Self and Identity II

(Master Seminar WiSe2023/2024)

Social cognition and Social neuroscience

Dr Michael Edem Fiagbenu
(FSU-Jena)

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 Outline
• What is narcissism and what are its features and forms?
• How is narcissism assessed?
• What are the childhood origins of narcissism?
• What self-phenomena are implicated in narcissism?
• What are some models of narcissism?
• How does the mask model explain narcissism?
• What are the predictors and outcomes of collective narcissism?
• How is narcissism related to self-presentational strategies?
• How can neuroscience help to explicate narcissism?

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 Discussion

• What is narcissism?
• Do you know or have you ever met a narcissist?
• What are the forms of narcissism?
• What are some acts or behaviours that you will
describe as „narcissistic“?

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 What is narcissism?

Pervasive pattern of
grandiosity, self-focus,
and self-importance.
[DSM–IV ]; APA (1994)

Buss & Chido, 1991

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Narcissistic acts in everyday life

Buss & Chido (1991)

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Narcissistic acts in everyday life

Buss & Chido (1991)

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Why should we study narcissism?
(Jauk & Kanske, 2021)

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What are the forms and features the types of
Narcissism? (Sedikides, 2021)

Why are there so many types or

forms of narcissism?

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 What are the forms and features the types of individual
narcissism? (Miller et al., 2021)

Grandiose Narc
dominance, self-assurance,
immodesty, exhibitionism, and
aggression
Vulnerable Narc
introversion, negative
emotions, interpersonal
coldness, hostility, need
for recognition,
entitlement, and
egocentricity

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Relations between Narcissism and Personality disorders
(Miller, Lynam, et al., 2017)

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Core Features of Narcissism
Krizan & Herlache, 2018

Krizan & Herlache, 2018

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Multi-level conceptualization of narcissism Focuses on the manifestation of
narcissism at the trait-, state-, and
(Ackerman, Donnellan, Wright, 2019)
within-situation levels.

• Consistent across different contexts

and situations
• What specific traits underlie different
forms of NARC?

• Momentary thoughts, feelings, and

behaviours that fluctuate and vary across
different contexts and situations
• How does different NARC states vary
across contexts?

• Dynamic process involving social-

cognitive variables (e.g., goals) that
help explain distributions of states
• What situational features elicit and allow
for the expression of NARC states?

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 The Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory (FFNI)
(Miller et al. 2012; Glover et al. 2012)

• The FFNI is based on The Five-factor

model (FFM) of personality which one of
the primary models used in trait-based
approaches to the study of personality
disroders

• The FFNI contains 15 scales that were

written to capture both the grandiose and
vulnerable components of narcissism

• The FFNI is assessed in relation with the

Big 5 personality traits

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 Class excersise
How is narcissism related to the Big 5 traits?

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Narcissism and the Big 5 Personality (or FFM)
(Miller, Lynam, et al., 2017)

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Narcissism and the Big 5 Personality (or FFM)
(Miller, Lynam, et al., 2017)

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 Discussion

• Where does narcissism come from?

• How does one become narcissist?

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 Childhood origins of narcissism

„idealized to love the self“ „shamed to love the self“

Social learning theory (Freud, 1957) Psychoanalytic theory (Kernberg, 1975)

Parental overvaluation and Parental rejection of the child: lack of warm,

idealization of the child affection & appreciation
• Effect on the child‘s self-evaluation • Effect on the child‘s self evaluation
• feeling superior, entitled, • feelings of shame, low self-esteem
excessive need for approval excessive need for admiration, approval

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 Parental overvaluation and parental narcissism
(Brummelman et al. 2015; JPSP )

Narcissistic parents
tend to overvalue their
children
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 Childhood origins of narcissism
(Brummelman et al. 2015; PNAS)
RQ. What are the childhood origins of narcissism?

Hypothesis. Tested competing hypotheses about the origins of narcissism

Method. Longitudinal follow-up of 7-11 year olds across 6-months

Measures. Child narcissism („kids like me deserve something extra“)

Child self-esteeem
Parental warmth („I let my child know i love him/her“)
Parental overvaluation
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 Childhood origins of narcissism
(Testing the Overvaluation vs. Lack of warmth hypotheses)

Parental overvaluation but not lack of warmth contributes to

child narcissism (Brummelman et al. 2015)
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 Reflection question
1. Design an experiment to examine whether child self-esteem
mediates the relationship between parental overvaluation and
child narcissism?

