Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry: An Interpersonal Approach to Construct Validation

Exploring grandiose narcissism among surgeons: a comparative analysis

The concept of narcissism encompasses various personality traits, including cognitive, emotional and behavioural characteristics, which often lead to difficulties in maintaining a healthy self-esteem. This study examines the prevalence of narcissism traits (Admiration and Rivalry) in the surgical profession and their association with age, gender and professional experience. A total of 1390 participants (408 women, 982 men) took part in an online survey. The results show that female participants have significantly lower levels of rivalry than male colleagues. Additionally, age was found to be inversely correlated with both facets of narcissism, demonstrating that levels of narcissism decrease as age increases. Participants who are still in education tend to show higher levels of both facets. These results improve our understanding of personality traits in surgery and provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners.

Examining Schizotypal Personality Scales Within and Across Interpersonal Circumplex Surfaces

Differing perspectives on the operationalization of schizotypal personality pathology (STPP) have led to numerous multidimensional assessment measures. The current study applied the interpersonal construct validation approach to self-report data from 856 undergraduate students to formally examine the interpersonal content, similarities, and differences in the subscales of four measures of STPP within and across two interpersonal circumplex surfaces using a bootstrapping methodology for computing confidence intervals around circumplex structural summary method parameters. Results suggested that negative-like expressions of STPP are prototypically and distinctively interpersonal constructs associated with cold and socially avoidant interpersonal problems and hypersensitivity to others' warmth and affection. Positive-like expressions of STPP as assessed by two out of four measures were prototypically and distinctively interpersonal constructs associated with vindictiveness. Across four measures, there was notable overlap in interpersonal correlates among related subscales, suggesting convergent validity. However, subscales containing social anxiety content were associated with more submissive (i.e., socially avoidant) interpersonal problems than subscales without social anxiety content.

Understanding pathways from narcissistic grandiosity to psychotic-like experiences: Insights from the network analysis

It has been shown that narcissistic grandiosity and psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) may share the common psychological mechanisms, including impairments of metacognition, social cognition, cognitive biases, emotion regulation through fantasizing and dissociation. However, it remains unknown as to whether these mechanisms are associated with the occurrence of PLEs in people with narcissistic grandiosity. Therefore, in the present study, we approached a network analysis in order to investigate pathways from narcissistic grandiosity to PLEs taking into consideration the mediating effect of common psychological mechanisms. The study was based on a non-clinical sample of 1647 individuals, aged 18-35 years. Data were collected through self-reports administered in the online survey. There were no direct connections between narcissistic grandiosity and PLEs. However, four pathways connecting narcissistic grandiosity and PLEs through the effect of one mediating psychological mechanism were identified. These mechanisms covered external attribution biases, the need to control thoughts, social cognition, and emotion regulation through fantasizing. Among them, the shortest pathway led through the effects of external attribution biases. Age, gender, education and lifetime history of psychiatric treatment were included as covariates in a network analysis. Findings from this study indicate that higher levels of external attributions, the need to control thoughts, impairments of social cognition, and emotion regulation strategies based on fantasizing might be associated with the development of PLEs in people showing narcissistic grandiosity. These observations indicate potential targets for therapeutic approaches that aim to reduce the risk of developing comorbid psychopathology in people with grandiose narcissism traits.

The Mechanisms of How Narcissistic Duality Traits Influence on College Student's Organizational Citizenship Behavior from an Impression Management Perspective

Purpose

Although plenty of studies have examined the antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior, empirical studies exploring the role of individual narcissism in relation to college students' organizational citizenship behavior are relatively scarce. Drawing on the dual theory of narcissism and the conservation of resources theory, this study aimed to explore the relationship between narcissistic duality traits (narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry) and organizational citizenship behavior of college students, and to further examine the mediating role of impression management motivation (assertive impression management motivation and defensive impression management motivation) and the moderating roles of teamwork, interpersonal relationships, and optimism.

Methods

We used the questionnaire method with a sample of undergraduate and graduate students from several universities in Hubei, China. The data sample for analysis consists of 583 college students.

