Narcissists crave respect and admiration. Do they attain the status and popularity they crave, or do they just think that they do? In two studies ( N s = 133 and 94), participants completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, described themselves on core personality traits (e.g., extraversion), and were described by an informant on those traits. Participants also provided self- and peer ratings of status and liking in small groups after an initial meeting and over the course of 4 months (Study 2). Relative to people lower, people higher in narcissism initially attained, but eventually lost status; yet, they were aware that they tended to lose status. Narcissists were not especially popular, although they tended to think they were more popular. These patterns differed among narcissism facets, providing further support for the idea that the mixed adaptiveness of narcissism may be due to the heterogeneity of the construct.

References

Ackerman, R., Witt, E., Donnellan, M. B., Trzesniewski, K. H., Robins, R. W., Kashy, D. ( 2011 ). What does the narcissistic personality inventory really measure? Assessment, 18, 67 - 87 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Anderson, C., Ames, D. R., Gosling, S. D. ( 2008 ). Punishing hubris: The perils of overestimating one’s status in a group . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 90 - 101 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Anderson, C., Brion, S., Moore, D. A., Kennedy, J. A. ( 2012 ). A status-enhancement account of overconfidence . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103, 718 - 735 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Anderson, C., John, O. P., Keltner, D., Kring, A. M. ( 2001 ). Who attains social status? Effects of personality and physical attractiveness in social groups . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 116 - 132 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Anderson, C., Kilduff, G. J. ( 2009a ). The pursuit of status in social groups . Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18, 295 - 298 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Anderson, C., Kilduff, G. J. ( 2009b ). Why do dominant personalities attain influence in face-to-face groups? The competence-signaling effects of trait dominance . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96, 491 - 503 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Anderson, C., Srivastava, S., Beer, J. S., Spataro, S. E., Chatman, J. A. ( 2006 ). Knowing your place: Self-perceptions of status in face-to-face groups . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 1094 - 1110 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Back, M. D., Krause, S., Hirschmuller, S., Stopfer, J. M., Egloff, B., Schmukle, S. C. ( 2009 ). Unraveling the three faces of self-esteem: A new information-processing sociometer . Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 933 - 937 .

Google Scholar Crossref

Back, M. D., Küfner, A. C., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T. M., Rauthmann, J. F., Denissen, J. J. ( 2013 ). Narcissistic admiration and rivalry: Disentangling the bright and dark sides of narcissism . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 1013 - 1037 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Back, M. D., Schmukle, S. C., Egloff, B. ( 2010 ). Why are narcissists so charming at first sight? Decoding the narcissism-popularity link at zero acquaintance . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 132 - 145 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Back, M. D., Schmukle, S. C., Egloff, B. ( 2011 ). A closer look at first sight: Social relations lens model analysis of personality and interpersonal attraction at zero acquaintance . European Journal of Personality, 25, 225 - 238 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Bendersky, C., Shah, N. P. ( 2012 ). The cost of status enhancement: Performance effects of individuals’ status mobility in task groups . Organizational Science, 23, 308 - 322 .

Google Scholar Crossref

Brown, R. P., Budzek, K., Tamborski, M. ( 2009 ). On the meaning and measure of narcissism . Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 951 - 964 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Brunell, A. B., Gentry, W. A., Campbell, W. K., Hoffman, B. J., Kuhnert, K. W., DeMarree, K. G. ( 2008 ). Leader emergence: The case of the narcissistic leader . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1663 - 1676 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Buss, D. M. ( 1999 ). Human nature and individual differences: The evolution of human personality . In Pervin, L. A., John, O. P. (Eds.), Handbook of personality: Theory and research ( 2nd ed. , pp. 31 - 56 ). New York, NY : Guilford Press .

Google Scholar

Campbell, W. K., Bush, C. P., Brunell, A. B., Shelton, J. ( 2005 ). Understanding the social costs of narcissism: The case of the tragedy of the commons . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1358 - 1368 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Campbell, W. K., Campbell, S. M. ( 2009 ). On the self-regulatory dynamics created by the peculiar benefits and costs of narcissism: A contextual reinforcement model and examination of leadership . Self and Identity, 8, 214 - 232 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Carlson, E. N. ( 2013 ). Honestly arrogant or simply misunderstood? Narcissists’ awareness of their narcissism . Self and Identity, 12, 259 - 277 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Carlson, E. N., Kenny, D. A. ( 2012 ). Meta-accuracy: Do we know how others see us? In Vazire, S., Wilson, T. D. (Eds.), Handbook of self-knowledge (pp. 242 - 257 ). New York, NY : Guilford Press .

