The Handbook of the Psychology of Narcissism (2014) is an edited research volume that surveys intrapersonal, interpersonal, and clinical perspectives on narcissism.

FULL SUMMARY

About the Author:
The Handbook of the Psychology of Narcissism is a multi-author edited volume, with each chapter written by subject-matter experts contributing their perspectives. The collection is edited by Avi Besser (Hadassah Academic College), who served as the general editor and organizer of this anthology of research.

Note: I focus more on empirical chapters and may skip chapters based on DSM, more psychoanalytic chapters, and one-study chapters.

Chapter 1: Do Narcissists Really Love Themselves? The Psychodynamic Mask Model

Authors: Ashton C. Southard, Amy Noser, Virgil Zeigler-Hill

The authors examine whether narcissists truly have high self-esteem or merely project grandiosity to cover deep feelings of inadequacy.
The psychodynamic mask model posits that narcissists’ outward confidence and self-esteem hides fragile and negative self-views formed through early interpersonal wounds. The chapter reviews classic psychoanalytic roots, and reasons for inconsistent findings in modern research.

The Mask Model of Narcissism Posits:

• Narcissistic grandiosity masks inner inferiority. Freud (1914), Kohut (1966, 1977), and Kernberg (1975) all viewed narcissism as defensive overcompensation for fragile self-esteem developed in childhood.
• Overcompensation maintains self-worth. Narcissists seek admiration, exploit others, and self-enhance to maintain the façade (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001).
• Deep shame vs grandiosity: Subconscious deep shame and insecurity contrast with conscious grandiosity, causing constant validation-seeking.
• Volatility, defensiveness and anger explained by the model. Narcissists’ self-love is conditional and easily threatened, which explains both their charisma, volatility, and aggressive reactions when criticized

Testing the Model

• ❌ Early research confirmed the model, showing narcissists score high on explicit measures but lower on implicit measures that assess automatic self-worth (Greenwald & Banaji, 1995).
  • Discrepant high self-esteem is the name often used to refer to the mix of high explicit and low implicit self-esteem (Bosson et al., 2003)
• ✅ More recent research shows mixed results and challenges the model. Later studies (Campbell et al., 2007; Bosson et al., 2008) failed to replicate the pattern consistently.

Why Results Differ

Several theories may help explain why the results differ:

• Unreliable implicit measures. Tools like the Implicit Association Test and Name-Letter Task are noisy, context-dependent, and weakly correlated.
• Domain-specific self-esteem. Narcissists may feel agentic superiority but communal inadequacy—strong in power/competence, weak in warmth/connection (Campbell et al., 2002).
• Grandiose vs vulnerable: multiple narcissism types. Grandiose narcissists show true high self-esteem; vulnerable narcissists exhibit the low implicit self-esteem predicted by the mask model <— 🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s note: this seems to be most important element

Chapter 2: Tales of Glory — The Narcissistic Ideal as a Defense Against Being Forgotten

Author: Robert Waska

Through a psychoanalytic case study, Waska explores how idealized self-images protect individuals from fears of insignificance and abandonment. Narcissistic idealization serves both as armor and as an obstacle to authentic emotional life.

🙋‍♂️Lucio’s Take: Therapists should encourage positive expressions of power

Lucio:
The man in therapy was bullied, and when he switched classes took the opportunity to start higher power: he entered, shook everyone’s hands, got classmates’ respect, and felt powerful and in control.

I thought ‘fantastic move’, that’s exactly what you needed!

But the therapist never acknowledged or encouraged that, and instead focused on his ‘broken core’.
I believe effective therapy doesn’t have to limit itself to exploration, but can also encourage positive expressions of power and self-growth. Status and man’s respect have been proven to also have positive mental effects.

Chapter 3: Narcissistic Perfectionists — the Quest for the Perfect Self

Authors: Gordon L. Flett, Simon B. Sherry, Paul L. Hewitt, Taryn Nepon

This chapter connects perfectionism and narcissism, distinguishing the narcissistic perfectionist—driven to appear flawless and feel flawless—from the neurotic perfectionist who fears failure.
It also highights the risk of narcissistic drive for perfection and possible suicide or psychological problems later in life when the high standards fail to turn into reality.

On the plus side, some narcissists view grandiose standards as attainable, not impossible goals, but as rightful standards.

Chapter 4: Narcissism and Heroism — A Rendezvous?

Authors: Shai Itamar, Golan Shahar

Itamar and Shahar introduce the Heroic Self (HERS) concept—the belief in oneself as a hero or wanting to see oneself as a hero—linking it to narcissistic pathology.
Heroic Identification (HI) predicts scores on the Pathological Narcissism Inventory.

The Heroic Self Model

• Three HERS dimensions reflect different narcissistic needs for glory.
  • Self-as-Conqueror
  • Self-as-Savior
  • Heroic Identification

🙋‍♂️Lucio’s Take: I see heroic self and strive towards heroism as more positive than negative

Lucio:
This was very instructive, I can imagine it’s more linked to grandiose narcissism than vulnerable narcissism.

