Content uploaded by Jonathan M Cheek
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Jonathan M Cheek on Aug 04, 2019
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
Assessing Hypersensitive Narcissism: A Reexamination of Murray's Narcism Scale
Abstract
A new measure of hypersensitive narcissism was derived by correlating the items of H. A. Murray's (1938) Narcism Scale with an MMPI-based composite measure of covert narcissism. In three samples of college students (total N 403), 10 items formed a reliable measure: the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS). The new HSNS and the MMPI-based composite showed similar patterns of correlations with the Big Five Inventory, and both measures correlated near zero with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, which assesses overt narcissism. Results support P. Wink's (1991) distinction between covert and overt narcissistic tendencies in the normal range of individual differences and suggest that it would be beneficial for personality researchers to measure both types of narcissism in future studies. (Hendin, H.M., & Cheek, J.M. (1997). Assessing Hypersensitive Narcissism: A Reexamination
of Murray's Narcism Scale. Journal of Research in Personality, 31, 588-599.)
... Vulnerable narcissism (VN) was measured using the Polish translation of the ten-item Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (Hendin & Cheek, 1997; "My feelings are easily hurt by ridicule or by the slighting remarks of others") validated in previous work (Golec de Zavala et al., 2016, (α=0.85, M=0.45, SD=0.17). ...
... This was measured using the Polish translation of the ten-item Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (Hendin & Cheek, 1997) people's troubles," "I feel that I am temperamentally different from most people," "I often interpret the remarks of others in a personal way," "I easily become wrapped up in my own interests and forget the existence of others," "I dislike being with a group unless I know that I am appreciated by Collective narcissism and contrarian motives -43 at least one of those present," and "I am secretly 'put out' or annoyed when other people come to me with their troubles, asking me for my time and sympathy." ...
In this paper, we examine the relationship between collective and individual forms of narcissism and two contrarian political orientations that are oppositional, suspicious, and purposefully destructive-need for chaos and anti-establishment orientation. In three studies (total N=4144), we demonstrate that (1) national collective narcissism predicts higher levels of need for chaos and anti-establishment orientation, after accounting for non-narcissistic ingroup satisfaction (which is inversely related to both contrarian orientations after accounting for collective narcissism), (2) grandiose narcissism predicts need for chaos but not anti-establishment orientation, whereas vulnerable narcissism predicts both outcomes; (3) initial levels of national collective narcissism predict greater overtime increases in need for chaos and anti-establishment orientation, after accounting for initial ingroup satisfaction (which predicts smaller overtime increases in contrarian orientations after accounting for initial collective narcissism). Together, these findings suggest contrarian orientations may reflect a (frustrated) narcissistic demand to be recognized as better than others, both collectively and individually.
... Vulnerable narcissism. We evaluated vulnerable narcissism using the Polish translation of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS; Hendin & Cheek, 1997). The scale comprises 10 items to which participants responded using a 5-point scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). ...
Background
Objectification involves perceiving and instrumentally treating other people as mere tools useful for satisfying the perceiver’s goals. While several situational factors facilitating objectification have been identified, only a few studies have examined personal predictors of objectification. To find out more about personality correlates of the objectifying approach towards other people, we examined its relationship with basic and dark personality traits.
Participants and procedure
The sample comprised 372 participants (222 women), ranging in age from 18 to 55 years (M = 34.14, SD = 8.48). To measure study variables, we used a modified version of the Objectification Scale (objectification), the IPIP-BFM-20 (Big Five personality dimensions), DTDD-P (dark personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy), HSNS (vulnerable narcissism), PES (psychological entitlement), IES (interpersonal exploitativeness), PRNS (positive reciprocity norms), and NRNS (negative reciprocity norms).
Results
We found that, when controlling for other personality variables and demographics, agreeableness, intellect, and a tendency to use positive norms of reciprocity negatively predicted objectification, and exploitativeness and entitlement were positively associated with the general tendency to objectify others.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that a propensity for objectification is predicted by an unwillingness to maintain positive relationships with others, lower intellectual openness, higher entitlement and exploitativeness, and low tendency to positively respond to others’ favors. The associations with these personality traits may allow for better understanding of – typical for objectification – high focus on fulfilling one’s own interests and readiness to exploit others while disregarding their interests and ignoring human attributes such as subjectivity and uniqueness.
... Narcyzm wrażliwy mierzono Skalą Narcyzmu Wrażliwego [28] w polskiej wersji językowej [29]. Skala składa się z dziesięciu twierdzeń z 5-stopniową skalą Likerta. ...
