcissism in clinical groups, especially narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). This study explored MD, narcissistic rivalry, admiration, and VN in 491 participants classified ...

Some leaders display high levels of narcissism. Does the link between narcissism levels and leadership exist in childhood? We conducted, to our knowledge, the first study of the relationship between narcissism levels and various aspects of leadership in children ( N = 332, ages 7–14 years). We assessed narcissism levels using the Childhood Narcissism Scale and assessed leadership emergence in classrooms using peer nominations. Children then performed a group task in which one child was randomly assigned as leader. We assessed perceived and actual leadership functioning. Children with higher na...

This handbook surveys current theoretical & empirical advances in understanding individual differences in narcissistic personality, as well as the latest perspectives in the field. It is informative reading for researchers & students in psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, & more.

With the advent of the second drive theory, the concept of narcissism in psychoanalytic discourse expanded significantly. In addition to the libidinal aspect, a destructive one appeared. The report examines the nature of des tructive narcissism, the stages of formation of the destructive part of the narcissistic self, where it can lead the patient and the analyst, and the possibilities of analyzing narcissistic patients with destructive aspects of the self.

It is demonstrated that narcissism in children is cultivated by parental overvaluation: parents believing their child to be more special and more entitled than others, and self-esteem was predicted by parental warmth, not by parentalOvervaluation.

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article From the ExpertsFull AccessNarcissism and Its DiscontentsGlen O. Gabbard,M.D., , Holly Crisp-Han,M.D.Glen O. Gabbard,Search for more papers by this authorM.D., , Holly Crisp-Han,Search for more papers by this authorM.D.Published Online:17 May 2018https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2018.5b12Glen O. Gabbard, M.D., is a clinical professor of psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine and a training and supervising analyst at the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies in Houston. Holly Crisp, M.D., is a clinical associate professor at Baylor and a facu...

The objective of this research was to verify if narcissistic personality traits influence the probability of Accounting students to present behaviors considered dishonest in the academic environment. The study sample was composed by two hundred and one students enrolled in three higher education institutions in Brazil: (a) two public ones, one located in the state of Minas Gerais and the other one in the state of Paraná; and (b) a private one, located in the state of Bahia. Regarding the data collection procedures, a questionnaire was applied to the students. The empirical evidences indicate t...

The results of the present studies suggest that narcissistic admiration is associated with an agentic orientation to the pursuit of status, whereas narcissistic rivalry isassociated with an antagonistic orientation toThe pursuit ofstatus.

Abstract Social networks and personality traits of the entrepreneur affect investors’ willingness to finance start-ups, particularly in reward-based crowdfunding where observable individual characteristics are paramount. We study the impact of crowdfunding entrepreneurs’ narcissism on campaign design and campaign outcome. We distinguish between the ego-defensive behavior and grandiose/arrogant behavior of narcissists in the hypotheses for campaign design. We find that more narcissistic crowdfunding entrepreneurs set less ambitious goals and longer campaign durations, consistent with ego-defens...

Abstract The connections between narcissism and political orientations have been theorized by scholars and increasingly evoked by political parties, politicians, public intellectuals, and the media. Yet surprisingly little research has been undertaken to empirically asses the veracity of these claims. We address this lacuna by identifying the relationship between narcissism, political ideologies, and partisanship in a nationally representative sample taken days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Overall, we find those on the left and right are equally narcissistic. However, liberals a...

Narcissists are prone to conspicuous consumption, that is, preference for luxury over mundane products. We analyze four reasons for their conspicuous consumption: positive distinctiveness (individuation and status), meaning in life, materialism, and sexual signaling. Empirical support for these reasons ranges from good to preliminary. We then discuss directions that this nascent literature could take. These include a consideration of different forms of narcissism (grandiose vs. vulnerable, agentic vs. communal, admirative vs. rivalrous), the value of experimentation in clarifying the causal fl...

