Virgil Zeigler-Hill

Oakland University · Department of Psychology

Objective To examine the associations that narcissistic personality traits had with the preference for solitude. Background Preference for solitude may be impacted by various characteristics. Narcissism may be one such characteristic given its association with specific motivations for engagement with other individuals (e.g., status attainment). M...

We investigated the roles that suspicious jealousy and reactive jealousy might play in the associations between borderline personality features (BPF) and mate retention behaviors. Study 1 (N = 406) found that BPF had positive indirect associations with benefit-provisioning behaviors and cost-inflicting behaviors through suspicious jealousy but not...

We examined the role that death anxiety (for self and others) and motivation for digital immortality played in the associations that narcissistic personality traits had with the desire for digital avatars (of self and others) in a sample of Israeli community members (N = 1041). We distinguished between four forms of narcissism: extraverted narcissi...

Status pursuit has been emphasized as a key motivational factor underlying narcissism, but research has just begun to unravel the processes by which more narcissistic individuals pursue status in their everyday social interactions. In this article, we combine process models of narcissistic status pursuit with three-factor models of narcissism to te...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) can have negative consequences for men and their intimate partners. The purpose of the present research was to replicate and extend the results of previous studies concerning the connections that ED has with partner-directed behaviors using a sample of heterosexual romantic couples. Specifically, we used an actor-partner i...

We examined the role that perceptions of social worth played in the connections that narcissistic personality features had with job-related attitudes in a sample of Israeli community members (N = 814). Our results showed that the positive associations that the extraverted aspect of narcissism had with each of the job-related attitudes were mediated...

We examined the associations that narcissistic personality traits had with psychological needs for social status, power, and belonging. Across three studies (N = 488/1113/704), extraverted narcissism, antagonistic narcis-sism, neurotic narcissism, and communal narcissism were positively associated with the need for social status, but they diverged...

Psychopathic men sometimes direct sexual aggression toward prospective female partners (e.g., using sexually aggressive behavior on a first date) and such behavior may be indicative of a high mating effort strategy. Less research has investigated the role of psychopathy in men’s use of sexually coercive behaviors in their intimate relationships (e....

The present studies investigated the relationships between men's perceived risk of experiencing sperm competition (i.e., when the ejaculates of two or more men simultaneously occupy the reproductive tract of a single woman), and their use of strategies to detect, prevent, and correct their partner's sexual infidelity. We investigated these associat...

Two studies examined perceptions of romantic partners, using the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept model to conceptualize narcissism. We examined three types of partner perceptions: partner-enhancement (perceiving one’s partner more positively than oneself), mean-level bias (perceiving one’s partner more positively than the partner’s self...

Personality dimensions have been found to be associated with a range of sexual attitudes and sexual behaviors. The present research aimed to replicate and extend previous work showing associations between basic personality dimensions and men’s experience with erectile dysfunction (ED) in heterosexual romantic relationships. In Study 1, we collected...

The present research examined the associations that age had with narcissistic personality features in two cross-sectional studies involving community members from the United States (Study 1; N = 3414) and Israel (Study 2; N = 2723). Age had a negative linear association with extraverted narcissism and antagonistic narcissism in both studies. Age di...

The literature regarding the Dark Triad of personality (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) has expanded rapidly during recent years with researchers evaluating the connections that these personality traits have with a variety of phenomena including philosophical beliefs and moral decision-making. The goal of the present study was...

Prior research has identified many factors that predict stigmatization toward those with mental illnesses. One such variable which has been suggested as a potential contributor is narcissism, specifically antagonistic narcissism, which is characterized by a heightened sensitivity to threats within one's social environment. The goal of the present r...

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and the manic and hypomanic episodes found in the bipolar disorders are characterized by grandiosity. It is possible that this shared grandiosity is a “homologous structure” or reflects a superficial similarity between two disparate conditions. It is, however, possible that NPD and the bipolar disorders are m...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been shown to be associated with several negative aspects of intimate relationships. Our goal for the present research was to examine whether ED was associated with men’s use of sexual coercion in their intimate relationships (which may include the use of physical coercion, psychological manipulation, or emotional mani...

Machiavellian individuals are callous, manipulative, and misanthropic, and they are also strategic and capable of delaying gratification. Many commonly used measures of Machiavellianism focus on the antagonistic aspects of Machiavellianism and devote few items to the strategic aspects of this construct. Because the HEXACO framework includes an Hone...

Although different aspects of narcissism share certain similarities, it is believed that they may differ with regard to the domains upon which feelings of self-worth are based. To explore this possibility, the present research examined the associations that narcissistic personality features had with domain-specific contingencies of self-worth. Acro...