Google Scholar

Carlson, E. N., Naumann, L. P., Vazire, S. ( 2011 ). Getting to know a narcissist inside and out: Self and other perspectives on narcissism . In Campbell, W. K., Miller, J. D. (Eds.), Handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments (pp. 285 - 299 ). Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley .

Google Scholar Crossref

Carlson, E. N., Vazire, S., Furr, R. M. ( 2011 ). Meta-insight: Do people really know how others see them? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 831 - 846 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Carlson, E. N., Vazire, S., Oltmanns, T. F. ( 2011 ). You probably think this paper’s about you: Narcissists’ perceptions of their personality and reputation . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 185 - 201 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Cheng, J. T., Tracy, J. L., Foulsham, T., Kingstone, A., Henrich, J. ( 2013 ). Two ways to the top: Evidence that dominance and prestige are distinct yet viable avenues to social rank and influence . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 104, 103 - 125 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Clifton, A., Turkheimer, E., Oltmanns, T. F. ( 2009 ). Personality disorder in social networks: Network position as a marker of interpersonal dysfunction . Social Networks, 31, 26 - 32 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Driskell, J. E., Olmstead, B., Salas, E. ( 1993 ). Task cues, dominance cues, and influence in task groups . Journal of Applied Psychology, 78, 51 - 56 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Dufner, M., Rauthmann, J. F., Czarna, A. Z., Denissen, J. J. ( 2013 ). Are narcissists sexy? Zeroing in on the link between narcissism and short-term mate appeal . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39, 870 - 882 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Dunning, D., Heath, C., Suls, J. M. ( 2004 ). Flawed self-assessment: Implications for health, education, and the workplace . Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 5, 69 - 106 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals

Ellis, L. ( 1994 ). Social stratification and socioeconomic inequality (Vol. 2). Westport, CT : Praeger .

Google Scholar

Emmons, R. A. ( 1984 ). Factor analysis and construct validity of the narcissistic personality inventory . Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, 291 - 300 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Emmons, R. A. ( 1987 ). Narcissism: Theory and measurement . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 11 - 17 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Farwell, L., Wohlwend-Lloyd, R. ( 1998 ). Narcissistic processes: Optimistic expectations, favorable self-evaluations, and self-enhancing attributions . Journal of Personality, 66, 65 - 83 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Gabriel, M. T., Critelli, J. W., Ee, J. S. ( 1994 ). Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of intelligence and attractiveness . Journal of Personality, 62, 143 - 155 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., Swann, W. B. ( 2003 ). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains . Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 504 - 528 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Grijalva, E., Newman, D. A., Tay, L., Donnellan, M. B., Harms, P. D., Robins, R. W., Yan, T. ( 2015 ). Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review . Psychological Bulletin, 141, 261 - 310 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Hogan, R., Kaiser, R. B. ( 2005 ). What we know about leadership . Review of General Psychology, 9, 169 - 180 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Holtzman, N. S., Vazire, S., Mehl, M. R. ( 2010 ). Sounds like a narcissist: Behavioral manifestations of narcissism in everyday life . Journal of Research in Personality, 44, 478 - 484 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