I also don’t happen to see it negatively since a heroic status is connected to honor and adding value, and it may as well be the ultimate positive male aspiration.

Chapter 5: Bodies and Men — Vicissitudes of the Masculine in Man

Author: Stefano Monzani

Monzani explores how masculinity and narcissism intertwine in shaping male identity, drawing on psychoanalytic theory from Stoller to contemporary authors.

Masculinity and Narcissism

• Gender identity builds uniqueness and vulnerability. The male ego ideal—phallic power and autonomy—anchors self-esteem but is fragile.
• Freudian “psychic bisexuality.” Masculine and feminine elements coexist; denying one creates conflict.
• Life-stage crises reveal masculine fragility. Case studies show narcissistic collapse in midlife, psychotic adolescence, and castration anxiety.

Interesting Insights

• Masculine narcissism can be a cover to defend against dependence. Exaggerated strength hides relational fears.
• Integrating softness and vulnerability yields maturity.

🙋‍♂️Lucio’s Take: Fragile masculine self-identities is why we stress antifragile identities here

Lucio:
It was good to see this and it confirmed TPM’s takes on self-identities, including masculine ones, and their risk for future weakness and psychological problems.

Read more on our guide on how to be more masculine, with future-proofed resilience.

Chapter 6: Narcissism in the Third Millennium — Disorder or Cultural Phenomenon?

Author: Gidi Rubinstein

Rubinstein questions whether today’s narcissism is a pathology or a normal adaptation to a self-promoting culture.
Modern society may reward narcissistic traits more than in the past, and the line between disorder and adaptation is also cultural.

The authors also examine reality-TV candidates, gym trainees, and cosmetic-surgery patients, all scoring higher in narcissism than control groups (in that order).

However, there is a positive in higher narcissism when it comes to body image and fitness:

Research has found that individuals who score higher for narcissism are more satisfied with their bodies than those with lower narcissism scores (e.g., Davis, Claridge, & Brewer, 1996; Jackson, Ervin, & Hodge, 1992). Jackson et al. (1992) found that both males and females with high levels of narcissism evaluated their physical appearance, fitness, and sexuality more favorably than those with lower narcissism scores. However, these individuals also participated in more fitness and appearance-related behaviors and placed greater importance on fitness and appearance than less narcissistic individuals did (Brown & Graham, 2008).

Chapter 9: Physiological and Health-Related Correlates of the Narcissistic Personality

Authors: Sara Konrath, John Paul Bonadonna

This chapter reviews how narcissism relates to health, physiological markers, and mortality.
At first blush, narcissists seem to be doing great:

In terms of many traditional indicators of well-being and mental health, narcissistic individuals appear to be thriving.
For example, compared to less narcissistic people, more narcissistic people are happier (Rose, 2002), have higher levels of life satisfaction and subjective well-being (Rose, 2002; Sedikides, Rudich, Gregg, Kumashiro, & Rusbult, 2004), have a greater sense of meaning in lives (Zondag, Van Halen, & Wojtkowiak, 2009), are more creative (Raskin, 1980), and have higher self-esteem (Aalsma, Lapsley, & Flannery, 2006; Campbell, Rudich, & Sedikides, 2002; Locke, 2009; Raskin, Novacek, & Hogan, 1991; Rose, 2002).
More narcissistic people are also less neurotic, anxious, obsessive-compulsive, lonely, and depressed (Aalsma et al., 2006; Akehurst & Thatcher, 2010; Raskin & Novacek, 1989; Sedikides et al., 2004; Spano, 2001; Watson, McKinney, Hawkins, & Morris, 1988)

However, the authors spend the chapter adding important caveats.

Healthy vs Unhealthy Grandiose Narcissism

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988) can be divided into two subscales of healthy (or adaptive) narcissism versus unhealthy (or maladaptive) narcissism (Reinhard, Konrath, Lopez, & Cameron, 2012).

• Healthy includes Authority, Self-Sufficiency, Superiority, and Vanity subscales
• Unhealthy includes Entitlement, Exhibitionism, and Exploitativeness subscales

Healthy narcissism is associated with lower levels of depression, loneliness, and pessimism, as well as higher self-esteem and greater optimism (Emmons, 1987; Hickman, Watson, & Morris, 1996; Watson & Biderman, 1993).
But unhealthy narcissism is associated with more negative mental-health indicators like pessimism, depression, anxiety, and lower optimism and self-esteem (Hickman et al., 1996; Raskin & Novacek, 1989; Watson, Taylor, & Morris, 1987).

But Self-Esteem May Confound Findings

Overt narcissism measures (e.g., the NPI) are typically associated with higher self-esteem.

This may be interpreted as a mental-health implication of narcissism in itself. However, several scholars have demonstrated that when self-esteem is controlled for, the relationship between narcissism and positive indicators of mental health is reduced or nullified (Rose, 2002; Rosenthal & Hooley, 2010; Sedikides et al., 2004).

