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The Two Pathways to Being an (Un-)Popular Narcissist
Abstract
Narcissism affects social relationships from the very first interactions. The overall positivity of social impressions narcissists evoke is, however, unclear—with previous research reporting positive, negative, or null effects on popularity at short-term acquaintance. Here we postulate a dual-pathway model, which explains the effects of narcissism on (un-)popularity as the result of two opposing behavioral pathways: assertiveness and aggressiveness.
In two studies, unacquainted German college students (N = 100; N = 68) met in groups of four to six persons and engaged in group discussions. Afterward, they provided ratings of each other's assertiveness, aggressiveness, and likeability. In Study 2, we additionally videotaped the sessions and assessed participants’ actual behavior.
Results of both studies confirm our dual-pathway hypothesis: There was a “positive” and a “negative” path from targets’ narcissism to being liked or not—dependent upon being seen as assertive or aggressive. Behavioral observations showed that expressive and dominant behaviors mediated the positive path, whereas arrogant and combative behaviors mediated the negative path.
Initial (un-)popularity of narcissists at early stages of interpersonal interactions depends on the behavioral pathway that is triggered in the given situational context.
... Communal behavior is usually beneficial for all involved interaction partners, meaning that if a person behaves in a warm and friendly fashion, this typically brings about benefits for everyone (Abele & Wojciszke, 2007;Hogan, 1982). Accordingly, a general tendency to display communal behavior should positively predict popularity, which would be in line with findings of previous research (Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). At the level of the dyad, actors differ in the extent to which they show communal behavior toward particular interaction partners (Dufner et al., 2016), and research on friendship formation suggests that those interaction partners who receive much communal behavior from a specific actor should appreciate that and, as a consequence, uniquely like the actor (Lydon et al., 1997;Park & Flink, 1989). ...
... From this perspective, agentic behavior entails potential disadvantages for the interaction partner, and therefore, it is also conceivable that people who show agentic behavior are liked less. Past research in group settings indicates that people who generally display agentic behavior are also generally liked by others (Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). Hence, agentic behavior might have a positive effect on popularity. ...
... Previous studies have reported medium to moderate effects of observer-coded behavior on popularity. Küfner et al. (2013) and Leckelt et al.'s (2015; Study 1) studies, which had designs that were similar to the current one, detected agentic and communal behaviors as predictors of popularity with an average effect size r of .30. Given this effect size and the current study's sample size (N = 139), the likelihood of finding a significant effect (p = .05, ...
When meeting other people for the first time, how should one behave in order to be liked? We investigated the effects of agentic and communal behaviors on two forms of being liked: popularity (being generally liked by others) and unique liking (being uniquely liked by specific interaction partners). In a round-robin study, 139 unacquainted German adults had dyadic conversations and provided liking ratings afterward. The conversations were recorded on video, and four agentic behaviors (leading, dominant, confident, boastful) and four communal behaviors (polite, benevolent, warm, friendly) were each rated by trained observers. Participants who generally showed agentic and communal behavior were also generally liked (popularity). When participants’ level of communal, but not agentic, behavior exceeded their personal standards during an interaction, they were particularly well-liked by the respective interaction partner (unique liking). The behavioral predictors of being liked thus differ, depending on whether one focuses on popularity or unique liking.
... Communal behavior is usually beneficial for all involved interaction partners, meaning that if a person behaves in a warm and friendly fashion, this typically brings about benefits for everyone (Abele & Wojciszke, 2007;Hogan, 1982). Accordingly, a general tendency to display communal behavior should positively predict popularity, which would be in line with previous research (Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). At the level of the dyad, actors differ in the extent to which they show communal behavior toward particular interaction partners (Dufner et al., 2016) and research on friendship formation suggests that those interaction partners who receive much communal behavior from a specific actor should appreciate that and, as a consequence, uniquely like the actor (Lydon et al., 1997;Park & Flink, 1989). ...
... From this perspective, agentic behavior entails potential disadvantages for the interaction partner, and therefore, it is also conceivable that people who show agentic behavior are liked less. Past research in group settings indicates that people who generally display agentic behavior are also generally liked by others (Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). Hence, agentic behavior might have a positive effect on popularity. ...
... Previous studies have reported medium to moderate effects of observer-coded behavior on popularity. Küfner et al. (2013) and Leckelt et al.'s (2015; Study 1) studies, which had designs that were similar to the current one, detected agentic and communal behaviors as predictors of popularity with an average effect size of r = .30. Based on this effect size and the current study's sample size (N = 139), the likelihood of finding a significant effect (p = .05, ...
When meeting others for the first time, how should one behave in order to be liked? We investigated the effects of agentic and communal behaviors on two forms of being liked, popularity (being generally liked by others) and unique liking (being uniquely liked by specific interaction partners). In a round-robin study, 139 unacquainted German adults had dyadic conversations and provided liking ratings afterwards. The conversations were recorded on video, and four agentic behaviors (leading, dominant, confident, boastful) and four communal behaviors (polite, benevolent, warm, friendly) were each rated by trained observers. Participants who generally showed agentic and communal behavior were also generally liked (popularity). When participants’ level of communal, but not their agentic, behavior exceeded their personal standards during an interaction, they were particularly well-liked by the respective interaction partner (unique liking). The behavioral predictors of being liked thus differ, depending on whether one focuses on popularity or unique liking.
... It is used in a number of psychological and nonpsychological disciplines, including personality and social psychology, educational psychology, clinical psychology, political science, and anthropology, to disentangle the components that underlie interpersonal phenomena. For example, social and personality psychologists use the SRM to better understand liking between unacquainted individuals (e.g., Küfner et al., 2012;Leckelt et al., 2015;Salazar-Kämpf et al., 2018). Clinical psychologists have used the model to investigate interpersonal processes in group psychotherapy (e.g., Christensen & Feeney, 2016), and educational psychologists have examined students' performance in learning groups to determine which students profit the most from such groups (e.g., Horn et al., 1998). ...
... How would an applied SRM researcher currently examine such longitudinal round-robin data? Three approaches have been used or suggested (see also Nestler et al., 2017, for a similar discussion): using multiple cross-sectional SRMs (e.g., Gill & Swartz, 2007;Hoff, 2005), a two-step approach in which time-point-specific SRM effects are estimated and then used in standard longitudinal models (e.g., Küfner et al., 2012;Leckelt et al., 2015), and the social relations growth model (Nestler et al., 2017). Below, we discuss the limitations of these three approaches. ...
... This approach uses cross-sectional SRMs to estimate individual-level or dyad-level SRM effects for each time point. Thereafter, the time-point-specific effects are used in standard longitudinal models such as a growth model or an autoregressive model to examine the respective research question (see Küfner et al., 2012;Leckelt et al., 2015;Nestler et al., 2015;van Zalk & Denissen, 2015, for an application). In our example, a researcher may have estimated the target effects at each of the three time points and entered these effects into an autoregressive panel model in the second step of the analyses. ...
The social relations model (SRM) is very often used in psychology to examine the components, determinants, and consequences of interpersonal judgments and behaviors that arise in social groups. The standard SRM was developed to analyze cross-sectional data. Based on a recently suggested integration of the SRM with structural equation models (SEM) framework, we show here how longitudinal SRM data can be analyzed using the SR-SEM. Two examples are presented to illustrate the model, and we also present the results of a small simulation study comparing the SR-SEM approach to a two-step approach. Altogether, the SR-SEM has a number of advantages compared to earlier suggestions for analyzing longitudinal SRM data, making it extremely useful for applied research.
... Key features of narcissism include entitlement, dominancy, and superiority, along with the self-centered pursuit of admiration. Küfner et al. (2013) proposed a dual-pathway model for understanding the social consequences of this trait. Here, the social effects of narcissism are conveyed via two paths, one where narcissists are perceived as dominant and expressive, and the other where they are seen as aggressive and arrogant. ...
... Regarding the promotion of problematic trait-based behaviors, it has been argued that stressful and ambiguous situations are associated with the overuse of troublesome behavioral strategies, as such situations can tax the self-regulatory capacity necessary to conceal socially unacceptable tendencies (Gaddis & Foster, 2015). Consistent with this, Küfner et al. (2013) reviewed research showing that narcissism, for example, is more likely to evoke negative reactions from others during intense and ambiguous interactions. Beyond this, at least two other factors are likely responsible for the increased expression and negative consequences of negative traits under volatile, ambiguous, or stressful conditions. ...
... One possible explanation for these effects could be the nature with which high narcissism was behaviorally displayed in our study. Küfner et al. (2013) theorized that narcissism manifests in either agentic or antagonistic behavior, with the former being associated with more positive social interactions and occurring earlier whereas the latter being associated with more negative interactions and occurring during the later stages of social relations. Although teams were actively performing across 6 weeks, perhaps this was an inadequate duration for members with high levels of narcissism to transition from agentic behavior (e.g., assertiveness) to antagonistic behavior (e.g., arrogance) that would damage team functioning. ...
Despite the well-established importance of team composition, there has been relatively little research that focuses on compositions regarding problematic personality traits. This study examines the impact of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism—all operationalized as team composition variables—on team cooperation and performance over time. This was done in a sample of 43 graduate student teams (n = 269) engaged in an immersive business simulation that unfolded over a 6-week duration. In addition, the parameters of the simulation task were altered midway through the simulation without forewarning, in turn creating a shock event that allowed for an examination of whether team composition for negative personality had similar effects under conditions of business-as-usual versus a disruptive change. Results indicated that both team average Machiavellianism and sadism had deleterious effects on team cooperation and performance over time, while controlling for two closely associated positive personality traits (honesty-humility and agreeableness). These damaging effects were further revealed to especially detract from performance trajectories after teams experienced a disruptive event. Overall, our findings highlight the importance of including problematic personality traits in considerations pertaining to team composition.
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... Until recently, grandiose narcissism had been conceptualized and treated as a unidimensional construct. Thus, previous research on the link between narcissism and popularity (Carlson, Naumann, & Vazire, 2011;Heatherton & Vohs, 2000;Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013;Paulhus, 1998;Rauthmann, 2012) has mainly focused on narcissism total scores from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Hall, 1979). Empirical evidence and conceptual advances in recent years, however, have converged on the importance of systematically distinguishing agentic, antagonistic, and neurotic aspects of narcissism (Back, 2018;Back & Morf, in press;Back et al., 2013;Brown, Budzek, & Tamborski, 2009;Krizan & Herlache, 2018;Miller et al., 2015;Miller, Lynam, Hyatt, & Campbell, 2017;Paulhus, 2001). ...
... In line with this, the NARC proposes two process pathways that link agentic and antagonistic aspects of narcissism to (un)popularity. Each pathway is defined by specific behavioral expressions, interpersonal perceptions, and evaluation processes Back, Küfner, & Leckelt, 2018;Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). ...
... Each pathway is defined by specific behavioral expression, interpersonal perception, and evaluation processes Back et al., 2018;Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). Figure 1 gives an overview of this conceptual model. ...
Grandiose narcissism has been linked to initial popularity but to later unpopularity in peer groups and laboratory contexts. Do these effects on peer relationships also emerge in larger real-life contexts and what are the underlying behavioral processes (i.e., behavioral expressions, interpersonal perceptions)? Using data from the longitudinal CONNECT field study ( N = 126), we investigated effects of agentic and antagonistic aspects of grandiose narcissism on emerging popularity in a complete peer network. A cohort of psychology first-year students was assessed with a quasiexperimental, experience-sampling methodology involving online surveys, diaries, and behavioral observations. In contrast to previous laboratory research, narcissism was unrelated to popularity at the level of zero-order correlations. However, results indicated that (a) an agentic behavioral pathway fostered popularity across time, and an antagonistic behavioral pathway drove the long-term decline in popularity, and (b) the two pathways were differentially related to agentic (admiration) and antagonistic (rivalry) aspects of narcissism.