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether narcissistic personality features had indirect associations with state self-esteem through perceived status and inclusion. We used a daily diary approach to examine whether daily perceptions of status and inclusion mediated the associations that narcissistic admiration (an agentic form of narc...

The current research examined personality and individual difference factors associated with the perceived ability to adapt to the significant challenges accompanying the ongoing public health crisis concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-sectional study investigated the associations among self-reported adaptability to the pandemic and persona...

Network analysis offers an opportunity to gain a more nuanced view of the connections between the darker aspects of personality by examining the interrelationships between the components that make up these constructs. We examined the associations that five dark personality dispositions (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism, and s...

Puberphonia refers to a vocal disorder that involves the persistence of a high-pitched voice beyond the age at which vocal maturation is expected to have occurred. We considered the romantic signaling function of the voice by examining whether puberphonia impacted the romantic desirability and perceived attractiveness of the target for short-term a...

The purpose of the present studies was to examine the connections that the dangerous and competitive social worldviews had with the likelihood of engaging in preemptive strikes. More specifically, the focus was on the possibility that the associations these social worldviews had with the likelihood to engage in preemptive strikes may be mediated by...

Mate retention behaviors are associated with several aspects of romantic relationships, but different categories of mate retention behaviors have divergent associations with relationship satisfaction. The present studies examined whether sexual communal strength – which refers to the motivation to meet the sexual needs of one’s partner – mediated t...

Previous research has shown that narcissism is associated with risk-taking. However, little is known about the factors that may contribute to narcissistic individuals being more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour. The present research examined whether social worldviews would mediate the associations that specific narcissistic personality fea...

Darker aspect of personality (e.g., narcissism, psychopathy) have been shown to be associated with a wide range of workplace outcomes. However, relatively little is known about the psychological mechanisms that may explain these associations. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the associations that dark personality features had...

Males of some species use mate retention behavior and investment in ejaculate quality as anti-cuckoldry tactics concurrently while others do so in a compensatory fashion. Leivers, Rhodes, and Simmons (2014) reported that men who performed mate retention less frequently produced higher-quality ejaculates, suggesting that humans use these tactics com...

The present research examined the associations that narcissistic personality features had with motives to pursue status through the use of dominance-based strategies, prestige-based strategies, and leadership-based strategies as well as whether these associations were mediated by either dangerous or competitive social worldviews. Across three studi...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) has been shown to have a considerable impact on romantic relationships. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether the associations that ED had with men’s mate retention behaviors, partner-directed insults, partner-directed violence, and injuries inflicted on the partner were mediated by suspicious jealousy...

The narcissistic admiration and rivalry concept (NARC) model of grandiose narcissism posits that striving for uniqueness, grandiose fantasies, and charmingness define narcissistic admiration, whereas striving for supremacy, devaluation, and aggressiveness define narcissistic rivalry. Given these complex interrelationships, we explored the structure...

The present research examined the associations that narcissistic personality features had with subjective arousal in response to sexually aggressive behaviors, as well as whether these associations were mediated by the power that was believed to accompany these behaviors. Participants were 221 community members (115 women, 106 men) who completed a...

The present research examined whether the associations that narcissistic personality features had with mate retention behaviors were mediated by the desire to have more power in the relationship. Across three studies (N = 497), narcissistic personality features had divergent associations with mate retention behaviors such that the assertive/extrave...

The present research examined whether the associations that narcissistic personality features had with exercise addiction were mediated by particular motives for engaging in exercise in a large Israeli community sample (N = 2629). The results revealed that each aspect of narcissism was positively associated with exercise addiction. Narcissistic adm...

Narcissism has been shown to be associated with a lack of trust in others, but little is known about the factors that may play a role in the tendency for narcissistic individuals to mistrust others. The present research examined whether the associations that specific narcissistic personality features had with social trust were mediated by social wo...

The Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC; Back et al., 2013) proposes two strategies for maintaining a grandiose self-image. These dimensions are positively correlated, but often have divergent associations with outcomes. When used simultaneously to predict outcome variables, suppression effects often occur. We examine suppression effe...

The purpose of the present study was to extend previous research concerning the negative perceptions of stuttering by considering the perceived leadership ability of targets who stuttered compared with targets who did not stutter. We were also interested in the possibility that negative perceptions of the targets (i.e., low levels of self-esteem, i...

If love is fundamentally important, those with pathological personality traits should desire to find it like anyone else. However, people's pathologies may influence their love styles leading to problematic relationship patterns. We examined how pathological personality traits were associated with love styles in adolescents (N = 311). While each pe...

It has been argued that basic emotional systems (i.e., PLAYFULNESS, SEEKING, CARING, ANGER, FEAR, and SADNESS) may play a role in shaping the development of personality. The purpose of the present research was to examine whether basic emotional systems were associated with narcissistic personality features. Across two studies (N = 1051), we examine...