In other words, narcissistic people might only appear to have good mental health because they have high levels of self-esteem.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s note: it may be still correct to say that grandiose narcissism is associated with better mental health
still great chapter and great insight, very instructive. I may not fully agree though that this would remove the association between grandiose narcissism and health. If greandiose narcissism is associated with high self-esteem, isn’t it the same to say that grandiose narcissism promotes mental health since, technically, it may not matter what aspect of narcissism triggers better mental outcomes?

Vulnerable Narcissism Is Unhealthier

Covert narcissists tend to be more timid, insecure, and low in self-confidence, often fearing negative evaluation from others (Arble, 2008).

Unlike overt narcissism—which correlates with greater happiness and lower levels of depression and anxiety—covert narcissism is linked to reduced happiness, well-being, optimism, self-esteem, life satisfaction, and sense of meaning (Hickman et al., 1996; Rose, 2002; Wink, 1991; Zondag et al., 2009), along with higher levels of pessimism, depression, and anxiety (Hickman et al., 1996).

• Hypersensitivity is the most harmful trait: the most consistent finding was that Hypersensitivity (a type of unhealthy narcissism) is associated with poor health and well-being many years later

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal studies on narcissism and mental health are scarce, but existing research highlights key patterns:

• A study by Zuckerman & O’Loughlin (2009) followed students over eight months and found that narcissism was linked to higher well-being, but only through its association with high self-esteem. Narcissists also showed greater emotional instability after negative interpersonal events. Importantly, narcissism did not predict future well-being. Instead, initial high well-being and low emotional reactivity predicted later increases in narcissism, suggesting that well-being may foster narcissism—not the other way around.

• Another long-term study (Cramer & Jones, 2008) used three narcissism-related traits—Willfulness, Hypersensitivity (unhealthy narcissism), and Autonomy (healthy narcissism)—to track participants from their 30s to their 70s. High unhealthy narcissism combined with high identification with others predicted declines in psychological health. Autonomy was consistently associated with better psychological health across all time points but did not predict improvements. The author hypothesizes that ‘
  psychological health might feed into healthy narcissism, rather than healthy narcissism causing improved psychological health’. But since no third variables were included in the model, causal inferences are speculative.

• A third study (Edelstein, Newton, & Stewart, 2012) found that only Hypersensitivity predicted long-term declines in well-being, including more depression, physical health problems, and lower life satisfaction. However, increases in both Willfulness and Autonomy over a 10-year span were associated with improved health at age 53.

Finally, in another section, the authors suggest that chronic vigilance for ego threats and higher hostility can cause ‘physiological wear’ despite apparent confidence.

Interesting Notes

• Delaying gratifiation matters: Given that the ability to delay gratification (i.e., self-control) is associated with a host of benefits (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007; Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004), it is likely that this tendency toward immediate gratification leads to a number of self-defeating behaviors that limit their ultimate potential to succeed (Miller et al., 2009) <— 🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s note: the benefits of delaying gratificaiton are context-dependent though
• Fragile self-esteem issue: when we focus on overall overt narcissism scores, we find that narcissism is still associated with a host of defensive and self-protective strategies, making narcissists‘ supposedly robust mental health seem more fragile than it may appear. (See Bosson et al., 2008, for a review.)
  • Defensive self-esteem: social cognition studies have found that when narcissistic people are exposed to ego-threatening information, concepts of worthlessness quickly come to their minds and are then suppressed (Horvath & Morf, 2009)
• Poor financial decision making: ‘Taken together, narcissism is associated with poor financial decision-making’
• Sexual risk-taking: among people living with HIV or AIDS, narcissism is associated with a number of unsafe sex practices, including a higher likelihood of having sex after substance use and a lower likelihood of using condoms with a new partner (Martin, Benotsch, Perschbacher Lance, & Green, 2013)
• Substance Use and Addiction Narcissism is linked to a variety of problems with substance use and addiction
• Driving behavior: Other research has found that it is the unhealthy aspects of narcissism (e.g., exhibitionism, entitlement) that are specifically associated with aggressive driving behavior; whereas the healthier aspects of narcissism (e.g., superiority, vanity) are associated with less aggressive driving behavior (Schreer, 2002)

Biological Correlates

Taken together, the studies point to potential stress-regulation problems among narcissistic people.