... How successful, then, are narcissists at gaining popularity? The "dual-pathway model" (Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013;Leckelt, Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2015) explains how narcissism may influence popularity in the early stages of relationship formation. This model posits that narcissism can influence the degree to which individuals become popular or unpopular, depending on whether their interpersonal style predominantly manifests in narcissistic assertive behaviors (e.g., dominance, agentic tendencies) or narcissistic adversarial behaviors (e.g., self-centeredness, lack of genuine concern for others, competitiveness, envy). ...
... This model posits that narcissism can influence the degree to which individuals become popular or unpopular, depending on whether their interpersonal style predominantly manifests in narcissistic assertive behaviors (e.g., dominance, agentic tendencies) or narcissistic adversarial behaviors (e.g., self-centeredness, lack of genuine concern for others, competitiveness, envy). Küfner et al. (2013) illustrated the model in research involving college students. In the context of a brief (<15 min) group discussion with unacquainted peers, narcissism was positively related to peer judgments of both "assertiveness" and "aggressiveness." ...
... We found no indications that the popularity of those narcissists whose popularity increased across the school transition waned over time when peers got to know them better. Previous evidence that narcissists can make both positive and negative impressions on their peers was obtained in get-acquainted tasks involving college students who first introduced themselves and then engaged in group discussions (Carlson & Lawless DesJardins, 2015;Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015). Our results extend this evidence in that they are based on a sample of young adolescents who were followed over an extended period of time, in a naturalistic setting, and following a major life transition. ...
The dual-pathway model posits that narcissism can both benefit and compromise popularity, depending upon whether narcissists’ assertive or adversarial interpersonal tendencies surface in social interaction. A 5-wave longitudinal study followed Dutch adolescents (N = 322, 53% female, Mage = 12.2) who transitioned from primary into secondary school and examined how narcissism, along with self-esteem (measured at the end of primary school), contributes to cross-transition change in peer-rated popularity. Narcissism predicted rank-order increases in popularity among children with modest self-esteem but decreases in popularity among children with high self-esteem. These effects emerged shortly after the transition and were maintained throughout the school year. The results illustrate how self-esteem can act as a marker for the different faces of youth narcissism.
... Positive associations between narcissism and being liked were also found in other selfpresentational and dyadic small-talk contexts Miller et al., 2011; see Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013, for an overview). ...
... There are, however, also a couple of studies that revealed no or even negative effects of narcissism on initial evaluations, such as in ambiguous decision-making tasks (Rauthmann, 2012), get-to-know-you conversations in small groups (Carlson, Naumann, et al., 2011), and intimacy-creating dyadic conversations after ego-threat (Heatherton & Vohs, 2000) (see Küfner et al., 2013, for an overview). Thus, initial impressions of narcissists not only contain 6 positive aspects pointing to a certain charm and self-assuredness but also negative aspects such as arrogance and lack of trust. ...
... In order to resolve these seemingly opposite effects, we propose a dual-pathway account that describes two behavioral process pathways mediating the effects of narcissism on resulting impressions. This model has proven useful in sorting existing findings and to derive novel predictions regarding the factors that moderate the narcissism-impression links (see Küfner et al., 2013, andLeckelt et al., 2015, for details). ...
Getting-to-know situations are complex social contexts both for narcissists (who love to present themselves but are not inherently interested in others) and their social partners (who are fascinated but also turned off by narcissists). In this chapter, we give an empirical and conceptual overview on the early impressions grandiose narcissists make. We first summarize the existing empirical findings on the association between narcissism and personality impressions as well as liking at zero- and short-term acquaintance. This research indicates that narcissists tend to impress others despite the fact that others are able to accurately detect their narcissistic characteristics. We then present a dual-pathway framework that organizes these findings and specifies the moderating conditions of more or less positive first impressions of narcissists. The agentic pathway includes the tendency to behave dominant and expressive, which leads to being seen as assertive, which is evaluated positively and, thus, fosters popularity. The antagonistic pathway includes arrogant and combative behavior, which leads to being seen as aggressive, which is evaluated negatively and, thus, fosters unpopularity. Depending on which of the two pathways is triggered more in a given situation, at a given acquaintance level, and by a given facet of narcissism, a more or less positive/ negative association between narcissism and popularity can result. Initial empirical investigations of unfolding laboratory group interactions underline the validity and utility of the dual-pathway perspective. We close with a number of suggestions for future research that applies the dual-pathway perspective across samples, contexts, and designs. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.
... The perceiver effects literature (e.g., Schauf et al., 2023) suggests that while one auditor may interpret the interpersonal expressions of client agentic narcissism in largely positive terms (i.e., charming, confident, optimistic, and exhibiting leadership qualities), another auditor may view the same agentic narcissist in largely negative terms (i.e., vain, arrogant, entitled, attention seeking, superior, and self-absorbed). Similarly, different auditors may interpret manifestations of antagonistic narcissism along a spectrum of favorability/unfavorability (Kufner et al., 2013). One auditor may interpret the interpersonal expressions of client antagonistic narcissism in largely positive terms, especially if they share common traits (i.e., strong, aggressive, visionary, assertive, results oriented), while another auditor may view the same antagonistic narcissist in largely negative terms (i.e., bullying, dismissive, denigrating, untrusting, and unempathetic). ...
... Successful impression management occurs when agentic narcissists recognize and advance certain desirable social agentic cues (i.e., affability, humor, warmth) that can gain them admiration, social approval, the trust of others (Ellen et al., 2019;Hartel et al., 2021;Li et al., 2022), and suppress certain undesirable social agentic cues (i.e., vanity, arrogance, self-absorption) that will result in the opposite (Back et al., 2010). Prior studies find that romantic partners (Wurst et al., 2017), co-workers (O'Reilly & Pfeffer, 2021a), and classmates (Kufner et al., 2013) all respond positively to agentic qualities in early encounters. In accounting, Eutsler et al. (2018) theorize that auditors may do likewise: "positive affect…can have a profound negative impact on auditor's professional skepticism, resulting in reduced audit quality" (148). ...
The process by which auditors consider fraud risk in assessing management’s motivation and character remains under-addressed. This is problematic given the rising tide of narcissism, as well as recent research documenting that both self- and other-perceptions of narcissism influence an array of judgments. While a skeptical attitude is fundamental to the auditor’s gatekeeper role, it remains unclear how auditors form and act on perceptions of client narcissism. With a large sample of experienced accountants as participants, we leverage insights from current narcissism and perceiver effects research to predict (and find) that auditor skepticism responds in a divergent manner to both the auditor’s (1) own antagonistic versus agentic narcissism and (2) perceptions of the client’s antagonistic and agentic narcissism. We discuss the observed opposing behavioral externalities related to these distinct forms of grandiose narcissism, particularly in dynamic interactions between clients and auditors.
... The relationship between narcissism and creativity has likewise inspired interesting debates (Lebuda et al., 2021). Several scholars suggest no such relationship, in that narcissism may be an inevitable by-product of creative talent (Goncalo et al., 2010). ...
... Narcissists are often described as arrogant, confident, charming, always a leader, have a strong desire to be unique, need attention and admiration, and are likely to take risks (Bogart et al., 2004;Chatterjee and Hambrick, 2011). This trait involves both the bright side of self-enhancement and the dark side of self-protection, characteristics that lead to contrary outcomes in the organization (Küfner et al., 2013); thus, the effect of narcissism on processes and consequences have always been paradoxical. In terms of the bright side, narcissists are highly charming, self-assured, and more successful in shortterm romantic relationships (Rhodewalt and Eddings, 2002;Holtzman and Strube, 2010) as well as humorous (Back et al., 2010). ...
The relationship between narcissism and creativity has inspired interesting debates for decades. Drawing on a new perspective, the current study tried to explain how narcissism influences others’ creativity evaluation in the organizational context. Based on the theory of impression management, we suggested that narcissism and creativity may have a more complex relationship rather than a simple linear link. To test this relationship, we conducted a survey of 596 subordinates and 60 leaders in three high-technology companies. The result showed that there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between narcissism and creativity evaluation. Moreover, personal reputation mediated this curvilinear relationship and this relationship was significant only when narcissists were low in political skill. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations and future directions have also been discussed.
... In the present study, we examined the role of two personality traits that could underlie such links: extraversion and narcissism. Extraversion and narcissism are two of the most frequently examined and significant predictors of both social media use and social outcomes in in-person interactions (Amichai-Hamburger & Vinitzky, 2010;Amiel & Sargent, 2004;Back et al., 2013;Chen & Marcus, 2012;Hamburger & Ben-Artzi, 2000;Kraut et al., 2002;Küfner et al., 2013;Kuo & Tang, 2014;Leckelt et al., 2015Leckelt et al., , 2018Ross et al., 2009;Ryan & Xenos, 2011;Tosun & Lajunen, 2010;Wyatt & Phillips, 2005). For example, extraversion, which includes being more outgoing and talkative, is associated with both offline and online positive social experiences, such as greater offline and online civic engagement (Elshaug & Metzer, 2001;Kavanaugh et al., 2005;Russo & Amnå, 2016) and communication (Akert & Panter, 1988;Seidman, 2013). ...
... For example, extraversion, which includes being more outgoing and talkative, is associated with both offline and online positive social experiences, such as greater offline and online civic engagement (Elshaug & Metzer, 2001;Kavanaugh et al., 2005;Russo & Amnå, 2016) and communication (Akert & Panter, 1988;Seidman, 2013). Similarly, narcissism, defined as having an excessive positive self-image, feelings of superiority, and desire for admiration (Bosson et al., 2008;Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001), has been linked to indicators of more positive social media use, such as having more friends on social media (McKinney et al., 2012), and more positive, charming social behavior, particularly for more agentic aspects of narcissism such as narcissistic admiration Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015Leckelt et al., , 2018. ...
Does how people generally engage with their online social networks relate to offline initial social interactions? Using a large-scale study of first impressions ( N = 806, N dyad = 4,565), we examined how different indicators of social media use relate to the positivity of dyadic in-person first impressions, from the perspective of the participants and their interaction partners. Many forms of social media use (e.g., Instagram, Snapchat, passive) were associated with liking and being liked by others more, although some forms of use (e.g., Facebook, active) were not associated with liking others or being liked by others. Furthermore, most associations held controlling for extraversion and narcissism. Thus, while some social media use may be generally beneficial for offline social interactions, some may be unrelated, highlighting the idea that how, rather than how much, people use social media can play a role in their offline social interactions.
... After some time, narcissistic individuals and their behavior is perceived and evaluated to be self-serving, antagonistic, risky, and financially and ethically questionable. However, some studies found no or even a negative narcissism-status link at the first meeting (e.g., [36,42]) Thus, the Dual Pathway Model has been proposed [1, 31**, 36]. According to the model, one-sided self-presentational situations lead to a positive narcissismstatus link because they (a) evoke or allow for differences in charming and self-assured behaviors, (b) make this behavior salient as an indicator of assertiveness, and (c) emphasize the value of assertiveness (Figure 1). ...
... After some time, narcissistic individuals and their behavior is perceived and evaluated to be self-serving, antagonistic, risky, and financially and ethically questionable. However, some studies found no or even a negative narcissism-status link at the first meeting (e.g., [36,42]) Thus, the Dual Pathway Model has been proposed [1, 31**, 36]. According to the model, one-sided self-presentational situations lead to a positive narcissismstatus link because they (a) evoke or allow for differences in charming and self-assured behaviors, (b) make this behavior salient as an indicator of assertiveness, and (c) emphasize the value of assertiveness (Figure 1). ...
