Katharine M Hargreaves’s scientific contributions

The idea that the self-overvaluation characteristic of narcissism can be directed either overtly toward the public self (ego) or covertly toward the privately idealized self-image (ego ideal) was first discussed in the 1920s (e.g., Ellis, 1927). The more recent designation of these two faces of narcissism as Grandiosity-Exhibitionism (overt) and Vulnerability-Sensitivity (covert) by Wink (1991) finally has become accepted in contemporary personality and social psychological research (e.g., Miller et al., 2011). Researchers have tended to focus on what divides or distinguishes these two faces of narcissism (e.g., Krizan & Johar, 2012), and the extent of such distinctions now raises questions about what connects overt and covert narcissism as aspects of the same psychological construct and is covert “really” a form of narcissism? In two studies (total N = 595) we found answers in strong positive correlations between both overt and covert narcissism and measures of entitlement rage and grandiose fantasies.

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.