• Cardiovascular reactivity elevated. Narcissists show higher heart-rate and blood-pressure responses under ego threat.
• Hormonal and neural patterns. Greater cortisol spikes and distinct neural activation during self-relevant feedback.
• More than 50% heritability:, the proportion of the variance in narcissistic traits that can be attributed to genetic factors (i.e., the heritability, which is referred to as a2) ranges from 53 to 64% in Canadian and American adult samples (Jang, Livesley, Vernon, & Jackson, 1996; Livesley, Jang, Jackson, & Vernon, 1993; Vernon, Villani, Vickers, & Harris, 2008)
  • Shared environment matters little studies all found that no proportion of the variance can be explained by shared environmental factors (i.e., having been raised in the same family; referred to as c2). Instead, the rest of the variance (between 36 to 47%) can be attributed to nonshared environmental factors (i.e., unique to each individual; referred to as e2)
• Culture matters: a substantial portion is shaped by nonshared environmental factors. The rise in narcissism among American college students over the past 30 years points to the strong influence of cultural and societal forces (Twenge et al., 2008).
• Narcissism can be at least ‘momentarility decreased’: a brief interventions—such as promoting empathy, interdependence, or perceived similarity with others—can temporarily reduce narcissistic traits and their harmful effects (Finkel et al., 2009; Giacomin & Jordan, 2014; Konrath et al., 2006).

Summary of neural regions associated with narcissism and related processes

Chapter 11: Everyday Deceptions — Narcissism, Psychopathy, and Lies

Authors: Chelsea Rose, Marc Stewart Wilson

While most people lie, some lies—like white lies which include concern for others—are seen as more acceptable and are told more often than more harmful “black lies.”
Subclinical narcissism and psychopathy were linked to a greater tendency to tell both types of lies, but especially black lies, suggesting that these darker personality traits are more strongly associated with harmful, self-serving deception.

Narcissism and Deception

• All people lie, but motivations differ. Narcissists lie for self-enhancement, image management, and manipulation, while others lie more for harmony or tact.
• Narcissism blurs moral distinctions. Both black and white lies serve self-interest rather than empathy.
• Social skill masks manipulation. Charm and verbal fluency allow narcissists to appear honest while strategically deceiving.

Chapter 14: Narcissism in Teams

Author: Esther Unger-Aviram

Unger-Aviram investigates how narcissistic employees affect teamwork and organizational performance.

Narcissism Facilitates Leadership

Narcissism is strongly linked to leadership emergence in group settings.
Studies by Brunell et al. (2008) found that individuals high in narcissism not only saw themselves as leaders during leaderless group discussions, but were also perceived as leaders by others. This effect held true in both student groups and among practicing managers, indicating that narcissistic traits consistently promote leader emergence across contexts.

The authors conclude by saying that ‘Therefore, narcissists appear to emerge as leaders in team settings.’

Narcissism Increases Volatility, But Doesn’t Necessarily Lower Organization Performance

Research shows that narcissistic leadership may not significantly impact team or organizational performance.
Studies found no meaningful link between narcissistic CEOs and team success in professional baseball (Resick et al., 2009) or firm-level performance (Chatterjee & Hambrick, 2007).

Narcissistic leaders may introduce more volatility in decision-making, but their presence does not lead to consistent gains—or losses—in performance outcomes.

Maybe Good For Short-Term, Poor For Long-Term?

The contextual reinforcement model (Campbell & Campbell, 2009) explains how narcissists impact teams differently depending on the relationship duration.

In short-term or emerging contexts, like new or temporary teams, narcissists often thrive: they come across as charismatic, confident, and willing to lead, which can temporarily benefit team performance (Brunell et al., 2008; Schnure, 2010).

However, in long-term or enduring contexts the same traits become harmful. Narcissists’ entitlement, arrogance, competitiveness, and need for constant validation strain relationships and undermine collaboration. They are seen as poor team players who take credit, manipulate others, and avoid accountability (Bergman et al., 2010).

While short-term settings may benefit from narcissistic traits, enduring contexts typically suffer. More research is needed to clarify how long “short-term” lasts, what factors moderate these effects, and how teams with multiple narcissists perform. Some evidence suggests two narcissists may even boost team creativity in specific cases (Goncalo et al., 2010).

🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s note: I agree
While this is a broad generalization and doesn’t apply to every situation or context, it captures a clear and consistent temporal pattern.

Goal Orientation Theory: Short-Term Results But Little Learning for Long-term Growth (growth mindset)

Goal orientation theory distinguishes between performance goals (PGO)—focused on proving competence and gaining approval—and learning goals (LGO)—focused on developing skills and mastering new challenges (Dweck, 1986, 1999).

Performance-oriented individuals view effort and failure as threats to their competence. They prefer easy tasks that ensure success and avoid challenges that might expose weaknesses. Learning-oriented individuals, instead, see effort and mistakes as natural parts of growth. They respond to setbacks adaptively—by adjusting strategy, increasing effort, and improving mastery and may even relish difficult tasks as opportunities to improve skills.

Scholars and research suggest narcissists adopt a performance-goal orientation: they aim to demonstrate superiority and avoid failure rather than learn (Elliot & Thrash, 2001; Gerhardt & Le, 2013). High narcissism predicts stronger PGO and weaker LGO tendencies.

However, goal orientation can be both trait-based and situational (Button et al., 1996). When the environment promotes learning—such as in a shared team learning climate—even performance-oriented individuals, including narcissists, may temporarily adopt a learning approach.

Teams that foster a collective learning climate—encouraging experimentation, feedback, and learning from mistakes—show better long-term adaptation and performance (Bereby-Meyer et al., 2004; DeShon et al., 2004; LePine, 2005). In contrast, teams emphasizing performance climates—focused on comparison and competition—encourage surface-level effort and hinder growth.

In short, narcissists thrive in performance-driven environments but struggle in growth-oriented ones. Yet, with strong situational cues and supportive team cultures, even narcissistic members can be guided toward learning behaviors that enhance long-term team performance.

🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s note: Incredibly insightful, worth its weight in gold!
This was a crucial piece of information for me, and it will inform our articles and Power University module on dark triads. Very thankful to author and researchers 🙏🏼.

Interesting Notes

• PGO to prove or to avoid: research (VandeWalle, 1997) found that a PGO can be further divided into two independent dimensions:
  • performance-prove orientation: Individuals with a performance-prove goal orientation focus on demonstrating their competence and gaining favorable judgments from others
  • performance-avoid orientation: individuals with a performance-avoid goal orientation focus on avoiding the demonstration of difficulties or incompetence, as well as avoiding the unfavorable judgment of others
• Teams depend on cooperation. Narcissists’ competitiveness and need for credit undermine cohesion.
• Generation Y narcissism on the rise. Younger workers value visibility and recognition more than harmony.
• Narcissism increases creativity: Flynn, and Kim (2010) found that narcissism contributes to group creativity <— 🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s note: creativity isn’t necessarily a net win. if we define creativity as novel ideas and approaches, it isn’t necessarily positive unless those ideas are more effective
• Narcissists may ace job interviews: In the emerging zone (i.e., during initial encounters), narcissists are mostly perceived by others as highly outgoing, likeable, self-confident, charismatic, and very likely to succeed. Research has shown that narcissists usually shine in these situations and even the most experienced judges (i.e., experienced interviewers

Chapter 15: Adolescent Narcissism and Interpersonal Relationships

Authors: Rebecca L. Kauten, Christopher T. Barry, Marion T. Wallace

The authors review how adolescent narcissism manifests socially and predicts aggression, popularity, and peer perception.

Interesting notes

• Aggression for status. Narcissistic teens aggress instrumentally to maintain superiority.
• Perceived vs. actual popularity. They rate themselves as well-liked, but peers view them as antagonistic and arrogant.
• Focus on relationship power and games:

In addition to narcissism being linked to game-playing in romantic relationships, Campbell and colleagues (2002) noted that it is also associated with a “pragmatic and selfish” approach to romantic relationships (p. 351).
They explained that a noncommittal approach to relationships is beneficial to an individual who expresses high levels of narcissism by allowing him or her to garner the esteem-boosting benefits of being in a relationship while simultaneously collecting positive appraisals from extradyadic interactions. The game-playing approach to relationships, then, affords power over the relationship partner.

Learn more:

• Games men play
• Games women play
  • Manipulative games women play: red flags

Chapter 16: Not Such a Funny Thing — When Humor Meets Narcissism

Authors: Liat Itzhaky, Avi Besser, Virgil Zeigler-Hill

Two studies explore how humor styles reveal grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, and highlight how humor can be a mask for covert aggression.

• Grandiose narcissists favor aggressive humor. Sarcasm and ridicule maintain dominance and superiority.
• Vulnerable narcissists use self-defeating humor. They mock themselves to elicit approval or deflect shame.
• Humor mediates stress and self-esteem. Different humor styles explain divergent emotional outcomes.

Learn more:

• How to handle aggressive humor

Chapter 17: Associations between Narcissism, Empathy, Personality, and Imagined Interactions

Authors: James M. Honeycutt, Michelle E. Pence, Christopher G. Gearhart

This communication-psychology study examines how “imagined interactions” (internal dialogues) relate to covert narcissism.

Honeycutt et al. (2012) found relationships between antisocial traits (in the form of neuroticism and lack of conscientiousness) and imagined interactions. The extant literature on antisocial, dark-side attributes and imagined interactions includes research involving imagined interactions and Machiavellianism (Allen, 1990).Additionally, and especially pertinent to the current study, Machiavellianism has been studied in relation to imagined interactions. Allen found positive correlations between Machiavellianism and having proactive and retroactive imagined interactions (IIs) involving a diverse set of imaginary conversation partners and topics

Findings

• Hypersensitive narcissism predicts hostile inner dialogues. Rumination and imagined arguments reflect unmet ego needs.
• Low empathy and high neuroticism. Narcissists rehearse conflicts mentally but fail at perspective-taking.
• Anxiety and anger co-occur. The inner monologue reinforces entitlement and grievance.

Chapter 18: Theory of Mind in Vulnerable and Grandiose Narcissism

Authors: Chinmay Aradhye, Jennifer Vonk

Aradhye and Vonk explore how grandiosity and vulnerability differ in social-cognitive skills such as empathy and perspective-taking:

• Vulnerable narcissists show deficits. They misread others’ mental states and display emotional blindness.
• Grandiose narcissists perform well cognitively. They understand others but use insight manipulatively.
  • Grandiosity masks cold cognition. Cognitive empathy without compassion enables exploitation.
• Emotional vs. cognitive empathy distinction. The ability to reason about feelings doesn’t equal caring.

Altogether, the current corpus of research supports the general understanding that individuals scoring high on some aspects of narcissisms, such as grandiose narcissism, perform better on social cognitive tasks and seem to possess superior social skills than those who score higher for vulnerable narcissism

The authors also propose a link between ToM and narcissists’ social orientations, with grandiose narcissists who are extraverted and exploitative thanks to ToM, while vulnerables who are self-focused because they fail to properly function socially.

Chapter 21: Narcissism and Psychological Distress to War Trauma

Authors: Michael Weinberg, Avi Besser, Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Aaron L. Pincus, Yuval Neria

The team studies Israeli civilians under missile threat to assess whether narcissism moderates PTSD and anxiety responses.

The results of this study revealed an association between exposure severity and acute PTSD symptoms and GAD symptoms for individuals with high levels of pathological narcissism, but not for those with low levels of pathological narcissism

• Pathological narcissism heightens trauma impact. High-narcissism participants showed stronger PTSD and GAD symptoms after exposure.
• Low-narcissism individuals are more resilient

The authors hypothesize that grandiosity may collapse harder when external control vanishes against uncontrollable threats:

Unlike others, who may view themselves as reasonably safe from harm, individuals with narcissistic personality features may believe that they are invulnerable (e.g., Barry, Pickard, & Ansel, 2009). This sort of mental representation of the self has been referred to as an overvalued schema (Foa & Riggs, 1993) or an inflexible positive schema (Elliott & Lassen, 1997). Following a traumatic event, individuals with narcissistic personality features are commonly confronted with the fact that they are actually quite ordinary and as vulnerable to these events as any one else. This sudden and often dramatic change in self-view may trigger feelings of inadequacy or self-loathing, which may culminate in extreme emotional reactions to these traumatic events

🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s question: a U-curve where moderate narcissism is the sweet spot?
These results seem to show a linear association where lower levels of narcissism are more resilient. But wonder there may also be a U-curve where too high narcissism backfires, but lower narcissism may be more resilient than too low narcissism?
The following chapter suggests so:

Chapter 22: Normal Narcissism as a Buffer against Eating Disorders and PTSD

Author: Eytan Bachar

Bachar differentiates pathological, deficient, and normal narcissism in two longitudinal studies, showing that ‘an optimum balance of narcissism’ is the healthiest.

• Pathological excess predisposes PTSD. Grandiose and vulnerable forms heighten trauma susceptibility.
• Deficient narcissism predisposes anorexia. Self-neglect and self-erasure (“death narcissism,” André Green) predict restrictive disorders.
• Normal narcissism protects. Healthy self-regard buffers both trauma and body-image pathology.
• Healthy narcissism = self-investment. Moderate pride and self-care maintain psychological immunity.

In the introduction, the authors point out that an ‘optimum balance’ applies to many areas of life:

Several studies have demonstrated the adaptive role of normal narcissism in coping with everyday life, including good adjustment to college life (Lapsley and Aalsma, 2006), development of normal eating attitudes among college women (Brunton, Lacey, and Waller, 2005), and normal feelings of shame (Hibbard, 1994). Normal narcissism has also been shown to enhance interpersonal dominance (Brown & Zeigler-Hill, 2004)

Chapter 23: Vulnerable and Grandiose Narcissism under Threat — Disparities and Similarities

Authors: Orr Spivak, Avi Besser, Virgil Zeigler-Hill

Spivak and colleagues compare emotional reactions of vulnerable vs. grandiose narcissists to achievement and interpersonal threats.

Comparative Reactions

• Grandiose narcissists respond with anger and self-protective behavior. Achievement threats elicit outward aggression, blame, or derogation.
  • Self-protective behavior response: When threatened by comparison with a better performing other (e.g., Morf & Rhodewalt, 1993) or by negative feedback (e.g., Kernis & Sun, 1994), narcissistic individuals often respond with self-protective behaviors, such as derogation or devaluation
  • 👉🏼 Grandiose narcissists react against achievement-related threats, rather than interpersonal ones, since they don’t care as much about others
• Vulnerable narcissists react with shame and withdrawal. Interpersonal rejection triggers collapse and rumination.
• Both share hypersensitivity to ego threat. Defensive intensity differs, not underlying fragility.

• Two faces, one insecurity. Grandiosity externalizes, vulnerability internalizes the same wounded self.