Results

(1) Narcissistic admiration had a significant and positive effect on college students' organizational citizenship behavior, while the effect of narcissistic rivalry was significant and negative; (2) assertive impression management motivation mediated the relationship between narcissistic admiration and college student's organizational citizenship behavior, and defensive impression management motivation mediated the relationship between narcissistic rivalry and college student' s organizational citizenship behavior; and (3) teamwork, interpersonal relationships, and optimism positively moderated the relationship between narcissistic admiration and assertive impression management motivation, and these variables positively moderated the indirect effects of assertive narcissism on college student's organizational citizenship behavior through assertive impression management motivation.

Conclusion

We found that college students with narcissistic admiration engaged in more organizational citizenship behaviors than those with narcissistic rivalry. In addition, narcissistic admiration had a positive effect on organizational citizenship behavior through assertive impression management motivation, and narcissistic rivalry had a negative effect on organizational citizenship behavior through defensive impression management motivation. Finally, teamwork, interpersonal relationships, and optimism significantly and positively mediated the relationship between narcissistic admiration and assertive impression management motivation, and the indirect effect of narcissistic admiration on organizational citizenship behavior through assertive impression management motivation. However, the direct effects of teamwork, interpersonal relationships, and optimism on the relationship between narcissistic rivalry and defensive impression management motivation, and the indirect effect of narcissistic rivalry on organizational citizenship behavior through defensive impression management motivation were not significant.

Development and Validation of a German Interpersonal Sensitivities Circumplex (ISC-G)

Abstract. The Interpersonal Sensitivities Circumplex (ISC) assesses individual differences in sensitivities to aversive interpersonal behaviors. In this research (total N = 1,519), we developed and validated a German adaptation of the ISC (ISC-G) and extended the nomological net of interpersonal sensitivity as a construct. Using the structural summary method, we investigated associations with self- and informant reports of adaptive (interpersonal) personality traits as well as self-reported personality functioning, maladaptive personality traits, childhood trauma, and hypersensitivity. Replicating and extending previous findings with the ISC, the present research sheds light on the interplay between different personality traits and the perception of others’ interpersonal behavior. Results suggested that individuals report experiencing interpersonal behavior opposite to their own self-description in terms of agency and communion as aversive. This oppositional pattern was most pronounced for antagonistic vs. agreeable traits/behaviors. We discuss these results in the context of research on personality pathology.

How entrepreneurs' dual narcissism affects new venture growth: the roles of personal initiative and learning from entrepreneurial failure

Purpose

Based on a personality-behavior-outcome framework, this study analyzes how entrepreneurs' dual narcissism (i.e. narcissistic admiration and rivalry) affects new venture growth (NVG) through learning from entrepreneurial failure (LFEF) and discusses the moderating effect of personal initiative on the relationship between dual narcissism and LFEF.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 294 entrepreneurs from different cities and industries in China were selected as the research sample. The mediation effect was examined using the PROCESS macro, and the moderation effect was tested via hierarchical regression analysis.

Findings

This study found that narcissistic admiration positively affected NVG, while narcissistic rivalry had the opposite effect. LFEF mediated the relationships between narcissistic admiration/rivalry and NVG. In addition, the effects of narcissistic admiration and rivalry on LFEF were moderated by personal initiative.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that entrepreneurs with narcissistic rivalry should deliberately regulate their cognition of failure and strengthen their learning from failure. Moreover, entrepreneurship education mentors should emphasize cultivating and guiding entrepreneurs' personal initiative in the context of frustration education. In addition, venture capitalists can consider incorporating the personality traits (i.e. dual narcissism and personal initiative) of entrepreneurs into the investment decision-making index system.

Originality/value

This study advances the relationship between narcissism and performance through the perspective of dual narcissism and provides a learning theory perspective for analyzing the narcissism–performance relationship. Moreover, by exploring the moderating role of personal initiative, this study enriches the understanding of the conditional factor that affects the ability to learn from failure.

Moral grandstanding, narcissism, and self-reported responses to the COVID-19 crisis

The present study aimed to understand how status-oriented individual differences such as narcissistic antagonism, narcissistic extraversion, and moral grandstanding motivations may have longitudinally predicted both behavioral and social media responses during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Via YouGov, a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults was recruited in August of 2019 (N = 2,519; M_age  = 47.5, SD = 17.8; 51.4% women) and resampled in May of 2020, (N = 1,533). Results indicated that baseline levels of narcissistic antagonism were associated with lower levels of social distancing and lower compliance with public health recommended behaviors. Similarly, dominance oriented moral grandstanding motivations predicted greater conflict with others over COVID-19, greater engagement in status-oriented social media behaviors about COVID-19, and lower levels of social distancing.