Several theories propose that narcissism is rooted in affective contingencies. Given narcissists' focus on power, these contingencies should be strong in the power domain but not in the affiliation domain. We systematically investigated narcissists' contingencies and explored whether these contingencies might link narcissism to social behavior. In a multimethod longitudinal study, we assessed unidimensional narcissism levels as well as two main narcissistic strategies: Admiration and rivalry. We measured 209 participants' affective contingencies (i.e., affective responses to satisfying and fru...

Abstract We all have narcissism, but in some cases, the perception of narcissism becomes extreme and pathological. Systematic research has shown that there are three subtypes typical of narcissistic personality disorder: the grandiose/oblivious, the vulnerable/hypervigilant, and the high-functioning subtype. Both biological and psychological factors are at work, but the true cause of pathological narcissism has not been established. The psychotherapy of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is complicated and often frustrating because of the difficulty in engaging a person with narcissistic ...

This review aims to highlight emerging points of consensus and suggest further directions needed to obtain a more comprehensive and cohesive conceptualization of narcissism, and proposes a multilevel conceptualization that focuses on its manifestation at the trait level, state level, and within-situation level.

The construct of communal collective Narcissism is conceptually and empirically distinct from classic (i.e., agentic) collective narcissism and predicts intergroup outcomes in the agentic domain better than communal collective narcissists does.

The Psychology of Collective Narcissism is a ground-breaking text that presents a new theory of collective narcissism, a belief that exaggerated greatness of one’s own group should be but is not sufficiently appreciated by others. The book presents this concept against the background of social identity theory and research. It explores antecedent as well as social and political consequences of collective narcissism. The author discusses how this burgeoning theory and research can help to elucidate a wide range of psychological dynamics involved in pressing societal issues, such as the declining...

Those scoring higher in narcissism, as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory–40, participate more in politics, including contacting politicians, signing petitions, joining demonstrations, donating money, and voting in midterm elections.

Definitions of narcissism have traditionally differed across psychiatry and subfields of psychology. This review aims to highlight emerging points of consensus and suggest further directions needed to obtain a more comprehensive and cohesive conceptualization of the construct.

In the current study (N = 421), we examined the relationship between the full spectrum of facets of narcissism (i.e., agentic, antagonistic, communal, and neurotic) and the personal values on community sample adopting the refined Schwartz personal 19-values theory focusing on higher-order values. All narcissism facets were related positively to self-enhancement, with antagonistic, communal, and neurotic narcissism facets were also related negatively to self-transcendence. Agentic narcissism was related positively, while communal narcissism was related negatively to openness to change. Agentic ...

Chief executive officer (CEO) narcissism is an important area of research due to the strategic implications of how this multifaceted personality trait affects CEO behavior. This article presents a combined meta-analytic and narrative review of CEO narcissism and makes future research recommendations. Our review and meta-analytic findings lead to the creation of a framework for CEO narcissism research focused on narcissistic CEO supply, demand, behavior, and consequences. Additionally, our review identifies five methods of measuring CEO narcissism, each with strengths and weaknesses. We find th...

Researchers have largely treated the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS) as a unidimensional measure of covert narcissism. In the current study, we use confirmatory factor analysies (CFA) to argue that a model containing two factors fits the data better than a single-factor model. The two-factor model contains a self-centeredness and a rejection sensitivity factor. The CFAs suggests that the two-factor model fits the data better than the single-factor model for the overall sample and that the model fits the data similarly between men and women. The proposed factors have good reliability, co...

Drawing on a large sample of American adults (N = 2153) we replicate and extend the Single-Item Narcissism Scale (SINS) recently developed by Konrath, Meier, and Bushman (2014). Consistent with their initial study, we find that the SINS correlates positively with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and has good discriminant validity from common measures of self-esteem. Additionally, we provide new evidence that the SINS may not primarily tap into grandiose narcissism. We also find that in comparison to other common personality measures of narcissism, the SINS correlated somewhat less ...