The current review summarizes recent advances in research on personality predictors of status attainment. In line with previous research, recent studies indicate that extraverted and narcissistic individuals tend to attain status in groups. Research on mediating processes includes a wide range of underlying motivational, behavioral, and interpersonal perception processes. Most generally speaking, those high in extraversion and narcissism attain status because they are more motivated to do so and thus display assertive behavior that makes them look competent. Situational contexts, group tasks, and cultural contexts can moderate the personality-status links by shaping these processes. For example, studies inspired by evolutionary psychology suggest that dominant individuals are more likely to attain status when dominance is instrumental to address a threatening environment.
... This finding fits the notion of an aloof, quiet, and detached strategist who manipulates using long-term tactics (Jones & Paulhus, 2010). Narcissism displayed the highest levels of agency, but it was almost neutral with respect to communion (Rauthmann & Kolar, 2013), supporting the view of narcissists' agentic personality characteristics of supremacy, charisma, and popularity in short-term interactions (Küfner et al., 2013). Psychopathy was placed in Quadrant II based on self-report data, but in Quadrant III based on peer ratings, possibly due to a tendency towards dominance adjustment in short-term interactions (Rauthmann & Kolar, 2013). ...
The Dark Triad encompasses the concepts of Machiavellianism, subclinical psychopathy, and subclinical narcissism. Since a core characteristic of the Dark Triad traits is interpersonal dysfunction, this study investigated where these traits position themselves on the interpersonal circumplex in terms of agency (“getting ahead”) and communion (“getting along”) when explored within a multi-cultural South African context. Analysis of self-report data from 280 undergraduate students revealed that Machiavellianism and psychopathy were positioned in Quadrant II (dominant-hostile), whereas narcissism was positioned in Quadrant I (dominant-friendly). These findings support the notion that the three traits each have a unique interpersonal profile and concur with the results of studies conducted in other cultures. Therefore, although the behavioural expression of the Dark Triad traits may vary in different cultures, their position on the IPC is similar to that found in other studies.
... Some previous studies have, for example, indicated that grandiose narcissism goes along with short-term romantic appeal , social influence , and material wealth (Piff, 2014). In other studies, however, the links between narcissism and social outcomes were mixed (e.g., Küfner et al., 2013;Leder et al., 2021;Wurst et al., 2017). ...
Narcissistic individuals have a strong desire for attracting short-term mates, being influential in groups, and attaining prestige and material wealth. Past research suggests that narcissistic individuals are also quite successful in attaining these outcomes and these effects are due to narcissists’ grandiose self-image and admiration-seeking tendency (i.e., admiration component of narcissism). In the current research, we investigated whether the effects of narcissistic admiration are moderated by specific qualities that are helpful for attaining the respective outcomes. Specifically, we tested whether physical attractiveness moderates the effect of narcissistic admiration on short-term mate appeal, whether intelligence and socio-emotional abilities moderate the effect on social influence, and whether intelligence moderates the effects on occupational prestige and material wealth. Analyzing data from a speed-dating study (Study 1, N = 397), a round-robin laboratory study (Study 2, N = 256), and a panel study representative of the German population (Study 3, N = 1,477), we found that narcissistic admiration and the respective qualities predicted the outcomes, but in most cases, their interactions were non-significant. There was one exception: Narcissistic admiration interacted with verbal intelligence in the sense that the effects of narcissistic admiration on occupational prestige and material wealth were more positive, the higher verbal intelligence was.
... All 364 participants (215 women) of the final sample provided complete self-reported personality traits and attended the online Zoom meeting. This sample is larger than usual samples of similar studies investigating group interactions by computing mediation models between personality traits, behavioral measures, and social consequences (e.g., Cheng et al., 2013;Härtel et al., 2021;Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015;Witkower et al., 2020). ...
This study uses process models of personality to examine the behavioral pathways that explain personality traits’ divergent relation to leadership outcomes in social groups. We applied data from an online group interaction study (N = 364) alternately assigning participants as leaders conducting brief group tasks. We used four types of variables to build the behavioral pathways in multiple mediator models: (a) Self-reported personality traits (extraversion, agreeableness, emotional stability), (b) video and audio recordings of expressed behaviors coded by 6 trained raters (task-focus, member-focus, resilient), (c) mutual interpersonal impressions (assertive, trustworthy, calm), and (d) mutual evaluations of leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness. We find that the examined personality traits differently relate to the two leadership outcomes via the behavioral pathways: Extraversion was more important to leadership emergence due to impressions of assertiveness evoked by task-focused behavior being stronger valued. Agreeableness/emotional stability were more important to leadership effectiveness due to impressions of trustworthiness/calmness evoked by member-focused/resilient behavior being stronger valued. The findings highlight the benefits of a behavioral pathway approach to comprehend the effects of personality traits on distinct leadership outcomes so that leaders are not selected based on who takes the lead, but who leads effectively.
... 从进化的角度来看，人类已经进化出了一种能够最大限度地生存和繁衍的机制，这通常是通过与他 人的互动来实现的 (Leary et al., 2015)。个体往往借助内心的手段以服务于在人际关系中所要达到的目的， 树立一个伟大的自我形象有助于个体通过说服他人相信其高超的能力从而积累社会财富 (Anderson et al., 2012;Dufner et al., 2019;Küfner et al., 2013)。《朱子家训》云："善欲人见，不是真善"。个体采取善行 并非总是出于纯粹善良的利他动机，也可能是利用可见的善行以提升自我形象，从而服务于自我导向的 动机。 1.1. 炫耀性亲社会行为 亲社会行为指一系列旨在造福他人的行为，它包括广泛的行为，如合作、分享、给予、帮助和安慰 他人 (Batson & Powell, 2003)，炫耀性亲社会行为是指有助于提高个体在他人眼中形象的能够向他人公开 展示的亲社会行为 (Johnson et al., 2018; 姚琦等，2020)。研究者们从行为具有的信号属性出发，开始关注 亲社会行为具备的炫耀性特征，譬如：公益捐赠的公开承认、环保产品的炫耀性标识以及炫耀性善行的 可见性 (Grace & Griffin, 2009;Griskevicius et al., 2007; 姚琦等，2020)。 炫耀性特征的关键在于可视性以及被公众感知到 (Grace & Griffin, 2006) (Atlas & Them, 2008;Foster & Trimm, 2008;Miller et al., 2011;Wink, 1991 (Pincus et al., 2009)，本研究采用 5 点计分，"1"表示"完全不赞同"，"5"表示"完全赞同"，得分 越高表示自恋倾向越高。在本研究中，该量表的克隆巴赫系数为 0. & Them, 2008;Foster & Trimm, 2008;Miller et al., 2011;Wink, 1991 ...
... Yet, on the other hand, grandiosely narcissistic individuals are arrogant, entitled, and aggressive (Krizan & Herlache, 2018;Miller et al., 2011;Vazire & Funder, 2006). Their popularity with others tends to decline over time, with their relationships being riddled with conflict and exploitative behaviors (Grijalva & Newman, 2015;Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2020;Paulhus, 1998). ...
Little is known about how individuals high in grandiose narcissism think about what could have been. Across four studies (three online surveys and one online experiment; N = 801), we addressed this gap by examining the relationship between grandiose narcissism, its admiration and rivalry dimensions, and counterfactual thinking and regret. Unlike anticipated, high rivalry was associated with more rather than fewer upward counterfactuals in Study 1. Yet, high rivalry predicted an increased likelihood of generating a downward (vs. upward) counterfactual in a feedback situation (Study 3). Moreover, grandiose narcissism (preliminary study) and admiration (Study 2) negatively correlated with regret. Collectively, our findings stress the importance of considering grandiose narcissism’s dimensions separately and highlight a novel dispositional moderator of counterfactual thinking.
... For example, workplaces can incentivize collaboration over competition, make power-related cues less salient (e.g., highlight collective rather than individual achievements), encourage employees to interpret feedback as opportunities for growth rather than a threat to their power, and offer employees the means to pursue power in socially adaptive ways (e.g., by assigning them a leadership position to facilitative withingroup collaboration in the service of between-group competition). More broadly, interventions can inform narcissists about the potentially undesirable interpersonal consequences of the unmitigated pursuit of power (e.g., decrease in status and likeability and a reputation of low affiliation; Carlson & DesJardins, 2015;Imhoff & Koch, 2017;Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015;Scopelliti et al., 2015). Of course, these are not ready-to-implement interventions. ...
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 frustrating experiences of power and affiliation) via self-reports (n = 207) and facial electromyography (fEMG, n = 201). In a 1-year follow-up, we observed participants' power- and affiliation-related behaviors in the laboratory (valid n = 123). Results indicated that narcissism was linked to increased affective reactivity to power, and this pattern was present for both admiration and rivalry. Narcissism was unrelated to affective reactivity to affiliation, with an important exception: Individuals with higher levels of narcissistic rivalry exhibited decreased reactivity toward satisfactions and increased reactivity toward frustrations of affiliation. Results were more robust for self-reported than for fEMG-indexed reactivity. Although overall narcissism and narcissistic admiration were related to power-related behaviors 1 year later, affective contingencies did not generally account for these links. These findings inform why narcissists have a relatively strong power motive and why some narcissists high in rivalry have a relatively weak affiliation motive. More broadly, these findings provide insight into the affective contingencies underlying personality traits and call for research on the contexts in which these contingencies guide behavior. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
... Narcissistic characteristics such as assertiveness, dominance, and power (Bradlee & Emmons, 1992;Küfner et al., 2013) might allow narcissistic leaders to wield significant control over resources or decisions (Chatterjee & Hambrick, 2007;Nevicka et al., 2011). These dominant characteristics might offer a route for narcissists to be perceived as emergent leaders. ...
Objective: Narcissistic leaders’ engagement in strategies of dominance and/or prestige at different times across their leadership tenure could explain why they are perceived favorably as leaders early on, and unfavorably later on. Method: Over a 12-week period, we found that narcissism was positively associated with peer-rated leadership during initial group formation, but not later. Results: Dominance and prestige mediated these initial positive perceptions of narcissists as leaders. However, neither dominance nor prestige mediated the relationship between narcissism and leadership later on. Conclusions: The findings highlight a mechanistic role for dominance and prestige in explaining the rise and fall of narcissistic leaders over time.
... Lastly, we contend that exaggerated self-enhancement will be negatively related to coworker trust. Over the course of a relatively long-term relationship, coworkers may become aware of the dishonesty and baselessness of overstated claims (Jones & Pittman, 1982) and dislike and reject people engaging in exaggerated self-enhancement on the basis of arrogance (Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013), thereby eroding the perceptions of integrity that are critical for building trust (Li, 2007;Mayer & Gavin, 2005). Supporting this idea, several studies note that observers may view exaggerated self-enhancement as conceited and immodest (Turnley & Bolino, 2001) and label employees using this form of self-presentation as self-centered braggarts (Giacalone & Rosenfeld, 1986) who are unlikeable and lack integrity (Van Tongeren et al., 2014). ...
We theorized and tested an integrated model that examines the simultaneous effects of authentic self-expression and self-enhancement (including authentic and exaggerated self enhancement) on employee outcomes. Using a multi-source, two-wave survey design and a sample of 143 working groups from 566 employees, we tested the indirect effects of self-presentation on job performance through (a) trust from coworkers and (b) felt trust from coworkers. We found that through trust from coworkers, authentic self-expression had a positive indirect effect on job performance, whereas authentic and exaggerated self-enhancement had negative indirect effects. Via felt trust from coworkers, authentic self-enhancement had a positive indirect effect on job performance, whereas exaggerated self-enhancement had a negative indirect effect. In addition, we identified a boundary condition of these relationships. The positive relationship between authentic self-expression and trust from coworkers and the negative relationship between exaggerated self-enhancement and trust from coworkers were stronger when working for highly authentic leaders. Contrary to expectations, the relationship between authentic self-enhancement and trust from coworkers was negative and significant when working for less authentic leaders.
... This creation of a harmless workplace persona indicates that coworkers and supervisors should come to believe that a high-low individual is essentially no different than a low-low individual when it comes to their behaviors and interplay with others. Although the long-term trend indicates that an ability to maintain this harmless persona is not sustainable, there are instances in which these strategies work-at least temporarily (e.g., Kufner et al., 2012). ...
Previous research examining the Dark Triad (DT) of personality (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy) in the workplace has theorized and assessed the DT almost exclusively from a “self” view perspective (e.g., self‐ratings). In this paper, we extend what is known about dark personality by drawing from socioanalytic theory to make the case that the identity (i.e., “self” view) and reputation (i.e., “other” view) elements of the DT are distinct and complimentary concepts that must be examined in concert. Specifically, we hypothesize and demonstrate that understanding the interaction of identity‐based DT and reputation‐based DT enhances our ability to predict supervisor‐rated organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Utilizing response surface techniques to test our hypotheses, we demonstrate that significant differences exist between different combinations of identity‐ and reputation‐based assessments of the DT and their relationship with OCB. More specifically, we find that supervisor‐rated citizenship decreases at an accelerating rate when both self‐views and coworker‐views of the DT are considered. As such, accounting for DT identity and reputation simultaneously provides a more comprehensive understanding of how the DT relates to OCB. Therefore, we show that reputation‐based aspects of the DT, in concert with identity‐based DT, enhance our knowledge about how dark personality impacts OCB.
... Research (Furnham & Crump, 2014) showed that bold individuals have moderately high scores on assertiveness, competence and achievement striving. Research also showed that narcissists behave more dominantly and expressively and are judged as assertive, which leads to positive perceptions and popularity (Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013). ...
Disturbances in emotion are associated with the most of the diagnostic criteria of the personality disorders, though the role of emotional intelligence in the diagnosis of personality disorders has been the subject of limited research. The present study was designed to investigate the relationships between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) and personality disorder symptomatology in an undergraduate student sample. One hundred and twenty university students (28.3% male and 71.7 % female; M of age = 19.23, SD=2.45) were administered with (1) Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) (Petrides, 2009), along with (2) The Personality Disorder Questionnaire-4 (PDQ-4) (Hyler E. Steven, 1994). A multivariate analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect for group with individuals without any personality disorder symptomatology scoring significantly higher than individuals with some personality accentuations on most TEIQue facets. The results suggest that different components of emotional intelligence contribute to the development of different personality disorder symptomatology, but more research is required to replicate the results with the clinical population. Key words: emotional intelligence, personality disorders.
... In a rebuttal to Taylor and Brown's (1988) observation that self-enhancement is universal and beneficial, Colvin, Block, & Funder (1995) argue that overly positive self-evaluations link with undesirable personality variables, including narcissism and antisocial traits. Moreover, narcissisman excess of self-enhancement marked by self-aggrandizement and egocentrism -presents as a manipulative interpersonal style (Morf, Horvath, & Torchetti, 2011;Paulhus, Westlake, Calvez, & Harms, 2013), related to reduced empathy (Hepper, Hart, & Sedikides, 2014), and increased antagonism (Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013) and aggression (Bushman & Baumeister, 1998). As Paulhus observes (1998), it is likely that self-enhancement in moderation is protective of mental health; however, more extreme and chronic self-enhancers may experience worse psychological well-being through increased interpersonal problems. ...
Some research suggests that self-enhancement is widespread and may exacerbate ingroup favoritism. What if, rather than engaging in self-enhancement, individuals focused on enhancing others? Could enhancing others produce less prejudice than self-enhancement? Three studies tested the effect of self-enhancement versus ‘other-enhancement’ on prejudice. In Study 1 (N=95), a repeated measures design showed that participants demonstrated less negative affect and less implicit bias after reflecting on another person’s positive traits relative to their own. In Study 2 (N=169), we extended this effect to outgroup enhancement. Participants who reflected on an outgroup strength showed less negative affect and less racism than those who reflected on an ingroup strength and those in a comparison condition. Study 3 (N=380) validated these experimental effects by showing that other-enhancement is negatively associated with racism and sexism, whereas self-enhancement is not. Study 3 also examined a theorized antecedent of other-enhancement – humility. We discuss the importance of enhancing others in reducing prejudice.
... For example, future studies might attempt more often to analyze and compare accuracy levels and underlying cue processes across different trait-expression contexts and information channels (see e.g., Hirschmüller et al., 2015;Kaurin, Heil, Wessa, Egloff, & Hirschmüller, 2018). We suggest that future research also places more emphasis on the identification of robust cues involved in personality expression and impression formation separately for traits as well as the replication of the identified trait-related cues across target samples and situations (e.g., see Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013) and their eventual meta-analytic integration (cf. Ch. 13 by Breil et al. in this handbook). ...
In this chapter, we present variants of Brunswik’s lens model aimed to understand whether, when, and why trait judgments are more or less accurate. After outlining the basic concepts of lens models, we describe exemplary studies which have applied the lens model to unravel personality expression and impression formation processes that lead to more or less accurate judgments. Next, we give an overview on factors that can influence the accuracy of trait judgments and explain these accuracy moderators within the lens model framework. We then describe an extension of the lens model, the dual lens model, that differentiates more controlled versus more automatic aspects on all levels of the lens model (i.e., personality self-concept, cues, personality judgments). We also briefly summarize further extensions and highlight the lens model as a flexible tool to study cue processes underlying accuracy and related interpersonal perception phenomena. Finally, we conclude the chapter by outlining suggestions for future lens model applications in accuracy research.
... Self-presentational, and short-term acquaintance contexts, for example, foster positive effects of narcissism on peer popularity via an agentic pathway (behaving self-assured and being perceived as assertive). In PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION 34 contrast, more intimate, intense, and longer-term acquaintance contexts foster negative effects of narcissism on peer popularity via an antagonistic pathway (behaving combative and being perceived as aggressive/uncommunal) Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015;Leckelt et al., in press). Generally speaking, the more outcomes belong to the "getting ahead" domain (e.g., status, leadership emergence; evaluations in more superficial and selfpresentational short-term acquaintance contexts), the stronger are effects of agentic traits such as interpersonal dominance and extraversion. ...
Social interactions are one of the most relevant contexts of our lives and they are intimately connected to the conceptualization, dynamics, development, and consequences of personality. In this chapter, I will first analyze the way social interactions unfold via interaction states of all interaction partners and describe how people differ in social interaction processes. Following the PERSOC model, I will argue that these individual differences are a key window to understanding the nature of some of the most popular personality traits (e.g., extraversion, dominance, shyness, agreeableness, narcissism), as well as their effects on and development in social relationships. Empirical research on individual differences in interaction state levels, contingencies, and fluctuations is summarized. In closing, I describe a couple of current limitations, and outline perspectives for understanding and assessing personality traits as dynamic social interaction systems.
... This process can be traced back to the dimensions of narcissism proposed in the NARC: Narcissistic admiration is responsible for the initial positive effects of narcissism in interpersonal relationships, explained by dominant, expressive behavior and being perceived as assertive. By contrast, the negative long-term effects hail from narcissistic rivalry, manifested in exploitative, arrogant behavior and being perceived as aggressive Küfner et al. 2013;Wurst et al. 2017). Whereas the positive effects of narcissistic admiration decrease with time, the negative effects of narcissistic rivalry increase (Leckelt et al. 2015). ...
Individuals with high levels of narcissism often ascend to leadership positions. Whereas there is evidence that narcissism is linked to unethical behavior and negative social outcomes, the effects of leader narcissism on an organization’s most important resource—its employees—have not yet been studied thoroughly. Using theoretical assumptions of the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC) and social exchange theories, we examined how leaders’ narcissistic rivalry was related to follower outcomes in a sample of matched leaders and followers. Followers of leaders high in narcissistic rivalry reported less perceived supervisor support, lower quality leader-member relationships, lower performance-based self-esteem, and lower job engagement. These effects were only found when follower-rated leaders’ narcissistic rivalry was used in the model but not when self-rated leaders’ narcissistic rivalry was used as a predictor. This implies that the negative effects of leaders’ narcissistic rivalry on followers are driven by the expression of narcissistic tendencies (i.e., destructive leader behavior). Leader development should thus focus on changing destructive leader behavior. We propose that leaders high in narcissistic rivalry can be motivated to make such changes by showing them that by hurting their followers, they will eventually undermine their own reputation and status. Furthermore, selection and promotion practices should incorporate objective measures to weaken the effects of narcissists’ self-promotional tactics in these contexts and thus prevent people high in narcissistic rivalry from rising to leadership positions.
... Self-presentational, and short-term acquaintance contexts, for example, foster positive effects of narcissism on peer popularity via an agentic pathway (behaving self-assured and being perceived as assertive). In PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION 34 contrast, more intimate, intense, and longer-term acquaintance contexts foster negative effects of narcissism on peer popularity via an antagonistic pathway (behaving combative and being perceived as aggressive/uncommunal) Küfner et al., 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015;Leckelt et al., in press). Generally speaking, the more outcomes belong to the "getting ahead" domain (e.g., status, leadership emergence; evaluations in more superficial and selfpresentational short-term acquaintance contexts), the stronger are effects of agentic traits such as interpersonal dominance and extraversion. ...
Social interactions are one of the most relevant contexts of our lives and they are intimately connected to the conceptualization, dynamics, development, and consequences of personality. In this chapter, I will first analyze the way social interactions unfold via interaction states of all interaction partners and describe how people differ in social interaction processes. Following the PERSOC model, I will argue that these individual differences are a key window to understanding the nature of some of the most popular personality traits (e.g., extraversion, dominance, shyness, agreeableness, narcissism), as well as their effects on and development in social relationships. Empirical research on individual differences in interaction state levels, contingencies, and fluctuations is summarized. In closing, I describe a couple of current limitations, and outline perspectives for understanding and assessing personality traits as dynamic social interaction systems.
... Studies focusing on the formation of affiliative bonds among previously unacquainted individuals found that, at early stages of acquaintance, narcissists were more likely to increase in status and likability. However, as interactions grew more intimate, narcissists were more likely to lose their initially high status and to become less trusted and liked over time, especially because of their antagonistic behaviors (Carlson & Lawless DesJardins, 2015;Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015;Paulhus, 1998). Therefore, narcissistic status strivings in affiliative settings might be less successful in garnering a long-term advantage in social status, while often damaging interpersonal bonds. ...
We propose a self-regulation model of grandiose narcissism. This model illustrates an interconnected set of processes through which narcissists (i.e., individuals with relatively high levels of grandiose narcissism) pursue social status in their moment-by-moment transactions with their environments. The model shows that narcissists select situations that afford status. Narcissists vigilantly attend to cues related to the status they and others have in these situations and, on the basis of these perceived cues, appraise whether they can elevate their status or reduce the status of others. Narcissists engage in self-promotion (admiration pathway) or other-derogation (rivalry pathway) in accordance with these appraisals. Each pathway has unique consequences for how narcissists are perceived by others, thus shaping their social status over time. The model demonstrates how narcissism manifests itself as a stable and consistent cluster of behaviors in pursuit of social status and how it develops and maintains itself over time. More broadly, the model might offer useful insights for future process models of other personality traits.