Moving Toward, Moving Against, and Moving Away: An Interpersonal Approach to Construct Validation of the Horney-Coolidge Type Inventory

Karen Horney's interpersonal theory of adjustment defined three different neurotic trends involving characteristic social behavior and motives: compliant (moving toward people), aggressive (moving against people), and detached (moving away from people). The Horney-Coolidge Type Inventory (HCTI) was developed to assess these trends, but has not been validated using standard methods in the interpersonal perspective. The studies reported here refined the structure of the HCTI, and utilized the structural summary method (SSM) to identify relationships of the three shortened HCTI trend scales with the interpersonal circumplex (IPC) in single university (n = 514) and multisite university (n = 3,283) samples. Results across both studies confirmed predicted interpersonal characteristics of each trend: Compliance was associated with warm submissiveness, aggression was associated with hostile dominance, and detachment was associated with hostile or cold submissiveness. However, analyses of facets within the three HCTI trend domains revealed significant differences. Results are discussed as a potential guide to further refinement of assessments of the Horney maladaptive trends, and support inclusion of Horney's model in current interpersonal theory.

Comparing English-Language and Chinese-Language Assessment of DSM-5 Personality Disorders and Interpersonal Problems in Chinese Bilingual Speakers

A review of the literature on Chinese translations of Western self-report personality disorder assessment measures indicates the need to empirically evaluate the validity of assessing Western personality disorder constructs in Chinese language and culture. The current study presents a novel approach to examining this critical question in cross-cultural clinical assessment science and practice. One hundred and ninety-nine (199) Mandarin Chinese and English bilingual participants (92 males and 107 females) provided both English and Chinese self-report ratings on the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems - Short Circumplex (IIP-SC) and The Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire - 4+ (PDQ-4+). The similarities and differences in associations between Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th edition (DSM-5) personality disorders and interpersonal problems assessed across languages were examined. The structural summary method (SSM) for circumplex data and a bootstrapping methodology were used to compute confidence intervals around SSM parameters to analyze and compare the interpersonal problems profiles for each personality disorder scale (e.g. narcissistic) derived from English-language and Chinese-language data. The current study found highly similar interpersonal profiles for personality disorder scales assessed in English and Chinese, suggesting Western DSM-5 personality disorder constructs generally emphasize the same interpersonal problems in Chinese language and culture. The method employed in this study also has implications for understanding whether translated measures capture the same personality constructs.

Self-serving social strategies: A systematic review of social cognition in narcissism

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterised by inflated self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. The interpersonal difficulties associated with narcissistic personality may be becoming more widespread given its increasing prevalence within the general population. This systematic review investigated the relationship between narcissistic personality traits and social cognition (i.e. theory of mind; emotion recognition; empathy; emotional intelligence) in clinical and non-clinical samples. Cognitive empathy (i.e. perspective taking) appears unlikely to be impaired, while affective empathy (relating to another’s emotion state) may be reduced in association with narcissism. Those with grandiose narcissism rate their empathic skills more highly than those with vulnerable narcissism, but concurrent administration of objective measures is rare, limiting insight into the validity of self-ratings. Rather than deficits in aspects of social cognition, the overall pattern could reflect motivation, or advantageous use of social cognitive skills to serve the self. Indeed, interpersonal strategies associated with narcissism (e.g. deception; manipulation) suggest the application of understanding another’s beliefs or desires in the context of low empathy. Further research should seek to explore performance on a wider range of emotion recognition and theory of mind tasks, and whether characteristics such as excessive jealousy and paranoia could reflect hyper-mentalizing.

Making and maintaining relationships through the prism of the dark triad traits: A longitudinal social network study

OBJECTIVE

We investigated how Dark Triad traits influence the development and maintenance of social relations.

METHOD

Participants completed the Short Dark Triad questionnaire and a measure of social relations at three time points: at the beginning of their first year in high school, 3 months later, and at the end of their first year. We investigated whether the Dark Triad traits are stable over time using Multilevel Modeling (N = 265; 59.6% girls), and how Dark Triad traits predict incoming and outgoing agentic and communal relations using Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models (N = 192; 60.4% girls).