John, O. P., Robins, R. W. ( 1994 ). Accuracy and bias in self-perception: Individual differences in self-enhancement and the role of narcissism . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66, 206 - 219 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Jonason, P. K., Slomski, S., Partyka, J. ( 2012 ). The dark triad at work: How toxic employees get their way . Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 449 - 453 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., Gerhardt, M. W. ( 2002 ). Personality and leadership: A qualitative and quantitative review . Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 765 - 780 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Judge, T. A., Lepine, J. A., Rich, B. L. ( 2006 ). Loving yourself abundantly: Relationship of the narcissistic personality to self- and other perceptions of workplace deviance, leadership, and task and contextual performance . The Journal of Applied Psychology, 91, 762 - 776 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Keltner, D., van Kleef, G. A., Chen, S., Kraus, M. ( 2008 ). A reciprocal influence model of social power: Emerging principles and lines of inquiry . Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 40, 151 - 192 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Küfner, A. C. P., Nestler, S., Back, M. D. ( 2013 ). The two pathways to being an (un-)popular narcissist . Journal of Personality, 81, 184 - 195 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Kwan, V. S. Y., John, O. P., Kenny, D. A., Bond, M. H., Robins, R. W. ( 2004 ). Reconceptualizing individual differences in self-enhancement bias: An interpersonal approach . Psychological Review, 111, 94 - 110 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Lukowitsky, M. R., Pincus, A. L. ( 2013 ). Interpersonal perception of pathological narcissism: A social relations analysis . Journal of Personality Assessment, 95, 261 - 273 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Magee, J. C., Galinsky, A. D. ( 2008 ). Social hierarchy: The self-reinforcing nature of power and status . Academy of Management Annals, 2, 351 - 398 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Miller, J. D., Campbell, W. K. ( 2008 ). Comparing clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism . Journal of Personality, 76, 449 - 476 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Miller, J. D., Campbell, W. K. ( 2010 ). The case for using research on trait narcissism as a building block for understanding narcissistic personality disorder . Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, 1, 180 - 191 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Morf, C. C., Rhodewalt, F. ( 2001 ). Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism: A dynamic self-regulatory processing model . Psychological Inquiry, 12, 177 - 196 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Nezlek, J. B. ( 2011 ). Multilevel modeling for social and personality psychology. London, England : SAGE .

Google Scholar Crossref

Oltmanns, T. F., Friedman, J. N. W., Fiedler, E. R., Turkheimer, E. ( 2004 ). Perceptions of people with personality disorders based on thin slices of behavior . Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 216 - 229 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Paulhus, D. L. ( 1998 ). Interpersonal and intrapsychic adaptiveness of trait self-enhancement: A mixed blessing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1197 - 1208 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Paulhus, D. L. ( 2001 ). Normal narcissism: Two minimalist accounts . Psychological Inquiry, 12, 228 - 230 .

Google Scholar ISI

Raskin, R., Terry, H. ( 1988 ). A principal-components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validity . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 890 - 902 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Rhodewalt, F., Morf, C. C. ( 1995 ). Self and interpersonal correlates of the narcissistic personality inventory: A review and new findings . Journal of Research in Personality, 29, 1 - 23 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI

Robins, R. W., Hendin, H. M., Trzesniewski, K. H. ( 2001 ). Measuring global self-esteem: Construct validation of a single-item measure and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale . Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 151 - 161 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Robins, R. W., John, O. P. ( 1997 ). Effects of visual perspective and narcissism on self-perception: Is seeing believing? Psychological Science, 8, 37 - 42 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Ruiz, J. M., Smith, T. W., Rhodewalt, F. ( 2001 ). Distinguishing narcissism and hostility: Similarities and differences in interpersonal circumplex and five-factor correlates . Journal of Personality Assessment, 76, 537 - 555 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Schönbrodt, F. D., Back, M. D., Schmukle, S. C. ( 2012 ). TripleR: An R package for social relations analyses based on round robin designs . Behavior Research Methods, 44, 455 - 470 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Sedikides, C., Rudich, E., Gregg, A. P., Kumashiro, M., Rusbult, C. ( 2004 ). Are normal narcissists psychologically healthy? Self-esteem matters . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 400 - 416 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline | ISI

Solomon, B. C., Vazire, S. ( 2014 ). You are so beautiful…to me: Seeing beyond biases and achieving accuracy in romantic relationships . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107, 516 - 528 .

Google Scholar Crossref | Medline

Sunnafrank, M., Ramirez, A. ( 2004 ). At first sight: Persistent relational effects of get-acquainted conversations . Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 361 - 379 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Van Vugt, M. ( 2006 ). Evolutionary origins of leadership and followership . Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 354 - 371 .

Google Scholar SAGE Journals | ISI

Vazire, S., Naumann, L. P., Rentfrow, P. J., Gosling, S. D. ( 2008 ). Portrait of a narcissist: Manifestations of narcissism in physical appearance . Journal of Research in Personality, 42, 1439 - 1447 .

Google Scholar Crossref | ISI