Do Narcissists Dislike Themselves “Deep Down Inside”?

• DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01880.x
• Publication Date: 2007-05-01T02:30:15Z
• Authors: W. Keith Campbell; Jennifer K. Bosson; Thomas W. Goheen; Chad E. Lakey; Michael H. Kernis
• Keywords: Ego; Unconscious, Psychology; Personality Inventory; Psychometrics; 05 social sciences; Personality Disorders; Self Concept; Narcissism; Psychology; Humans; 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences; Rejection, Psychology; Students; Internal-External Control

Narcissism is a personality trait associated with an inflated, grandiose self-concept and lack of intimacy in interpersonal relationships. A popular assumption that narcissists’ positive explicit (conscious) self-views mask implicit (nonconscious) self-loathing. This belief typically traced to psychodynamic theory, especially Kohut (1966; Morrison, 1983). Empirically, this view predicts narcissists will reveal negative when these are measured unobtrusive instruments—such as the Implicit Association Test (IAT; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998)—that record people’s automatic, uncontrolled responses. Using IAT, however, researchers found no simple relation between narcissism selfesteem (rs 5 .13 .03; Jordan, Spencer, Zanna, HoshinoBrowne, Correll, 2003; Zeigler-Hill, 2006). According another line thought, selfviews not uniformly positive; rather, agentic domains (e.g., status, intelligence), but communal kindness, morality). Evidence for idea comes from both ratings, which show association only on traits (Campbell, Rudich, Sedikides, 2002), analyses showing particularly strongly self-esteem measures capture dominance (Brown 2004). Bradlee Emmons (1992) Paulhus Williams (2002) have also reported data supporting distinction. As do evaluate themselves positively across all dimensions—and IAT strength cognitive associations self evaluative dimension—the correlation might reflect words used IAT. Specifically, IATs employing more may correlate narcissism, whereas those using negatively or at narcissism. Indeed, pattern seen responses Thematic Apperception Test. On test, correlates nPower nIntimacy nAffiliation (Carroll, 1987). Researchers often use activate respondents’ than their ones. For example, by Jordan et al. (2003; friend, gift, happy, holiday, joy, love, party, smile, sunshine, warmth, agony, cockroach, death, disaster, disease, evil, garbage, pain, stink, vomit) Zeigler-Hill (2006; paradise, pleasure, grief, sickness, tragedy) include several terms few terms. Twentyfour pilot respondents rated word lists along dimensions. Both conveyed significantly communion agency, t(23)s > 4.50, preps .997, explain weak observed scores. We tested our logic agency two studies. (2003), we link sample undergraduates. Next, created separate measure