... Keeping in mind that individuals high in grandiose narcissism often are successful in social circles and climb to leadership positions easily (Brunell et al. 2008;Küfner et al. 2013), the results of this study help us to understand who grandiose narcissists might favor and what motivates their decisions. Grandiose narcissism was positively correlated with deciding to distribute more money to similar others because they liked them and less to others exemplifying vulnerable narcissistic traits because they disliked them. ...
Purpose: This research investigates how individuals high in grandiose or vulnerable
narcissism make decisions and what motivates them. This study asked 98 (67 female,
ages 18-34) participants to decide how to distribute $200 amongst a fictitious set of
group members, two of which exemplified vulnerable or grandiose narcissistic traits.
The participants completed questionnaires measuring their levels of grandiose
narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, and how much they liked and identified with each
fictitious group member.
Results: Individuals high in grandiose or vulnerable narcissism did not identify with any
group member; however, individuals high in grandiose narcissism liked and decided to
distribute more money to the group member with grandiose narcissistic traits. In
addition, individuals high in grandiose or vulnerable narcissism strongly disliked and
distributed less money to the group member with vulnerable narcissistic traits.
Conclusions: Implications for the similarity-liking principle and narcissists’ decisionmaking
processes are discussed.
... Studies focusing on the formation of affiliative bonds among previously unacquainted individuals found that, at early stages of acquaintance, narcissists were more likely to increase in status and likeability. However, as interactions grew more intimate, narcissists were more likely to lose their initially high status and to become less trusted and liked over time, especially because of their antagonistic behaviors (Carlson & Lawless DesJardins, 2015;Küfner, Nestler, & Back, 2013;Leckelt et al., 2015;Paulhus, 1998). ...
We propose a self-regulation model of grandiose narcissism. This model illustrates an interconnected set of processes through which narcissists (i.e., individuals with relatively high levels of grandiose narcissism) pursue social status in their moment-by-moment transactions with their environments. According to the model, narcissists select situations that afford status. Narcissists vigilantly attend to cues related to the status they and others have in these situations. Based on these perceived cues, narcissists appraise whether they can elevate their status or reduce the status of others. In accordance with these appraisals, narcissists engage in self-promotion (admiration pathway) or other-derogation (rivalry pathway). Each pathway has unique consequences for how narcissists are perceived by others, thus shaping their social status over time. The model we offer helps understand how narcissism manifests itself as a stable and consistent cluster of behaviors in pursuit of social status and how it develops and maintains itself over time. More broadly, the model might offer useful insights for future process models of other personality traits.
Narcissism is a trait that comes in different forms (agentic, communal, and vulnerable), which are all marked by characteristics such as entitlement, self-centeredness, and little empathy for others. One reason narcissism has gained attention among scholars and laypeople alike is because of its implications for social relationships. Narcissists' behaviors frequently have negative consequences for others. Whether their relationships are with coworkers or close relationship partners, interactions with narcissists can be challenging and emotionally taxing. Despite this, there is a sparse amount of research that addresses how to cope with difficult narcissistic relationships. This Element includes an overview of the trait forms of narcissism and discusses its implications for their social relationships. It provides a background about the development of narcissism and offers some research-informed suggestions for how to cope in narcissistic relationships. Future directions for research are also discussed.
This study integrates leadership process models with process models of personality and behavioral personality science to examine the behavioral–perceptual pathways that explain interpersonal personality traits’ divergent relation to group leadership evaluations. We applied data from an online group interaction study (N = 364) alternately assigning participants as leaders conducting brief tasks. We used four variable types to build the pathways in multiple mediator models: (a) Self-reported personality traits, (b) video recordings of expressed interpersonal behaviors coded by 6 trained raters, (c) interpersonal impressions, and (d) mutual evaluations of leadership emergence/effectiveness. We find interpersonal big five traits to differently relate to the two leadership outcomes via the behavioral-perceptual pathways: Extraversion was more important to leadership emergence due to impressions of assertiveness evoked by task-focused behavior being strongly valued. Agreeableness/emotional stability were more important to leadership effectiveness due to impressions of trustworthiness/calmness evoked by member-focused/calm behavior being stronger valued.
Theories have proposed diverse reasons for why individual differences such as personality traits lead to social status attainment in face-to-face groups. We integrated these different theoretical standpoints into a model with four paths from individual differences to status: a dominance, a competence, a virtue, and a micropolitics path. To investigate these paths, we meta-analyzed over 100 years of research on bivariate associations of personality traits, cognitive abilities, and physical size with the attainment of status-related outcomes in face-to-face groups (1,064 effects from 276 samples including 56,153 participants). The status-related outcome variables were admiring respect, social influence, popularity (i.e., being liked by others), leadership emergence, and a mixture of outcome variables. The meta-analytic correlations we found were largely in line with the micropolitics path, tentatively in line with the competence and virtue paths, and only partly in line with the dominance path. These findings suggest that status attainment depends not only on the competence and virtue of an individual but also on how individuals can enhance their apparent competence or virtue by behaving assertively, by being extraverted, or through self-monitoring. We also investigated how the relations between individual differences and status-related outcomes were moderated by kind of status-related outcome, nature of the group task, culture (collectivism/individualism), and length of acquaintance. The moderation analysis yielded mixed and inconclusive results. The review ends with directions for research, such as the need to separately assess and study the different status-related outcomes.
As abusive supervision entails negative outcomes for individuals and organizations, a better understanding of leader- and follower-related antecedents of abusive supervision can help organizations prevent destructive leadership. In an experimental vignette study with 140 leaders, we tested an integrative model that includes leaders’ narcissism as an antecedent of their abusive supervision intentions. We also tested for the moderating role of followers’ behavior and indirect effects via leaders’ evaluations of followers. We employed the narcissistic admiration and rivalry concept (NARC) to distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of grandiose narcissism and found that the maladaptive dimension, narcissistic rivalry, predicted abusive supervision intentions. This effect was strongest when followers behaved dominantly. Finally, we found preliminary evidence that leaders’ evaluations of followers’ likeability, but not of followers’ competence, mediated the relationship between leaders’ narcissistic rivalry and abusive supervision intentions. These indirect effects were not conditional on followers’ behavior. We discuss these findings in light of theoretical and practical implications for individuals and organizations.
Based on in-depth interviews with 29 active drug robbers (25 male, 4 female) from St. Louis, MO (USA), we explore restraint among people and in circumstances where there should be none. Focusing on greed restraint at the crime’s payoff point (i.e., not taking everything one could when rewards are seized), we identify the decision-making constructs and conceptual pathways by which this happens and discuss their implications for improved specification of the relationship between criminal propensity, self-regulation, and risk sensitivity. We contend that self-centeredness is the one dimension of criminal propensity that is sufficiently receptive to risk sensitivity to make self-regulation possible, and that individuals with low trait self-control can show state self-control when ambiguity aversion and reference point expectations align to sate anomic greed. This refinement offers novel pathways for future study of dual-influence models of crime, and suggests that offender decision-making is best conceptualized as a process that unfolds during crimes rather than a discrete event that precedes them.
Narcissists successfully emerge as leaders. However, the processes by which this occurs are mostly unknown. Following a dual-pathway approach and differentiating between agentic (narcissistic admiration) and antagonistic (narcissistic rivalry) narcissism, we investigated the behavioral processes underlying narcissists’ leadership emergence in social groups. We applied data from a multimethodological laboratory study ( N = 311) comprising three groups of variables: personality traits, expressed interaction behaviors, and interpersonal perceptions. Prior to the laboratory sessions, participants provided self-reported answers to various narcissism measures. Interpersonal perceptions were obtained from round-robin ratings after participants completed the Lost on the Moon task in small groups. Participants’ behaviors during the group discussion were videotaped and coded by trained raters. Results supported the notion of a pathway from agentic narcissism to leadership (measured as target effects of being seen as a leader) determined by narcissistic admiration, dominant-expressive behavior, and being seen as assertive. To clarify narcissism’s relationship to leadership emergence, the effects were (a) contrasted with narcissism’s effects on popularity and (b) set in relation to process pathways leading from intelligence and physical attractiveness to leadership. The findings underscore the benefits of a behavioral pathway approach for unravelling the impact of narcissism on leadership emergence.
Narsisizm kavramı aşırı öz-güven, alkışlanma arzusu, yoğun beğenilme beklentisi, kendini oldukça özel hissetmek, özel bir muameleyi hak ettiğine inanmak, iddialılık, risk alma, saldırganlık, kıskançlık, sömürmek ve empati yoksunluğu ile ilişkilendirilir. Çalışmanın temel amacı narsisizmin örgütsel çalışmalar alanında yansıması olan CEO narsisizminin temel dinamiklerini aydınlatmaktır. Bu anlamda, CEO narsisizminin nasıl kavramsallaştırıldığı, beslendiği temel teoriler ve örgütsel çalışmalar üzerindeki etkisi hakkında detaylı ve kapsamlı değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Ayrıca, narsist CEO’ların nasıl düşündüğü, hissettiği/motive olduğu ve tepki verdiği üzerinde durulmuştur. CEO narsisizminin beslendiği temel teoriler, avantajlı ve dezavantajlı yönleri ile değerlendirilmiştir. CEO narsisizminin ahlaki temelini şekillendirmede erdem etiği perspektifi önerilmiştir. Paradoks teorisiyle tutarlı olarak, CEO narsisizminin CEO merhameti ve bilgeliği değişkenleriyle birlikte çalışılması önerilmiştir. Bu bağlamda, CEO narsisizm araştırmalarına kaynakların muhafazası teorisi önerilmiştir.
The first section of this thesis is a systematic literature review of interventions to increase empathy in Healthcare Professionals. A total of 17 studies were included. Definitions of empathy, measurement used, sample characteristics, and intervention characteristics were mixed, indicating a range of approaches aiming to increase empathy were considered in the review. Of those interventions examined in the review, none of them accounted for individual differences, instead adopting a ‘one glove fits all’ approach. This may explain why only seven of the reported studies reported significant improvements in empathy. Limitations of the review and areas for future research are identified and discussed.
The second section consists of an empirical research paper investigating the relationship between narcissism and empathy in Healthcare Professionals. Scant research has explored narcissism levels in Healthcare populations. Narcissists lack empathy but can be empathic. Empathy is important for fostering relationships between healthcare professionals and patients. Thus, we designed a study to test whether it is possible to make empathy appealing to a narcissist – by appealing to their agentic motivations. In total, 192 Healthcare Professionals participated in the study. Amongst this population, narcissism predicted lower levels of empathy towards the hypothetical patient. However, we were not successful at making empathy appealing to healthcare professionals scoring higher in narcissism. Implications for theory, clinical practice, and future research is discussed. <br/
Grandiose narcissism is a multidimensional construct consisting of agentic and antagonistic aspects with markedly distinct correlates and consequences. However, this complexity has not been reflected in how grandiose narcissism is measured and investigated in forensic contexts. To provide a more nuanced picture of narcissism in a forensic context, we harnessed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept. More precisely, we investigated the psychometric properties of the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire short scale (NARQ-S) in self- and informant reports of 199 male prisoners. Results confirmed the two-dimensional structure, acceptable internal consistency, moderate self-other agreement, and a differentiated nomological network for the NARQ-S. Admiration and rivalry showed distinct associations with criminal history, institutional misbehaviors, and social status in the group of prisoners. Together, the findings provide initial evidence for the validity and utility of self- and informant reports of the NARQ-S in forensic contexts and its contribution to security and treatment recommendations.
