Abstract
Objective: Theoretical conceptions of narcissism have long been characterized by two seemingly opposing poles: grandiosity and vulnerability. The goal of the current study was to investigate the extent to which traits associated with one profile are perceived to co-occur with the other within an individual. Method: Lay raters (N = 862; 56% female; 80% Caucasian; Mage = 37) recruited from Amazon's MTurk were assigned to one of four conditions in which they rated how often a series of narcissistic traits were displayed by a prototypical grandiose narcissist, a vulnerable narcissist, a close friend, or themselves. Vulnerable narcissism items were specifically worded to assess internalizing- versus externalizing-based emotional responses. Results: Results suggest that grandiosely narcissistic individuals are seen as responding angrily to ego-threatening situations, whereas vulnerably narcissistic individuals are seen as responding with a broader array of negative emotions, including anger, sadness, and shame. In contrast, vulnerably narcissistic individuals were not rated as consistently demonstrating behaviors, attitudes, or cognitions associated with grandiose narcissism. Conclusions: Grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic individuals both exhibit anger in response to ego threat, but sadness/shame responses are more characteristic of vulnerable narcissism.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 422-434 |
Number of pages | 13 |
Journal | Journal of Personality |
Volume | 86 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2018 |
Keywords
- ego threat
- grandiosity
- narcissism
- vulnerability
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology