تاثیر خودشیفتگی پاتولوژیک بر روی واکنش های احساسی و انگیزشی به رویدادهای منفی: نقش شفافیت و نگرانی در مورد تحقیر

The present study examined the associations between pathological forms of narcissism and responses to scenarios describing private or public negative events. This was accomplished using a randomized two-wave experimental design with 600 community participants. The grandiose form of pathological narcissism was associated with increased negative affect and less forgiveness for public offenses, whereas the vulnerable form of pathological narcissism was associated with increased negative affect following private negative events. Concerns about humiliation mediated the association of pathological narcissism with increased negative affect but not the association between grandiose narcissism and lack of forgiveness for public offenses. These findings suggest that pathological narcissism may promote maladaptive responses to negative events that occur in private (vulnerable narcissism) or public (grandiose narcissism).

Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity and inflated views of the self. These qualities can be observed, for example, in the tendency for narcissistic individuals to overestimate their attractiveness and intelligence (Gabriel, Critelli, & Ee, 1994). Both clinical and social-personality psychologists have shown considerable interest in narcissism in recent years but attempts to integrate these bodies of literature have been impeded by differences in the definitions and measurement of narcissism (Cain et al., 2008, Miller and Campbell, 2008 and Pincus et al., 2009). Clinical psychologists generally think of narcissism as a personality disorder characterized by arrogant or haughty behaviors, feelings of entitlement, a lack of empathy, and a willingness to exploit other individuals (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). This form of narcissism is often associated with emotional instability and the tendency to experience negative emotional states. In contrast, social-personality psychologists usually consider narcissism to be a normally distributed personality feature. The subclinical form of narcissism studied by social-personality psychologists tends to be at least somewhat emotionally resilient and extraverted (Miller & Campbell, 2008). These differences in conceptualization lead clinical psychologists to think of narcissism as a relatively pathological construct and social-personality psychologists to think of narcissism as at least somewhat “normal” because of its blend of relatively adaptive (e.g., leadership and authority) and maladaptive properties (e.g., exploitation and entitlement; see Miller & Campbell (2008) or Pincus et al. (2009), for extended discussions). In an effort to be consistent with previous research (e.g., Pincus et al., 2009), we will refer to these types of narcissism as pathological narcissism and normal narcissism, respectively. One of the costs that narcissistic individuals face for holding such potentially inflated self-views is that they may experience extreme reactions to events that challenge these views. This sort of narcissistic reactivity has been observed for individuals with high levels of normal narcissism who confronted threatening achievement events or social events that occurred within the confines of the laboratory (e.g., Barry et al., 2006, Besser and Priel, in press a, Besser and Priel, 2009, Bushman and Baumeister, 1998, Kernis and Sun, 1994, Rhodewalt and Morf, 1998 and Twenge and Campbell, 2003) or that took place in everyday life (e.g., Bogart et al., 2004, Rhodewalt, 2005, Rhodewalt et al., 1998 and Zeigler-Hill et al., 2010). The observed reactions of individuals with high levels of normal narcissism to these sorts of experiences have included anger (Besser and Priel, 2009 and Besser and Priel, in press a), aggressive behavior (Bushman & Baumeister, 1998), decreased self-esteem (Rhodewalt et al., 1998 and Zeigler-Hill et al., 2010), and negative emotions (Besser and Priel, 2009, Besser and Priel, in press a and Rhodewalt and Morf, 1998). Additionally, studies have demonstrated that individuals with high levels of normal narcissism are prone to derogate or attack those who provide ego-threatening feedback in the form of failure or social rejection (e.g., Bushman and Baumeister, 1998, Bushman et al., 2003, Campbell et al., 2004, Kernis and Sun, 1994 and Twenge and Campbell, 2003) and often refuse to forgive the past transgressions of others (Eaton et al., 2006 and Exline et al., 2004). Many of the current theories concerning the reactivity of narcissists are derived, to varying extents, from the psychodynamic mask model of narcissism which is based on the influential perspectives offered by Kohut, 1966, Kohut, 1977 and Kohut and Wolf, 1986 and Kernberg, 1975 and Kernberg, 1986. Despite important differences in their views of narcissism, Kohut and Kernberg both posit that narcissistic grandiosity serves as a façade that conceals underlying feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem which stem from early experiences of inadequate or insensitive parenting (see Bosson et al., 2008, for a review). The inconsistencies in the self-views of narcissists are believed to be responsible for their heightened reactivity because negative events undermine their tenuously held feelings of self-worth and increase the salience of their negative self-attitudes. That is, threats to self-esteem or other negative events may lead to the emergence of underlying negative self-views which trigger reactions that either reflect these negative self-views (e.g., low self-esteem, anxiety) or serve as attempts to bolster their tenuous feelings of self-worth (e.g., anger, aggressive tendencies). Explanations for narcissistic reactivity that are based on the psychodynamic mask model generally concern challenges to the grandiose façade of narcissists. It has been suggested, however, that pathological narcissism may be a heterogeneous construct consisting of both a grandiose and a vulnerable form which may be experienced independently of each other, simultaneously, or