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effects of the leaders’ dark triad (DT) personality traits, namely, Machiavellianism, Narcissism and Psychopathy, on the team performance variability. Furthermore, this work explores the role of team agreeableness in the above relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on the longitudinal and archival data obtained from the sales team (team leaders: n = 190; team members: n = 832) of 19 firms dealing with fast-moving consumer goods in India.
Findings
From the finding of the study, it can be inferred that the presence of DT traits in the leaders causes high fluctuations in team performance. Besides, team agreeableness was found to moderate the relationship between the DT traits of the leaders and the team performance variability.
Originality/value
The theoretical and practical implications of the study are also discussed.
The social relations model (SRM) is widely used in psychology to investigate the components that underlie interpersonal perceptions, behaviors, and judgments. SRM researchers are often interested in investigating the multivariate relations between SRM effects. However, at present, it is not possible to investigate such relations without relying on a two-step approach that depends on potentially unreliable estimates of the true SRM effects. Here, we introduce a way to combine the SRM with the structural equation modeling (SEM) framework and show how the parameters of our combination can be estimated with a maximum likelihood (ML) approach. We illustrate the model with an example from personality psychology. We also investigate the statistical properties of the model in a small simulation study showing that our approach performs well in most simulation conditions. An R package (called srm) is available implementing the proposed methods.
This paper reports the results of three studies (archival, experimental, and qualitative) designed to examine the effects of auditor narcissism on auditor‐client negotiations in China. We contend that narcissistic characteristics fuel auditors' competitiveness and embolden them to stand firm in negotiations, potentially lengthening the negotiation process but leading to more conservative negotiation outcomes. As predicted, our archival results suggest that auditor narcissism is positively associated with audit delay and negatively associated with clients' absolute and positive discretionary accruals. Our experimental results document that narcissistic auditors are more likely to be involved in negotiations that reach an impasse or take longer to resolve and that narcissistic auditors negotiate reported asset values that reflect less aggressive reporting choices. Our qualitative results from field interviews with practicing audit partners corroborate our archival and experimental findings. Overall, the data collected using three different research methods yield consistent results in support of our theory. Our findings shed light on factors that influence audit efficiency and quality in China. We discuss the key cultural and contextual differences between China and the West as well as the implications of these differences for future research.
Most studies have treated grandiose narcissism as a unidimensional construct and investigated its associations in cross-sectional convenience samples. The present research systematically addresses these limitations by investigating the associations of agentic and antagonistic aspects of narcissism in the interpersonal, intrapersonal, and institutional domains, cross-sectionally and longitudinally in a population-representative sample. We used data (N = 1,526) from the representative, longitudinal German Socio-economic Panel study innovation sample (SOEP-IS). Both pre-registered and exploratory research questions regarding interpersonal, intrapersonal, and institutional outcomes of agentic and antagonistic aspects of narcissism were tested. Cross-sectional associations generally confirmed the differential adaptivity of narcissism aspects: While agentic narcissism was related to 'friendship', 'happiness', 'self-esteem', 'employment', 'leadership' and 'income', antagonistic narcissism was negatively related to 'intrapsychic adjustment'. Longitudinally, agentic aspects were positively associated with holding a 'leadership position' while the antagonistic aspects were related to lower 'self-esteem' and being 'unemployed'. Additional differentiated longitudinal associations were found for different age groups with most associations being more pronounced in middle adulthood. The present research highlights the importance of studying grandiose narcissism as a two-dimensional construct, in populations that are diverse and representative of the broader population, and with outcomes relevant to the population studied.
Whenever groups form, members readily and intuitively judge each other’s agentic characteristics (e.g., self-confidence or assertiveness). We tested the hypothesis that perceiving others as low in these characteristics triggers agentic interpersonal behavior among perceivers, which benefits their own reputation in terms of agency. We analyzed data from a longitudinal field study (Study 1, n = 109), a multi-wave laboratory study (Study 2, n = 311), and a preregistered experimental laboratory study (Study 3, n = 206). In Study 1, low other-perceptions of agency predicted agentic reputations at zero acquaintance and the reception of leadership nominations later in time. In Study 2, low other-perceptions of agency predicted within-person increases in agentic reputations over time. In both studies, effects of other-perceptions on reputations were mediated by hostile-dominant interpersonal behaviors. In Study 3, experimentally induced low other-perceptions of agency did not predict hostile-dominant behavior, which calls for more research on the proposed mechanism. By emphasizing the role of other-perceptions, the current research provides a new perspective on reputation formation and leadership emergence.
In this chapter, I present a theoretical framework that is aimed at explaining the complex and seemingly paradoxical structure, dynamics, and consequences of grandiose narcissism: the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC). I first very briefly review the state of research on grandiose narcissism, showing that the content conceptually aligned with, and the measures typically applied to assess, grandiose narcissism can be sorted into more agentic and more antagonistic aspects that show unique nomological networks, dynamics, and outcomes. Then I describe a novel self-regulatory perspective, the NARC, which distinguishes between these agentic and antagonistic aspects of grandiose narcissism. According to the NARC, narcissists overarching goal to create and maintain a grandiose self can be pursued by two social strategies (narcissistic self-promotion and narcissistic self-defense) that translate into two sets of dynamics (narcissistic admiration and rivalry) with distinct affective-motivational, cognitive, and behavioral states that tend to have different social consequences (social potency and conflict). The NARC is meant to provide a clearer understanding of what grandiose narcissism is, how it works, and why it produces a rich variety of seemingly contradictory outcomes. I continue by presenting a summary of existing empirical evidence for the validity of the NARC, underlining its two-dimensional structure, the distinct mental and behavioral dynamics of narcissistic admiration and rivalry, and their unique intra- and interpersonal as well as institutional outcomes. Finally, I outline an agenda for future research that focuses on how admiration and rivalry combine, fluctuate, and develop within persons. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.
Personality trait development has been linked to the major life transitions and developmental challenges individuals confront across the life span. This work typically focuses on how people may be encouraged to increase on the dispositional characteristics that promote success during these transitions, such as conscientiousness and emotional stability. The current chapter focuses on employing these same theoretical frameworks for understanding how individuals change on narcissism from adolescence through adulthood, focusing on "normal range" levels of narcissistic traits, rather than clinical manifestations. This chapter explores how individuals may change their dispositions as a result of experiencing the benefits in daily life associated with lower levels of narcissism. In addition, we describe how a socioanalytic approach to personality traits proffers new opportunities for considering how to change narcissism over time, by intervening upon the state-level manifestations of the trait. The chapter concludes by setting forth an agenda for future research, focusing on the need for additional studies that chart the trajectory of narcissism over time, as well as efforts to formally test the potential framework for explaining change in narcissism over time. © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018.
Circumplex structures are elements of various psychological domains. Most work focuses on assessing the circular ordering of circumplex indicators and their relationships with covariates. In this article, an extension procedure for Browne’s circumplex model is presented. Our approach models the relationships among circumplex indicators and the relationships of covariates with a latent circumplex simultaneously without affecting the circumplex indicators’ positions on the circumplex. The approach builds up on Browne’s Fourier series parameterization of a correlation function, which is used to model the latent circumplex correlation structure. It extends the shape of the correlation function to the profile of each covariate’s correlations with the circumplex. The model is specified in the framework of structural equation modeling, thereby making it possible to test various hypotheses. Procedures are presented for deriving interval estimates for the parameters that relate the covariates to the circumplex. The model is compared to other approaches for assessing the relationships of a circumplex with covariates. The results of the exemplary applications and a simulation study were in favor of the suggested model. The approach is furthermore illustrated with a real-data example, focusing on the relationships between the interpersonal circumplex and the rivalry and admiration aspects of narcissism.
The present study concerns the relation between properties of personality traits and the agreement with which they are applied to real individuals. Subjects rated the 100 personality items of the California Q-Set on nine subjective dimensions, six of which loaded highly on a first principal component. This factor was interpreted as reflecting each trait's “easy visibility” to an outside observer. Actual interjudge agreement in applying each trait to real individuals was assessed in two ways: Self-other agreement was assessed in two independent samples, and interpeer agreement was assessed in three samples. Impressive and stable agreement was found for most Q items. The traits that were applied to individuals with the greatest interjudge agreement were the same ones that seemed most easily visible and tended to be positively relevant to extraversion and negatively relevant to neuroticism (identified through a factor analysis by McCrae, Costa, & Busch, 1986). The results suggest (a) that traits defining extraversion are revealed relatively directly in social behavior and, therefore, are easy to judge, (b) that traits defining neuroticism are less visible and, so, are judged less accurately, and (c) that lay perceivers of personality are generally sensitive to this difference between traits.
Reactions to trait self-enhancers were investigated in 2 longitudinal studies of person.perception in discussion groups. Groups of 4-6 participants met 7 times for 20 rain. After Meetings 1 and 7, group members rated their perceptions of one another. In Study 1, trait self-enhancement was indexed by measures of narcissism and self-deceptive enhancement. At the first meeting, self-enhancers made positive impressions: They were seen as agreeable, well adjusted, and competent. After 7 weeks, however, they were rated negatively and gave self-evaluations discrepant with peer evaluations they received. In Study 2, an independent sample of observers (close acquaintances) enabled a pretest index of discrepancy self-enhancement: It predicted the same deteriorating pattern of interpersonal perceptions as the other three trait measures. Nonetheless, all self-enhancement measures correlated positively with self-esteem.
Among the Dark Triad of personality, both narcissism and psychopathy have been linked to impulsivity. What remains unclear is the pattern of associations that the Dark Triad have with functional and dysfunctional types of impulsivity. Using both student (N=142) and adult samples (N=329), we investigated the association of the Dark Triad variables with Dickman’s measures of functional and dysfunctional impulsivity. Based on regression analyses, psychopathy was most closely associated with dysfunctional impulsivity whereas narcissism was associated with functional impulsivity. It appears that narcissistic impulsivity involves venturesome social engagement whereas psychopathic impulsivity stems from poor self-regulation. As expected, Machiavellianism had no consistent association with either type of impulsivity. In short, the Dark Triad members show a coherent pattern of relations with impulsivity.
The subclinical Dark Triad traits narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy (Paulhus & Williams, 2002) are related to antagonistic behaviors in interpersonal situations. The current study addresses whether these three traits entail different social consequences by investigating self-ratings, ratings of others, and ratings by others for the Dark Triad. In a naturalistic setting, 93 informal, minimally acquainted student dyads worked briefly on a cooperative task and subsequently provided self- and other- ratings on the Big Five and intelligence, self-ratings on the Dark Triad, and ratings on properties of the interaction. Overall, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy manifested differently: profile analyses indicated that Machiavellians diverged from narcissists and psychopaths in self-ratings, ratings of others, and ratings by others, while narcissists and psychopaths converged to a moderate degree. Findings are discussed regarding the distinction of the Dark Triad traits.