Interesting Notes

• Grandiose narcissists strive for power rather than intimacy within relationships (Emmons, 1989)
• Parenting may make the difference: Otway and Vignoles (2006) found grandiose narcissism to be associated with recollections of parents as both cold and excessively admiring; whereas vulnerable narcissism was found to be associated with anxious attachment. In line with these findings, Young, Klosko, and Weishaar (2003) described grandiose narcissists as suffering from difficulties experiencing love or being loved by others

SHARPEST INSIGHTS

These are the insights that struck us the most.
We use the authors’ quotes and research, but the titles and interpretations are our own—and may not reflect the authors’ intent.
Credit for the insight goes to them; blame for the interpretation is on us.

You can’t spot lying ‘cues’ because people aren’t nervous about lying

We noted a few times on this website that relying on ‘nonverbal cues’ to spot lies and ‘read people’ is not very effective.
The fact that many people who lie don’t feel nervous or bad about it further reinforces that stance.

From chapter 11 by Chelsea Rose, Marc Stewart Wilson:

For instance, research reveals that people tend to hold incorrect beliefs regarding lying behaviors, as they assume that lying is nonnormative and that liars will feel guilty and nervous regarding their socially unacceptable and morally reprehensible lie-telling, and so leak corresponding emotional cues (Bond & DePaulo, 2006; DePaulo, Lindsay, Malone, Muhlenbruck, Charlton, & Cooper, 2003; Global Deception Research Team, 2006; Taylor & Hick, 2007).
In contrast to this everyday wisdom, empirical findings indicate that people lie frequently and may not feel much remorse for doing so.
For example, in DePaulo et al.řs (1996) classic diary study regarding everyday lying, college students and community members admitted to telling an average of two lies and one lie per day, respectively. Participants indicated very little regret regarding their untruths and 70% indicated they would tell the reported lie(s) again if faced with the same situation.

And add the authors:

If common wisdom suggests that remorse or guilt dispose the liar to noticeable lie-indicating behaviors, these results pose a problem for the stereotypical view of the liar. A deceiver may not necessarily feel guilty or nervous when telling a lie and so cues signaling these states would not be useful in detecting deception

Machiavellianism & ‘social adroitness’: two twigs of the branch

the studies to date consistently implicate manipulative personality traits in both perceived acceptability and frequency of lies.
These traits are well-captured by the construct of Machiavellianism (Christie & Geis, 1970), which is characterized by personality traits such as a lack of concern with conventional morality, the tendency to view others cynically, and admission to the use of lying and manipulation of others for personal gain (Christie & Geis, 1970; McHoskey, Worzel, & Szyarto, 1998).
Another construct capturing the manipulative personality is social adroitness, which portrays a subtler degree of manipulativeness and carries fewer negative connotations (Kashy & DePaulo, 1996). Both Machiavellianism and social adroitness were assessed by Kashy and DePaulo (1996) in their (previously mentioned) diary study of lying behaviors. Their results indicated that people scoring higher on these measures told more lies and provided partial support for the prediction that people exhibiting high levels of these traits would tell more self-oriented
(…)
Similarly, Gozna, Vrij, and Bull (2001) reported that participants with high scores on the Machiavellianism and social-adroitness scales indicated they felt little guilt when telling everyday lies and would feel more comfortable when telling a high-stakes lie, as compared to lower-scoring participants.

I’ve noticed that with some personalities who seem very sociable, extraverted, and socially skilled and successful. They tend to touch others, smile a lot, and confidently move from person to person or group or group.

They seem very charming and charismatic.
But they also have a ‘casual’ approach to truth and, if you learned how to read people, it shows. You can tell they’re socially effective, but also manipulative and ‘slimy’ when not backed by positive dominance.

Narcissism is adaptive within a certain range

From chapter 22 by Eytan Bachar:

The idea that normal narcissism can be adaptive is quite new in research and in theory. Watson, Hickman, Morris, Milliron, and Whiting (1995) stated that the assumption that scores on purposed narcissism scales may correlate positively with adjustment came as a great surprise.
They went on to say that researchers had been working from the “obvious” assumption that valid instruments of narcissism would predict maladjustment. Indeed, not many researchers were open to examine the possibility that normal levels of narcissism might be adaptive. Most of the studies in this area have examined nonclinical populations in the context of daily life activities. They have found that normal narcissism is associated with good adjustment to college life (Lapsley & Aalsma, 2006), normal eating attitudes among college women (Brunton et al., 2005), and normal feelings of shame (Hibbard, 1994). Similarly, recent studies carried out among nonclinical, mostly student populations have found that normal narcissism helps individuals assert interpersonal dominance (Brown and Zeigler-Hill, 2004) and fuels approach and achievement motives, such as competitive and mastery strivings, while lowering avoidance motivation (Foster & Trimm, 2008; Lukowitsky, Roberts, Lehner, Pincus, and Conroy, 2007; Wallace, Ready, & Weitenhagen, 2009)

I find it surprising that for a long time researchers didn’t consider narcissism could be adaptive, especially considering that much of the research has been in more individualistic countries like EU and US.