The present studies examined the possibility that narcissistic admiration (assertive self-enhancement and self-promotion) and narcissistic rivalry (self-protection and self-defense) would have divergent associations with benefit-provisioning and cost-inflicting mate retention behaviors. Study 1 ( N = 625) revealed that narcissistic admiration was a...

Narcissism is associated with a wide array of interpersonal problems. The present studies examined the connections between narcissistic personality features and the experience of friendship. We were interested in the possibility that narcissistic admiration (an agentic form of narcissism characterized by assertive self-enhancement and self-promotio...

The present research examined whether the associations that the assertive/extraverted, antagonistic/disagreeable, and vulnerable/neurotic aspects of narcissism had with ideological attitudes were mediated by social worldviews . The assertive/extraverted and antagonistic/disagreeable aspects of narcissism had similar associations with the competitiv...

Objectives Psychological stress may have an adverse impact on the voice. The purpose of the present cross-sectional study was to investigate the relationship between the change in levels of perceived psychological stress and vocal symptoms among Israeli academic college professors required to shift to synchronous online teaching during the global C...

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether job-related attitudes (e.g., job satisfaction) would mediate the associations that narcissistic personality features had with job commitment. We distinguished between two dimensions of grandiose narcissism: narcissistic admiration (i.e., a form of agentic self-enhancement) and narcissistic riv...

The present studies examined the associations that narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism, and spitefulness had with the competitive and dangerous social worldviews as well as the possibility that these worldviews may explain, at least in part, the associations that these dark personality features had with the ideological attitudes of so...

Some research has reported relationships between personality dimensions and ejaculate quality, but this research has methodological limitations. In the current study, we investigated the relationships between six major personality dimensions and ejaculate quality in a design that offered several methodological improvements over previous research. F...

Belief in supernatural agents is ubiquitous, as evidenced by its prevalence in religion, folklore, and cultural practices. It is theorized that, given recurrent ancestral risks of predation and frequent contact with other dangerous agents, mechanisms for agency detection may have evolved and play an important role in facilitating belief in supernat...

The purpose of the present studies was to examine whether the associations that the desire for power had with perceptions of the romantic relationship (e.g., relationship satisfaction, commitment) were moderated by perceived power and gender. Study 1 examined these associations in a sample of 376 U.S. heterosexual participants. Results showed that...

Narcissism has been found to have conflicting associations with emotion dysregulation across previous studies.The purpose of the present study was to examine the connections between particular aspects of narcissism and emotion regulation difficulties. More specifically, we were interested in the possibility that narcissistic ad-miration (an agentic...

Two studies assessed the associations that narcissistic admiration (an agentic form of narcissism characterized by assertive self-enhancement and self-promotion) and narcissistic rivalry (an antagonistic form of narcissism characterized by self-protection and self-defense) have with self-enhancing and communal motivations for sharing romantic relat...

The purpose of the present research was to investigate the connections that narcissistic admiration (i.e., assertive self-enhancement) and narcissistic rivalry (i.e., antagonistic self-protection) had with respect in romantic relationships. The results of Study 1 (N= 432) revealed that narcissistic admiration was positively associated with perceive...

Stuttering is a disorder in oral communication that is often accompanied by negative stereotypes and social stigma. The primary goal of the present study was to examine whether opposite-sex perceivers rated the romantic desirability of targets who stuttered differently than targets who did not stutter. We were also interested in examining whether p...

Science identity based frameworks have proven fruitful in predicting persistence in careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). However, much of the research in this area is qualitative or relies on measures of science identity that have not been validated. Here, we propose and provide initial evidence for the validity and...

The present research examined the connections that narcissism had with attitudes toward alternative romantic partners and romantic commitment. Across four studies, we examined whether narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry had indirect associations with commitment through attitudes toward alternative romantic partners. Results revealed th...

The purpose of the present research was to examine the connections that narcissistic admiration (an agentic form of narcissism characterized by assertive self-enhancement and self-promotion) and narcissistic rivalry (an antagonistic form of narcissism characterized by self-protection and self-defense) had with perceived power in the context of roma...

Prior research has evaluated which personality traits predict mate poaching behavior (i.e., attempts to attract an individual known to be in a relationship with another person) by soliciting retrospective reports of mate poaching success. Here we investigate differences in personality among those who are presently within poached versus non-poached...

Narcissism is often associated with interpersonal difficulties. The purpose of the present studies was to examine the connections between narcissistic personality features and the strategies that individuals use to influence their romantic partners. More specifically, we were interested in the possibility that narcissistic admiration (an agentic fo...