This article examined the impact of relationship closeness on the self-serving bias (SSB). Members of relationally distant dyads working on interdependent-outcomes tasks manifested the SSB: They took credit for dyadic success but blamed the partner for dyadic failure. However, members of relationally close dyads did not manifest the SSB: They did not take more credit than their partner for dyadic success and did not blame the partner more than the self for dyadic failure. This gracious attributional pattern of relationally close dyed members is due, at least in part, to formation of a favorable impression of the partner. Relationship closeness acts as a bound to an individual's self-enhancing tendencies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A new model of narcissism is presented, the contextual reinforcement model. This model describes an area where narcissism will be largely beneficial to the self and, to a lesser extent, to others. This “emerging zone” includes situations involving unacquainted individuals, early-stage relationships, and short-term contexts. The costs of narcissism are seen primarily in the “enduring zone.” These are situations involving acquainted individuals, continuing relationships, and long-term consequences. A dynamic in which narcissists cyclically return to the emerging zone is described. Research on the functioning of narcissism in leadership settings is presented as a case study of the contextual reinforcement model. Implications for understanding self-enhancement more broadly are discussed.
Zusammenfassung: Für die deutschsprachige Fassung der Rosenberg-Skala zum Selbstwertgefühl von Ferring und Filipp (1996) wird eine Teilrevision vorgeschlagen. Ein Item der bisherigen Skalenversion stellte sich in eigenen Analysen als psychometrisch unzulänglich heraus und weist eine mangelnde inhalt-liche Validität auf. Dadurch ist möglicherweise die Vergleichbarkeit mit der Originalversion und mit Adaptationen der Rosenberg-Skala in anderen Sprachen nicht gewährleistet. Die vorgeschlagene Teilre-vision der Skala versucht, diese Mängel zu beheben und erweist sich in zwei unabhängigen Untersuchun-gen als Verbesserung der bisherigen Skala auf Itemebene. Außerdem werden hier erstmals vollständige Kennwerte für alle Skalenitems mitgeteilt. Abstract: A partial revision is proposed for the German version of Rosenberg's general self-esteem scale published by Ferring und Filipp (1996). According to our results, one item of the previous scale adaptation turned out to be psychometrically weak and – in our opinion – is lacking content validity. Therefore, the comparability with the original version and with adaptations of the Rosenberg-scale in other languages might be critical. The partially revised scale tries to eliminate these shortcomings and shows improved item statistics in two independent samples. In addition, complete statistics are presented for all scale items.
arcissism is a quality of the self that has significant implications for thinking, feeling, and behaving. Individuals with narcissistic personality possess highly inflated, unrealistically positive views of the self. Often- times, this includes strong self-focus, feelings of entitlement, and lack of regard for others. Narcissists focus on what benefits them personally, with less regard for how their actions may benefit (or harm) others. Most interesting from our perspective as self-researchers is the vast array of self-regulatory strategies used by narcissists (e.g., admiration-seeking, bragging, displaying material goods, socializing with important individuals, etc.). These strategies are both causes and consequences of narcissists' inflated self-beliefs. Our general orientation toward the narcissistic self is evident in the agency model of narcissism (Campbell, Brunell, & Finkel, 2006). As originally conceptualized, however, the agency model left out some important aspects of narcissistic self-regulation. In this chapter, we briefly review the literature on narcissism and more specifically narcissistic self-regulation. We then present an extended agency model that includes aspects of narcissistic self- regulation previously ignored by the original model. Finally, we discuss some of the current controversies surrounding narcissism in the literature.
A widely used measure of narcissism in normal populations, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), was located within the frameworks of two more comprehensive personality models: the Interpersonal Circumplex and the Five-Factor model. The NPI was found to be highly positively correlated with Dominance and Exhibitionism markers of the Circumplex as well as with one of the orthogonal axes (Agency) but not significantly related to the other (Communion). The seven components of the NPI were all positively related to the Agency axis as well, but their relationships with the Communion axis ranged from negative to positive. Among the Big Five personality factors, the NPI was positively correlated with Extraversion and negatively correlated with Neuroticism and Agreeableness; the seven NPI components showed minor variations on this same general theme. Findings supported the viability of two alternative theoretical perspectives with respect to this construct: within a broad clinical perspective, the construct of narcissism may be used to represent a pathological deficit within the communal dimension whereas, within a more narrow perspective, narcissism may be understood to represent a limited but relatively healthy line of agentic development.
Previous research reveals a substantial degree of variability in the extent to which narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory or NPI; Emmons, 1987) and self-esteem (measured using a variety of self-report scales) are associated. Data from 329 college students provided support for the hypothesis that the variability in associations between narcissism and different measures of self-esteem may be explained in part by the degree to which a given self-esteem measure is related to dominance. These results have important implications for research on narcissism and self-esteem, as well as the broader issue of how self-esteem is conceptualized and measured in psychological research.
Strangers made reliable judgments about personality traits after viewing one 30-s excerpt from interviews with anonymous target persons. Ratings were generated for 229 military recruits participating in a study of personality disorders. Approximately 28% of the recruits met DSM-IV criteria for a definite or probable personality disorder (PD). Several untrained undergraduate students rated each video clip with regard to the Big Five personality traits, physical attractiveness, and likeability. The students accurately rated people who exhibited features of paranoid, schizotypal, dependent, and avoidant PDs as being lower in extraversion. The raters also considered these people less likeable. Students accurately rated people who exhibited features of histrionic PD as being higher in extraversion and found them to be more likeable. Laypersons can make accurate judgments regarding some personality characteristics associated with personality disorders, even on the basis of minimal information. These perceptions may influence ways in which people respond to others with PDs.
This chapter describes self-esteem and provides an overview of existing perspectives on self-esteem. Self-esteem is a sociometer, essentially an internal monitor of the degree to which one is valued or devalued as a relational partner. The chapter evaluates a series of specific, testable hypotheses about self-esteem and examines laboratory and other findings in relevance to the sociometer theory and its specific hypotheses. This sociometer theory also reinterprets several interpersonal phenomena that have been explained previously in terms of the self-esteem motive. In specific, self-esteem refers to a person's appraisal of his or her value. Global self-esteem denotes a global value judgment about the self, whereas domain-specific self-esteem involves appraisals of one's value in a particular area. Self-esteem is an affectively laden self-evaluation. Self-evaluations are in turn assessments of one's behavior or attributes along evaluative dimensions. Some self-evaluations are dispassionate. whereas others are affectively laden. Self-esteem focuses primarily on individual differences in dispositional or trait self-esteem.
In this article, we present TripleR, an R package for the calculation of social relations analyses (Kenny, 1994) based on round-robin designs. The scope of existing software solutions is ported to R and enhanced with previously unimplemented methods of significance testing in single groups (Lashley & Bond, 1997) and handling of missing values. The package requires only minimal knowledge of R, and results can be exported for subsequent analyses to other software packages. We demonstrate the use of TripleR with several didactic examples.
Do narcissists have insight into the negative aspects of their personality and reputation? Using both clinical and subclinical measures of narcissism, the authors examined others' perceptions, self-perceptions, and meta-perceptions of narcissists across a wide range of traits for a new acquaintance and close other (Study 1), longitudinally with a group of new acquaintances (Study 2), and among coworkers (Study 3). Results bring 3 surprising conclusions about narcissists: (a) they understand that others see them less positively than they see themselves (i.e., their meta-perceptions are less biased than are their self-perceptions), (b) they have some insight into the fact that they make positive first impressions that deteriorate over time, and (c) they have insight into their narcissistic personality (e.g., they describe themselves as arrogant). These findings shed light on some of the psychological mechanisms underlying narcissism.
The bulk of personality research has been built from self-report measures of personality. However, collecting personality ratings from other-raters, such as family, friends, and even strangers, is a dramatically underutilized method that allows better explanation and prediction of personality's role in many domains of psychology. Drawing hypotheses from D. C. Funder's (1995) realistic accuracy model about trait and information moderators of accuracy, we offer 3 meta-analyses to help researchers and applied psychologists understand and interpret both consistencies and unique insights afforded by other-ratings of personality. These meta-analyses integrate findings based on 44,178 target individuals rated across 263 independent samples. Each meta-analysis assessed the accuracy of observer ratings, as indexed by interrater consensus/reliability (Study 1), self-other correlations (Study 2), and predictions of behavior (Study 3). The results show that although increased frequency of interacting with targets does improve accuracy in rating personality, informants' interpersonal intimacy with the target is necessary for substantial increases in other-rating accuracy. Interpersonal intimacy improved accuracy especially for traits low in visibility (e.g., Emotional Stability) but only minimally for traits high in evaluativeness (e.g., Agreeableness). In addition, observer ratings were strong predictors of behaviors. When the criterion was academic achievement or job performance, other-ratings yielded predictive validities substantially greater than and incremental to self-ratings. These findings indicate that extraordinary value can gained by using other-reports to measure personality, and these findings provide guidelines toward enriching personality theory. Various subfields of psychology in which personality variables are systematically assessed and utilized in research and practice can benefit tremendously from use of others' ratings to measure personality variables.
The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is a widely used measure of narcissism. However, debates persist about its exact factor structure with researchers proposing solutions ranging from two to seven factors. The present research aimed to clarify the factor structure of the NPI and further illuminate its nomological network. Four studies provided support for a three-factor model consisting of the dimensions of Leadership/Authority, Grandiose Exhibitionism, and Entitlement/Exploitativeness. The Leadership/Authority dimension was generally linked to adaptive outcomes whereas the other two dimensions, particularly Entitlement/Exploitativeness, were generally linked to maladaptive outcomes. These results suggest that researchers interested in the psychological and behavioral outcomes associated with the NPI should examine correlates at the facet level. In light of the findings, we propose a hierarchical model for the structure of the NPI and provide researchers with a scoring scheme for this commonly used instrument.
Several methods for testing mediation hypotheses with 2-level nested data have been proposed by researchers using a multilevel modeling (MLM) paradigm. However, these MLM approaches do not accommodate mediation pathways with Level-2 outcomes and may produce conflated estimates of between- and within-level components of indirect effects. Moreover, these methods have each appeared in isolation, so a unified framework that integrates the existing methods, as well as new multilevel mediation models, is lacking. Here we show that a multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) paradigm can overcome these 2 limitations of mediation analysis with MLM. We present an integrative 2-level MSEM mathematical framework that subsumes new and existing multilevel mediation approaches as special cases. We use several applied examples and accompanying software code to illustrate the flexibility of this framework and to show that different substantive conclusions can be drawn using MSEM versus MLM.
The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) is a recently developed multidimensional inventory for the assessment of pathological narcissism. The authors describe and report the results of two studies that investigate the higher order factor structure and gender invariance of the PNI. The results of the first study indicate that the PNI has a higher order factor structure that conforms to the theoretical structure of pathological narcissism with one factor representing narcissistic grandiosity and the other capturing narcissistic vulnerability. These results uniquely place the PNI as the only measure to broadly assess the two phenotypic themes of pathological narcissism. In the second study, results from tests of measurement invariance indicate that the PNI performs similarly in large samples of men (n = 488) and women (n = 495). These results further establish the psychometric properties of the PNI and suggest that it is well suited for the assessment of pathological narcissism.
It is widely accepted that narcissists become aggressive when they experience ego-threat. However, there is surprisingly little empirical research on the relationship between narcissism and aggression. Equivocal findings suggest that aggression in narcissists either occurs only in response to provocation, or regardless of provocation. One-hundred and thirty-seven collegiate men completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory followed by a sham aggression paradigm, which afforded them the opportunity shock, or refrain entirely from shocking an ostensible opponent confederate. Participants were identified as "unprovoked aggressors," "retaliatory aggressors," or "nonaggressors" contingent on when and if they chose to administer electrical shocks to the confederate. Results indicated that participants who were high on narcissistic traits were more likely to be unprovoked aggressors than their low narcissism counterparts. Results are discussed in relation to threatened egotism theory and call for more research on narcissism, aggression, and the moderating effect of provocation.