RESULTS

Overall, the Dark Triad traits were stable over a one-year period. Narcissism did not predict an increase in communal and agentic relations in the short-term, but predicted slightly less incoming communal and more agentic relations in the long-term. In the short-term, Machiavellianism predicted a small increase while psychopathy predicted a small decrease in the incoming agentic and communal relations. In the long-term, however, neither Machiavellianism nor psychopathy was a significant predictor of any incoming relations.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results shed new light on the dynamics of making and maintaining social relations through the prism of the Dark Triad traits.

Investigating how self-esteem moderates grandiose narcissism's interpersonal orientation

OBJECTIVE

Most previous research has treated grandiose narcissism and self-esteem as additive predictors of outcomes, but some theory and evidence suggests they may sometimes interact to predict outcomes. Unfortunately, the nature of this interaction is unclear; we suggest a framework to conceptualize the interaction and test it vis-à-vis the interpersonal circumplex framework.

METHOD

Participants (N = 598; M_age  = 38.39; 327 females; 72.1% White) reported their levels of grandiose narcissism and self-esteem and completed interpersonal circumplex measures of efficacies, values, problems, and sensitivities.

RESULTS

As self-esteem decreased, grandiose narcissism related (a) more negatively to communal efficacies and values and (b) more positively to sensitivity to others' communal behaviors. Also as self-esteem decreased, unexpectedly, grandiose narcissism related (a) more positively to agentic efficacies and problems and (b) more negatively to sensitivity to others' agentic behaviors.

CONCLUSION

Overall, the present findings generally support using interaction models over additive models of grandiose narcissism and self-esteem in interpersonal contexts, suggesting that grandiose narcissism becomes generally less communal, more agentic, and more interpersonally problematic as self-esteem decreases.

Adolescent narcissism and interpersonal trust: A cross-lagged study

In recent years, narcissism has been attracting considerable interest by researchers because of its enigmatic constructs. To enhance our understanding of narcissists' psychosocial functioning, considering the relationship between narcissism and interpersonal trust is crucial. This study aimed to investigate how narcissistic admiration and rivalry are associated with interpersonal trust. To gain a more nuanced understanding, a cross-lagged design was conducted at two time points that were six months apart. In total, 357 adolescents (M_age  = 16.33 years) completed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) and the Interpersonal Trust Scale. The results showed that narcissistic admiration positively predicted interpersonal trust while narcissistic rivalry negatively predicted interpersonal trust at the second time point. However, interpersonal trust did not predict subsequent levels of narcissistic admiration and rivalry. These findings enhanced our understanding by showing that narcissistic admiration and rivalry have different effects on interpersonal trust, and that they remain relatively stable during a six-month period.

An interaction model for the role of self-evaluations and antagonistic pursuits in subjective well-being

Popular theorizing about happiness pursuit emphasizes universal paths to happiness, but other theorizing acknowledges different people achieve happiness in different ways (i.e., subjective well-being, SWB). The present work extended this latter perspective by examining how antagonistic pursuit of a grandiose identity ('narcissistic antagonism') - generally thought to reduce narcissistic people's SWB - may relate to increased cognitive well-being (i.e., a component of SWB) for narcissistic people with lower self-esteem. In Study 1, participants (N = 417) reported their narcissism, self-esteem, narcissistic antagonism, and general life satisfaction (to index cognitive well-being). In Study 2 (pre-registered), participants (N = 450) reported their narcissism, self-esteem, narcissistic antagonism, general and domain-specific life satisfaction, and general affect (to index affective well-being, which is a different component of SWB). Both studies revealed narcissistic antagonism related to increased life satisfaction only for more (vs. less) narcissistic people with lower (vs. higher) self-esteem. Study 2 not only replicated this interactive pattern on satisfaction across various life domains but also revealed the interaction may be related to increased negative affect. Broadly, results highlight how different people may enhance features of SWB in different, even 'dark', ways.

Longitudinal Associations of Narcissism with Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Institutional Outcomes: An Investigation Using a Representative Sample of the German Population

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 tofriendship, happiness, self-esteem, employment, leadership and income, antagonistic narcissism was negatively related tointrapsychic adjustment. Longitudinally, agentic aspects were positively associated with holding a leadership position while the antagonistic aspects were related to lowerself-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.