Early psychoanalysts like Freud and Kohut may share some responsibilities.
An evolutionary approach instead would have at least posed that question much more easily: if narcissism is so widespread and also increasing in certain areas and cultures, then it’s possible that it’s adaptive.

Relatedness & Independence: Both Are Necessary

Chapter 20 by Patrick Luyten et al., made me reflect on the psychology of avoidants and anxious attachments, as well as on my own development.

They explain that healthy personality development depends on a balance between two fundamental psychological needs: relatedness (the capacity for deep, reciprocal relationships) and self-definition (a clear, integrated sense of self and identity). Each supports the growth of the other—strong relationships help shape a stable self, and a solid self fosters healthier relationships.

When this balance is disrupted—due to genetics or adverse life experiences—people may over-rely on one line at the expense of the other:

• Overemphasis on relatedness leads to excessive dependency, fear of abandonment, and heightened sensitivity to rejection.
• Overemphasis on self-definition, as seen in self-critical perfectionists, results in rigid concerns over achievement, autonomy, and self-worth—often paired with the same sensitivity to rejection and ostracism.

Healthy narcissism involves a balance between relatedness and self-definition as it is not only associated with essentially positive feelings about oneřs self (self-definition), but also facilitates the development of mature interpersonal relationships (relatedness; Freud, 1914; Kohut & Wolf, 1978; Pincus & Lukowitsky, 2011).

The authors note that in their study, only covert narcissism was related to sensitivity to ostracism, which may suggest that grandiose narcissism is more independent of others’ acceptance.

Narcissists are the hypergamous kings

Despite some authors focusing on ‘female hypergamy‘, narcissists may intrinsically be looking to trade up:

Although individuals who are invested in their partner are generally inattentive to attractive alternatives (Maner, Gailliot, & Miller, 2009), it seems that individuals with high levels of narcissism actually pay special attention to attractive alternatives (Campbell & Foster, 2002). The authors explain these results by putting forth several propositions. Narcissistic individuals could be looking to “trade up”; thus, they are interested in potential relationship partners who could serve their ego to a greater extent than their current partner

QUOTES

On the ‘banality of deception’:

The use of deception in everyday life is ubiquitous and our motivations for using deception are varied (DePaulo, Kashy, Kirkendol, Wyer, & Epstein, 1996)

On why it’s impossible to say that ‘lying’ is intrinsically ‘bad’ or manipulative (also see ‘persuasion vs manipulation‘):

We lie to avoid punishment, to prevent hurt feelings, to sweeten an encounter with a potential date, and to create the façade of a desired self, to name just a few reasons (Bell & DePaulo, 1996; DePaulo, Ansfield, Kirkendol, & Boden, 2004; Rowatt, Cunningham, & Druen, 1998).
These varying reasons for deceit render blanket judgments of the morality of lying problematic for many (Vrij, 2008); telling a lie to comfort a friend is clearly of a different vein than lying to a professor about oneřs plagiarized work or to a prospective investor in a dodgy venture

On the ultimate takeaway on narcissism and adaptiveness (which sounds ironic, given that it doesn’t say much):

Perhaps the clearest conclusion that can be drawn regarding narcissism is that it is a mixed blessing (Campbell & Campbell, 2009; Campbell et al., 2011)

🙋🏼‍♂️ Lucio’s Analysis

Some possible ideas to improve an already great volume for a possible future update:

Maladaptive needs a redefinition

While the scholarly discourse around narcissism improved when it started considering narcissism may be adaptive, I think it may still have to go a few steps forward.

For example, it seems like most authors still list ‘Exploitativeness’ or ‘Entitlement’ as ‘maladaptive’.
I’m not convinced either necessarily are maladaptive, at least when it comes to acheiving certain self-serving goals.

Suggestion: edit out the repeated basics

Cutting the history of narcissism, the DSM definition or the core traits can help streamline the volume.

Suggestion: skip or combine one-study chapters

This may be more personal to how I approach handbooks, which is to gain an overview from different studies, commented by researchers themselves and scholars experts in the field.

It’s a ‘look at the combined trees to provide a forest-level view’.
Full chapters about a single study may be interesting, but may also risk over-focusing on individual trees rather than the forest.

REVIEW

The Handbook of the Psychology of Narcissism is an excellent, research-rich volume.

I learned a lot from it, and it directly helped improve several TPM articles—including our upcoming cornerstone piece on narcissism. That’s the highest compliment I can give any author: their work elevated ours.

I’m grateful for their contribution and look forward to reading more from them.

Get this book on Amazon or check our most recommended books.

The Handbook of the Psychology of Narcissism: Summary

The Handbook of the Psychology of Narcissism (2014) is an edited research volume that surveys intrapersonal, interpersonal, and clinical perspectives on narcissism.

URL: https://thepowermoves.com/handbook-of-the-psychology-of-narcissism-summary-review/

Author: Lucio Buffalmano

Editor's Rating:
4.8