There are two broad approaches to understanding personality that have generally proceeded in isolation from each other. One approach focuses on the structure of personality, whereas the other approach focuses on personality processes. There have been numerous calls for integrating these two approaches but these attempts have had limited success. We...

Little research has examined the mechanisms through which adult children adopt beliefs across a range of contexts. Through an online survey, the authors examined belief transmission via the correspondence between beliefs of 837 young adults and the perceived ideological beliefs of their caregivers as a function of attachment, parental behavior, and...

According to the triarchic model, psychopathy encompasses 3 distinct dispositional constructs: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Although the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure was designed to assess these 3 constructs, researchers have developed alternative triarchic scales using both omnibus measures of general personality and existing psychopath...

Previous research indicates that the romantic attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance are associated with performance frequency of Benefit-Provisioning and Cost-Inflicting domains of mate retention. The current research aimed to replicate previous findings in a non-Western sample (Iran, Study 1), and to extend this research by investigating...

The purpose of the present study was to examine the connections that dangerous and competitive social worldviews had with the ideological attitudes of Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO). More specifically, the focus was on the possibility that the associations that these social worldviews had with ideological a...

Female sexual orientation has received less theoretical and empirical attention than male sexual orientation and few reviews are devoted to female sexual orientation. Moreover, research investigating female sexual orientation often underappreciates insights afforded by evolutionary theory. This review begins with an overview of the literature on fe...

Previous research indicates that men can accurately assess women’s mating orientation from facial photographs (DeLecce et al. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 319–327, 2014). The current study investigated whether this ability is moderated by men’s own mating orientation. To that end, 89 men completed the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI)—an...

Power in Close Relationships - edited by Christopher R. Agnew February 2019

The latest volume in this multidisciplinary series on key topics in evolutionary studies, Evolutionary Perspectives on Death provides an evolutionary analysis of mortality and the consideration of death. Bringing together noted experts from a variety of fields, the books emanate from conferences held at Oakland University, and are dedicated to prov...

Undergraduate college students were presented with two arrays of dots varying in numerosity on a computer screen and asked to indicate if the arrays differed in number. They also rated their level of confidence in their responses. Trials varied in difficulty based on the size of the arrays. On half of the trials, participants were shown the ostensi...

Life history strategies reflect resource allocation decisions, which manifest as physiological, psychological, and behavioral traits. We investigated whether human ejaculate quality is associated with indicators of relatively fast (greater resource allocation to mating effort) or slow (greater resource allocation to parenting effort) life history s...

Psychopathy has long been conceptualized in terms of an absence of emotion. Yet, recent studies have suggested that the experience of other-directed negative emotions may be more intimately linked to psychopathy than previously acknowledged, although there is limited knowledge concerning the experience of such emotions. The present study examined t...

Relationship‐contingent self‐esteem (RCSE) refers to when feelings of self‐worth are derived from romantic relationships. RCSE influences views of the self and the functioning of romantic relationships. The relationship between RCSE and mate retention behaviors was examined across three studies. Study 1 examined whether self‐esteem level and RCSE p...

A useful way of understanding personality traits is to examine the motivational nature of a trait because motives drive behaviors and influence attitudes. In two cross-sectional, self-report studies (N = 942), we examined the relationships between fundamental social motives and dark personality traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, spitefu...

Narcissism and self-esteem are both characterized by positive forms of self-regard, and common sense would suggest that these two constructs should be strongly and positively related. However, research has demonstrated that the associations between narcissism and self-esteem are quite complex and that there are critical differences between the two...

This chapter considers the factors that motivate narcissistic individuals to pursue external validation. Narcissistic individuals pursue external validation through various strategies (e.g., appearance enhancement, social media use), but we focus primarily on the desire for status because we believe it may be especially helpful for understanding th...

The current study examined: (a) the association of narcissism with team member perceptions of collective efficacy and satisfaction, and (b) a multilevel framework in which the associations of narcissism with collective efficacy and satisfaction were dependent on team level goal-orientation. To accomplish our goal, we gathered data from 206 students...

Romantic relationships with a large age difference between partners are judged to be less acceptable, more disgusting, and less likely to succeed than age-similar relationships. We investigated the role of strategic moralization in condemnation of man-older age-discrepant relationships. We hypothesized that (1) this condemnation promotes self-servi...

Love and sex are fundamental needs of most people, yet little research has examined such aspects of life in relation to personality pathologies. We examined the associations between pathological personality traits (i.e., negative affectivity, disinhibition, antagonism, psychoticism, and detachment) and sociosexuality (i.e., short-term mating orient...

This research investigated the connections between pathological personality traits and the ability to recognize the emotional states of others. Across two studies, we found that antagonism was negatively associated with the ability to identify the emotional states of others. In addition, the sex of the participant moderated the associations that ne...