On the basis of a realistic behavioral approach, the authors showed that narcissists are popular at zero acquaintance and aimed to explain why this is the case. In Study 1, a group of psychology freshmen (N = 73) judged each other on the basis of brief self-introductions using a large round-robin design (2,628 dyads). Three main findings were revealed: First, narcissism leads to popularity at first sight. Second, the aspects of narcissism that are most maladaptive in the long run (exploitativeness/entitlement) proved to be most attractive at zero acquaintance. Third, an examination of observable verbal and nonverbal behaviors as well as aspects of physical appearance provided an explanation for why narcissists are more popular at first sight. Results were confirmed using judgments of uninvolved perceivers under 3 different conditions for which the amount of available information was varied systematically: (a) full information (video and sound, Study 2), (b) nonverbal information only (video only, Study 3), or (c) physical information only (still photograph of clothing, Study 4). These findings have important implications for understanding the inter- and intrapersonal dynamics of narcissism.
The construct of narcissism is inconsistently defined across clinical theory, social-personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Two problems were identified that impede integration of research and clinical findings regarding narcissistic personality pathology: (a) ambiguity regarding the assessment of pathological narcissism vs. normal narcissism and (b) insufficient scope of existing narcissism measures. Four studies are presented documenting the initial derivation and validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI). The PNI is a 52-item self-report measure assessing 7 dimensions of pathological narcissism spanning problems with narcissistic grandiosity (Entitlement Rage, Exploitativeness, Grandiose Fantasy, Self-sacrificing Self-enhancement) and narcissistic vulnerability (Contingent Self-esteem, Hiding the Self, Devaluing). The PNI structure was validated via confirmatory factor analysis. The PNI correlated negatively with self-esteem and empathy, and positively with shame, interpersonal distress, aggression, and borderline personality organization. Grandiose PNI scales were associated with vindictive, domineering, intrusive, and overly-nurturant interpersonal problems, and vulnerable PNI scales were associated with cold, socially avoidant, and exploitable interpersonal problems. In a small clinical sample, PNI scales exhibited significant associations with parasuicidal behavior, suicide attempts, homicidal ideation, and several aspects of psychotherapy utilization.
Advocates the use of operationalized structural models of personality in the interpretation of dimensions that underlie the interrelations among conceptions of personality disorders. An overview of empirical studies of the structure of personality disorders is presented and two major perspectives on the nature of these disorders are considered. An overview of dimensional approaches to personality and consider four theoretical perspectives on the five-factor model (FFM) of personality is provided. The relations between personality structure and the structure of personality disorders are considered in detail. The advantages of a combined five-factor and interpersonal circumplex model in the assessment of personality disorders are illustrated. Throughout the chapter, reanalyses of the authors' previously published data that illustrate the specific points of the discussion are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The goal of Social Groups in Action and Interaction is to review and analyze the human group as it operates to create both social good and, potentially, social harm. The book provides relatively equal emphasis on topics traditionally considered from an intra-group perspective (for instance, conformity, minority influence, group decision-making, leadership, and task performance) as well as topics derived from an inter-group perspective (e.g. social categorization, social identity, intergroup conflict, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination). In addition, topics that are not unique to either of these two approaches, and yet which are important aspects of group relations, such as culture, crowd behavior, social representations, and negotiation are also covered.
In this chapter we review the trait correlates of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), grandiose narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism derived from comprehensive models of general personality such as the Five Factor Model. Both NPD and grandiose narcissism are marked by correlations with traits related to interpersonal antagonism; grandiose narcissism is also associated with higher levels of traits related to extraversion such as dominance and reward seeking. Alternatively, vulnerable narcissism is primarily related to increased negative emotionality and interpersonal distrust.
Previous research has demonstrated that relational partners make decisions within the first few weeks of a relationship that determine the long-term nature of the relationship. The study reported here extends that research, predicting that such decisions and influences are apparent after brief first encounters. Students in several sections of a skills-oriented communication course reported reactions to a randomly assigned classmate after a brief conversation on the first day of class and the status of their relationship during week 9 of the term. Predicted Outcome Value Theory was employed to generate hypotheses. Results strongly support the theory, with perceptions formed during initial conversations influencing relationships in week 9.
We used the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) to assess the degree of narcissism among celebrities. Results indicate that celebrities are significantly more narcissistic than MBA students and the general population. Contrary to findings in the population at large, in which men are more narcissistic than women, female celebrities were found to be significantly more narcissistic than their male counterparts. Reality television personalities had the highest overall scores on the NPI, followed by comedians, actors, and musicians. Further, our analyses fail to show any relationship between NPI scores and years of experience in the entertainment industry, suggesting that celebrities may have narcissistic tendencies prior to entering the industry.
Seven basic research questions in interpersonal perception are posed concerning issues of consensus, assimilation, reciprocity, accuracy, congruence, assumed similarity and self—other agreement. All questions can be addressed at the individual level, and three at the dyadic level. It is shown how the Social Relations Model can be used to answer the questions.
ABSTRACT Evidence has accrued to suggest that there are 2 distinct dimensions of narcissism, which are often labeled grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Although individuals high on either of these dimensions interact with others in an antagonistic manner, they differ on other central constructs (e.g., Neuroticism, Extraversion). In the current study, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis of 3 prominent self-report measures of narcissism (N=858) to examine the convergent and discriminant validity of the resultant factors. A 2-factor structure was found, which supported the notion that these scales include content consistent with 2 relatively distinct constructs: grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. We then compared the similarity of the nomological networks of these dimensions in relation to indices of personality, interpersonal behavior, and psychopathology in a sample of undergraduates (n=238). Overall, the nomological networks of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism were unrelated. The current results support the need for a more explicit parsing of the narcissism construct at the level of conceptualization and assessment.
Based on a new theoretical framework—the Social Relations Lens Model—this study examined the influence of personality on real-life attraction at zero acquaintance. A group of psychology freshmen (N = 73) was investigated upon encountering one another for the first time. Personality traits, attraction ratings and metaperceptions were assessed using a large round-robin design (2628 dyads). In line with our model, personality differentially predicted who was a liker and who expected to be liked (perceiver effects), who was popular and who was seen as a liker (target effects), as well as who liked whom and who expected to be liked by whom (relationship effects). Moreover, the influence of personality on attraction was mediated by observable physical, nonverbal and audible cues. Results allowed a closer look at first sight and underline the importance of combining componential and process approaches in understanding the interplay of personality and social phenomena. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The social relations model (SRM) is an intriguing tool both to conceptualize and to analyze dyadic processes. We begin with explaining why interpersonal phenomena in everyday life are more complex than often considered. We then show how the SRM accounts for these complexities by decomposing interpersonal perceptions and behaviors into three independent components and describe the designs required to investigate these components. We then provide a step-by-step introduction into social relations analyses, thereby showing how the SRM can be used to investigate a multitude of exciting research questions. Finally, we summarize the existing software solutions for conducting social relations analyses. Resources for further information are suggested.
Based on an integration of sociometer theory and information-processing models, the present study investigated the predictive validity of three self-esteem measures: self-report, an implicit association test, and an affective priming task. In a first session, self-esteem measures were obtained from 93 participants. After an interval of four weeks, interpersonal perception ratings were collected in small round-robin groups. Participants were requested to briefly introduce themselves to the group before evaluating one another and indicating how they expected to be evaluated by the others (metaperceptions). As hypothesized, all three self-esteem measures independently predicted the perception of being valued (PBV) in a real-life situation. In sum, the present study supports the idea that three independent faces of self-esteem can fruitfully be distinguished.
This study investigated the effects of narcissists' chronic preoccupation with satisfying ego concerns on intrinsic motivation. Extending Harackiewicz and Sansone's (1991)“goal-matching” model, we hypothesized that intrinsic motivation depends on the congruence between the goals supported by the environment and the chronic goals the individual brings to the situation. High and low narcissistic students were randomly assigned feedback emphasizing either ego goals (competence is assessed relative to others) or mastery goals (competence is self-referential). Consistent with prediction, male narcissists experienced the most enjoyment, most positive affect, and least apprehension in the ego-goal conditions, whereas low narcissists showed the highest intrinsic motivation with mastery-focused goals. Potential gender differences in narcissism are considered to explain the absence of this pattern for females. The findings extend current understanding of the phenomenology of narcissism, as well as supporting the “goal-matching” model. Discussion revolves around the processing dynamics of male narcissists and possible negative consequences of their continual struggle to demonstrate competence relative to others.
Zusammenfassung. An vier Stichproben wurden die psychometrischen Eigenschaften der deutschen Version des NPI (Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Raskin & Hall, 1979, 1981) untersucht. Die Skala erfasst subklinischen Narzissmus als Personlichkeitsmerkmal. Das NPI erwies sich sowohl in seiner Lang- als auch in seiner Kurzform als hinreichend konsistent und zeitlich stabil. Hinweise auf konvergente und diskriminante Validitat fanden sich u.a. in Bezug auf Selbstwertschatzung und die Dimensionen des Funf-Faktoren-Modells. Mit Hilfe von Faktorenanalysen wurde die interne Struktur der Langversion untersucht. Die empirisch ermittelte Faktorenlosung unterscheidet sich von den bei Emmons (1987) oder Raskin und Terry (1988) berichteten, ahnelt letzterer aber mehr als ersterer.
We propose a dynamic self-regulatory processing model of narcissism and review supporting evidence. The model casts narcissism in terms of motivated self-construction, in that the narcissist's self is shaped by the dynamic interaction of cognitive and affective intrapersonal processes and interpersonal self-regulatory strategies that are played out in the social arena. A grandiose yet vulnerable self-concept appears to underlie the chronic goal of obtaining continuous external self-affirmation. Because narcissists are insensitive to others' concerns and social constraints and view others as inferior, their self-regulatory efforts often are counterproductive and ultimately prevent the positive feedback that they seek-thus undermining the self they are trying to create and maintain. We draw connections between this model and other processing models in personality and employ these models to further elucidate the construct of narcissism. Reconceptualizing narcissism as a self-regulatory processing system promises to resolve many of its apparent paradoxes, because by understanding how narcissistic cognition, affect, and motivation interrelate, their internal subjective logic and coherence come into focus.
ABSTRACT We examined several determinants of interjudge agreement on personality traits. The findings, which were cross-validated in two samples, suggest that agreement is a function of four factors: which Big Five content domain the trait represents, how observable relevant behaviors are, how evaluative the trait is, and whether the self is one of the judges. Agreement was highest for traits related to Extraversion and lowest for traits related to Agreeableness. More observable and less evaluative traits elicited higher interjudge agreement. On average, self-peer agreement was lower than peer-peer agreement. However, this effect was limited to evaluative traits; for neutral traits, self-peer agreement was as high as peer-peer agreement. These findings suggest that self- and peer perception proceed through similar processes for neutral traits but not for highly evaluative traits, raising the possibility that self-perceptions become distorted when the trait is affectively charged.
Optimism, personality, and coping styles may alter the effects of stressful events through appraisal and stress reduction. The 1999 Kosovo crisis offered an opportunity to test this proposition under real-life, traumatic stress conditions. Dispositional optimism, personality, and coping contributions were predicted based on geographical distance and degree of reported stress for 3 groups: Kosovar refugees, Albanian citizens helping the refugees in Albania, and Albanian immigrants living in the United States. Results showed Kosovars significantly higher on all stress measures, and on maladjustment. Reduced optimism and reduced control coping were related to higher levels of maladjustment. Pessimism and escape coping showed no relation to psychological adjustment. Resilience was related to a combination of higher optimism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and control coping, paired with lower neuroticism.