WSTĘP: W Polsce poziom powrotu do przestępstwa nieznacznie wzrasta i w latach 2009–2014 wynosił około 26%. W związku z tym badanie czynników, które mogą być związane z prawdopodobieństwem popełnienia czynu karalnego, są bardzo istotne. Przeprowadzone badanie skupiało się na cechach osobowości i miało na celu analizę związku pomiędzy typami narcyzmu: wielkościowym oraz wrażliwym a tym czy popełnione przestępstwo było związane z agresją (np. rozboje, zabójstwa, usiłowania zabójstwa czy oszustwa). MATERIAŁ I METODY: Materiał empiryczny uzyskano w próbie osób aktualnie odbywających karę pozbawienia wolności (n = 109 osób, 12 mężczyzn). Narcyzm wrażliwy mierzony był Skalą Narcyzmu Wrażliwego w polskiej wersji językowej, a narcyzm wielkościowy kwestionariuszem Narcissistic Personality Inventory w polskiej adaptacji. WYNIKI: Wyniki pokazują, że cecha narcyzmu wrażliwego istotnie różnicowała więźniów, którzy dokonali rozbojów, oraz więźniów skazanych za oszustwo. WNIOSKI: Przeprowadzone badanie poszerza wiedzę w zakresie związków narcyzmu z zachowaniami agresywnymi, a wyniki mogą być przydatne w konstruowaniu programów terapeutycznych w zakładach karnych.
... Although the above-mentioned studies contribute important insights to our understanding narcissistic states, many of the measures employed in these studies rely on retrospective recollections of fluctuations (FLUX scales;Oltmanns & Widiger, 2018) or adapt trait measures of NG (Narcissistic Personality Inventory; Emmons, 1984) or trait measures of NV (Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale; Hendin & Cheek, 1997) for use in state research, limiting our ability to assess covariation directly. Moreover, the studies that simultaneously assess both state grandiosity and state vulnerability report a single covariation value and assume that this value applies to all participants in the sample (Edershile et al., 2019;Edershile & Wright, 2021a, 2021bEngyel et al., 2022;Freund et al., 2024). ...
Advanced empirical research and clinical theory suggest that narcissistic personality states fluctuate over time. However, these fluctuations are poorly understood. To address this, we recruited 88 undergraduates to complete baseline measures and respond to smartphone prompts assessing narcissistic states and emotions in daily life seven times a day for 10 days. Narcissistic states were assessed using a state-adapted version of the Super Brief Pathological Narcissism Inventory (SB-PNI). Findings showed that within-person covariation of narcissistic states ranged from -.55 to .52 and was negatively associated with trait grandiosity, guilt, and mood activation. In addition, there was a significant quadratic relationship between narcissistic covariation and trait vulnerability and between narcissistic covariation and mean state vulnerability, self-esteem, pleasant and activated mood, and shame across 10 days. These findings suggest a potential state-based dynamic taxonomy of narcissistic presentations and highlight the importance of understanding distinctions between co-occurring, contrasting, and dissociated narcissistic states.
... Vulnerable narcissism was measured by the 10-item Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (Hendin & Cheek, 1997). An example is "My feelings are easily hurt by ridicule or by the slighting remarks of others", α=0.93. ...
Amid historically low societal trust in science, four cross-sectional studies (N = 3,856) reveal a link between generic science denial and national narcissism. The findings support the pre-registered hypotheses that (1) national narcissism (a desire for national recognition) and ingroup satisfaction (pride in national value) have opposite unique associations with science denial (rejection of scientific consensus and generalized suspicion towards scientific experts) and (2) opposite indirect associations with specific outcomes of science denial during the COVID19 pandemic and beyond (climate change denial, anti-vaccination attitude, and support for unregulated ‘alternative’ medicine). After their common variance is controlled, national narcissism is positively associated with generic science denial and its outcomes, while national ingroup satisfaction is associated negatively. National narcissism was the strongest predictor of science denial, surpassing other established predictors such as low education and political conservatism. Studies 1 and 2 showed additionally, that vulnerable narcissistic personality was the second strongest predictor of generic science denial, demonstrating for the first time, that the narcissistic need to be recognized as better than others underlies generic science denial.
Cyberbullying is an expected behavior among adolescents and threatens their psychosocial health. The current cross‐sectional study aims to determine the mediating role of the need to belong in the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and cyberbullying in adolescents. Study data were collected from 501 adolescents. The data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and mediation analysis using the PROCESS Macro Model 4. The study suggests that vulnerable narcissism in adolescents predicts cyberbullying directly and indirectly through the need to belong. Interventions are recommended to ensure that the belonging needs of adolescents at risk are met in appropriate ways.
Vulnerable and grandiose narcissism may relate differentially to psychological states following ego-threat. We hypothesized that following ego-threat, more (vs. less) vulnerable narcissistic people would be more motivated toward action as evidenced by neural correlates of action preparation (suppressed motor-cortical beta activity) when a competitive opportunity is present (vs. not present). Participants (N = 34; 67.6% female) completed measures of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism and baseline electroencephalography activity; subsequently, they received ego-threat via insulting feedback and later learned they would have the opportunity to compete against the insulter. Electroencephalography activity was recorded just after the insult and once again after learning about the competition opportunity. Vulnerable but not grandiose narcissism was associated with enhanced perceived ego-threat after the insult and greater suppressed beta activity after learning about the competition opportunity relative to baseline or just after the insult; moreover, this greater suppressed beta activity associated with vulnerable narcissism was nullified upon accounting for its overlap with perceived ego-threat. Only vulnerable narcissism related to more action preparation potentially to engage in motivated behavior to repair their ego in response to a greater perceived ego-threat. Broadly, the findings bolster the view that vulnerable and grandiose narcissistic individuals may not share similar reactions to ego-threat, such that vulnerable narcissistic responding entails greater perception of ego-threat and motivation to redress the slight.