in an alternating fashion (e.g., Akhtar and Thomson, 1982, Cooper, 1998, Dickinson and Pincus, 2003, Gabbard, 1989, Gabbard, 1998, Gersten, 1991, Hendin and Cheek, 1997, Kohut, 1971, Pincus and Lukowitsky, 2010, Pincus et al., 2009, Rathvon and Holmstrom, 1996, Rose, 2002, Røvik, 2001, Wink, 1991 and Wink, 1996). Grandiose narcissism is the most easily recognized form of pathological narcissism because it is characterized by exhibitionism, feelings of entitlement, and a willingness to exploit others. This grandiose form of pathological narcissism is clearly represented by the diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). In contrast to grandiose narcissism which is characterized by arrogance and self-absorption, the vulnerable form of pathological narcissism is characterized by self-reported feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, shame, helplessness, and a relatively submissive interpersonal style (Cooper and Ronningstam, 1992, Dickinson and Pincus, 2003, Gabbard, 1989, Gramzow and Tangney, 1992, Pincus et al., 2009 and Rose, 2002). Individuals reporting high levels of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism appear to differ in the approaches they use to regulate their self-esteem. Individuals with high levels of grandiose narcissism tend to use overt strategies in order to gain admiration and respect, whereas those with high levels of vulnerable narcissism may not seek approval from others directly because they may not be confident in their ability to employ overt strategies (Cooper, 1988, Cooper, 1998, Cooper and Maxwell, 1995, Dickinson and Pincus, 2003 and Pincus et al., 2009). As a result of their insecurity, those who possess this vulnerable form of narcissism may be forced to rely on less direct means for regulating their self-esteem such as avoiding confrontation and shamefully withdrawing from situations that fail to provide them with the approval and acceptance they crave so desperately (e.g., Akhtar, 2003). An important distinction between grandiose and vulnerable forms of pathological narcissism concerns responses to negative events that may threaten their feelings of self-worth. Although less is known about the reactivity associated with pathological forms of narcissism compared to normal narcissism, a recent study by Besser and Priel (in press a) found that grandiose and vulnerable forms of pathological narcissism differed in terms of their associations with the reported emotional reactions of individuals to threats in the achievement and interpersonal domains. More specifically, participants with high levels of grandiose narcissism were highly responsive to threats concerning achievement failure (i.e., learning that an important promotion had been given to a coworker), whereas those with high levels of vulnerable narcissism were particularly responsive to threats concerning romantic betrayal (i.e., learning that one’s lover had been unfaithful). The fact that these events elicited different levels of reactivity for specific forms of pathological narcissism provides initial evidence that individuals with these forms of pathological narcissism may differ with regard to the sorts of experiences that threaten their feelings of self-worth (e.g., Kernberg, 1986 and Ronningstam, 2005). Concern about humiliation may play a vital role in the responses of individuals with pathological forms of narcissism to negative events. The fact that grandiose narcissism is characterized by such a strong desire for respect and admiration coupled with a reliance on others for self-esteem regulation may explain the importance of humiliation in narcissistic reactivity. Given the importance that individuals with high levels of grandiose narcissism place on being viewed positively by others in their social environments, negative experiences such as rejection and failure may be particularly aversive when they take place in public settings because these experiences disrupt their attempts to gain prestige and respect. That is, negative experiences may always be difficult for individuals with high levels of grandiose narcissism to manage, but experiences that occur in public settings may be especially problematic because they elicit feelings of humiliation (Rothstein, 1984 and Steiner, 1999). These humiliating experiences may lead to a range of negative emotions for individuals with high levels of grandiose narcissism and may elicit a desire among these individuals to strike back at the transgressor who is responsible for the humiliation in an attempt to protect their feelings of self-worth.

The present study examined the associations between pathological forms of narcissism and reactions to negative events in both private and public settings. Grandiose narcissism was found to be associated with reactions to public negative events such that concerns about humiliation played an important role in emotional responses to these events. In contrast, vulnerable narcissism was associated with emotional reactions to private negative events. These results suggest that both forms of pathological narcissism are associated with emotional reactions to descriptions of negative events but that they differ with respect to the responses elicited by the level of exposure of these events (i.e., whether they occur in private or in public). This suggests that future studies concerning pathological narcissism may need to take into account and assess the “equivalence of stimuli” (Compas, 1987) because it should not be assumed that a particular event is experienced in the same way and has the same meaning (see e.g., Besser et al., 2008 and Besser and Priel, in press b) when it occurs in different contexts (i.e., private vs. public). Despite its limitations, we believe the present study supports a view of pathological narcissism as promoting maladaptive affect-regulation strategies in response to interpersonal rejection and achievement failure. Moreover, our findings indicate that both forms of pathological narcissism and concerns about humiliation may play vital roles in determining how individuals respond to negative events.