This study investigated the relationships among vulnerable narcissism, the use of social network sites (SNSs), self‐esteem, and sense of community among adolescents. Based on a sample of 381 high school students, we explored whether vulnerable narcissism, exacerbated by the use of SNSs and low self‐esteem, contributes to difficulties in establishing community relationships. Hypotheses were tested to examine the associations among narcissism, sense of community, and self‐esteem, with the use of SNSs as a moderating factor. The results indicated a negative relationship between narcissism and sense of community, with self‐esteem mediating this relationship. Furthermore, the low or high use of SNSs moderates the negative relationship between narcissism and sense of community and self‐esteem such that with high use of social media, the relationship becomes positive. These findings suggest that vulnerable‐narcissist adolescents use social sites as facilitators of community relationships and support of their self‐esteem. Conversely, adolescents with low usage are less inclined to support real‐life comparisons, perceiving the community as a dangerous testing ground to avoid. This study highlights the importance of addressing vulnerable narcissism and the use of SNSs in interventions aimed at promoting community involvement and well‐being among adolescents.
Grandiose narcissism is characterized by ambivalent interaction behavior (i.e., grandiose self-presentation and rivalrous devaluation of others) and strong oscillations in self-esteem over time. In the light of emotional and social problems associated with these self-esteem regulation patterns and the increasing prevalence of narcissistic tendencies, causal and formalized models for prevention and intervention are needed. Here, we present a computational model of narcissistic self-esteem regulation implementing established, verbal theories of narcissism to identify key etiological and disorder-maintaining mechanisms. Across four studies, we show that parental praise and overvaluation lead to typical grandiose-narcissistic behavioral patterns (i.e., entitled self-presentation and rivalry) and strong self-esteem oscillations. Underlying these phenomena, we identify two maintaining mechanisms that offer targets for intervention and empirical falsification: tolerance development, characterized by an ever-increasing desire for social recognition, and a vicious cycle of rivalry, characterized by the frequent use of other-devaluing behavior and massive drops in self-esteem.
The present scale development results indicate initial success in constructing a reliable new self-report measure of adaptive overt narcissism that is distinct from measures of covert and maladaptive overt narcissism. The Adaptive Overt Narcissism Scale (AONS) also is substantially more correlated with self-esteem than existing subscales of the NPI that have been used to assess moderately “healthy” or adaptive narcissism. Cheek, J.M., Wink, P.M., Hargreaves, K.M., & Derr, J.L. (2013, July). Distinctions among overt, covert and adaptive types of narcissism: Conceptualization and measurement. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Honolulu.
A sample of 215 undergraduates completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), the original and revised Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory, the Splitting Scale, and the Selfism Scale. Contrary to clinical theory, proneness to shame was generally negatively correlated with narcissism as assessed by the NPI. When statistical procedures were used to isolate presumably maladaptive components of the NPI, the predicted positive association between shame (independent of guilt) and narcissism emerged. Shame-proneness was also positively correlated with splitting, a pathological narcissistic defense. These findings suggest that it is critical to differentiate between pathological and more benign aspects of narcissism.
This study examines the influence of neuroticism and narcissism on body esteem, and whether the nature of these relationships differs between high-level exercising women (n = 84)-who tend to have heightened body focus-and a control group of non-exercising women (n = 81). Results indicated a significant interaction between neuroticism and narcissism on body esteem although the 3-way interaction with exercise was not significant. High narcissism is only associated with good body esteem when neuroticism levels are low. As neuroticism increases, body esteem decreases at every level of narcissism, but most steeply among highly narcissistic individuals. Our results demonstrate clearly the adaptive as well as the maladaptive sides of narcissism. On the one hand, narcissism can enhance psychological well-being; however, in the setting of an emotionally unstable personality, it appears to have the opposite effect.
This study investigated the relation between two types of narcissism and boredom in a group of 106 women undergraduates. As expected, MMPI-based measures of overt and covert narcissism both correlated positively with the Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS) (Farmer & Sundberg, 1986) and its subscale measuring a need for challenge and excitement. Only Overt Narcissism, which is characterized by extroversion and rebelliousness, correlated with the BPS subscale measuring feelings of restlessness and impatience in response to external constraints on behavior. Only Covert Narcissism, which is characterized by a sense of inner depletion, correlated with BPS subscales measuring difficulties in keeping oneself interested and entertained (lack of internal stimulation), feelings of meaninglessness, and the perception that time is passing by slowly.