2. Design an experiment to falsify the hypotheses that narcissism

originates from both parental overvaluation vs. undervaluation

3. If narcissism is partly rooted in early socialization experiences

such as parental overvaluation, what are some of the parental-
training interventions to prevent transmission of narcissim to
children?
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 Below is a hypothetical mediational model of the developmental
origins of narcissism after Brummelman et al. (2015)

Parental ? Parental
warmth overvaluation

?
+ ?
?
+
Parental narcissism Child narcissism
1. The question marks (?) on each pathway represents blanks, which could be a positive
correlation (+) or a negative correlation (-) signs. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate sign
2. Briefly explain the meaning of the mediation model including the pathways
3. Is the indirect effect of parental warmth on child narcissism positive or negative?
4. Is the indirect effect of parental overvaluation positive or negative?
Some models of narcissism

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 NARC model
(Back et al. 2013)

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 Dynamic Self-Regulatory Processing Model of Narcissism
(Morf & Rhodwalt, 2001)
• Seeks to account for
how the grandiose self-
image is maintained over
time.
• Propose that narcissists
use various intrapersonal
(e.g., distorting outcomes
to appear superior) and
interpersonal (e.g.,
exploitation, seeking
admiration) strategies to
bolster their unwieldy
self-concept and regulate
their self-esteem
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 Dual-pathway model of Narcissism
(Back, Küfner, Leckelt, 2018)
The Narcissistic
Admiration and Rivalry
Concept (NARC)
process model
describes the two
distinct strategies used
to maintain a grandiose
self-image (i.e.,
assertive self-
enhancement
[admiration] and
antagonistic self-
protection [rivalry])

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 The mask model
(proposes a link between narcissism and self-esteem)

Hardaker, Sedikidis, Tsakanikos, 2019

Bosson, Lakey, et al. 2008
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332167472_The_psychodynamic_mask_model_of_narcissism_Where_is_it_now#pf7
https://www.pinterest.de/pin/219057969364650235
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 Some self-phenomena implicated in narcissism

Narcissim

Self- Self- Self- Self-

esteem enhancement protection regulation

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 Some self-phenomena implicated in narcissism

Narcissim

Self- Self- Self- Self-

esteem enhancement protection regulation

Mask model implicates self-esteem

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 Types of self-esteem
(Kernis, 2003)

Low SE: High SE:

• Negative self-views, low self-
worth, self-uncertainty
• Poor psychological
outcomes
• (e.g., mental health,
lower life satisfaction)
• Positive self-views, high self-worth
• Positive psychological outcomes
• (e.g., popularity, academic and
occupation success)
• Negative psychological outcomes
(e.g., aggression, violence,
prejudice, arrogance, narcissism)

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 Types of high self-esteem
(Kernis, 2003).

• True/Genuine/Authentic/Secure • Fragile/Insecure/Defensive
• value themselves, • Types
• appreciate their • Contingent SE
imperfections • Unstable SE
• have stable sense of self- • Low implicit SE
worth

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 The mask model
(Bosson, Lakey, et al. 2008)

• Narcissism is a conflict between two • Specifically

contradictory self-states:
1. surface-level feelings of
superiority (grandiosity)
2. deep-seated feelings of
inferiority (vulnerability)
• Narcissists have two self-states
1. High explicit SE linked to their
grandiosity
2. Low explicit SE linked to their
feelings of inferiority

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 Evidence for the mask model
(Bosson, Lakey, et al. 2008)
• Hypotheses
1. Main effects
• Narcissism is associated with only low implicit SE
2. Interaction effects
• Association between Narc and implicit SE depends on explicit SE
• Measures
• Explicit SE – Rosenberg (1965) SE scale
• Implicit SE – Implicit Attitudes Task (IAD)/Name Letter Task (NLT)

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 Evidence for the mask model
(main and interaction effects)

• Main effects
1. Global marker hypothesis (A)
• Interaction effects
1. Full discrepancy hypothesis (B)
2. Partial discrepancy hypothesis (C&D)

Gregg & Sedikides (2008) 35

Evidence for the mask model
(Interaction effects)

Gregg & Sedikides (2008) 36

Evidence for the mask model
(Interaction effects)

Jordan, Spencer, et al. 2003

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 Evidence for the mask model
(Strong or weak: Bosson, Lakey, et al. 2008)

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 Evidence for the mask model
(Strong or weak: Bosson, Lakey, et al. 2008)

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 The mask model
(Bosson, Lakey, et al. 2008)

• There is inconsistent evidence in support of the mask model

• Why?
• Unreliable measurements
• Implicit SE measure capturing different dimensions of self-views
• The mask model focusses on only one type (dimension) of Narc
• Possibly more types of Narc than (grandiose) being examined by
mask model

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 Reflection question

Describe and explain how various forms of self-esteem

are implicated in narcissism?

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What is collective narcissism?

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 Collective narcissism
(Golec de Zavala et al, 2020)

• Collective narcissism is an exaggerated and • Collective narcissism is seen as an extension

unstable collective self-esteem; what lies in
the core of CN is an inflated image of an
ingroup, rather than of the self
• CN is a grandiose in-group image that is
contingent upon external recognition of the
in-group’s worth
• CN can be used with reference to any social
group, be it ethnicity, religion, sports
teams, or college peers and national
identities
of individual narcissism to the social aspects
of self
• Idealization of self may be followed by
idealization of ingroups
• CNs see groups as extensions of themselves
and expect everybody to recognize not only
their individual greatness but also the
prominence of their ingroups
• CN invest emotionally in their high opinion
of themselves and their groups, demand
that others confirm that opinion, and
punish those who seem unlikely to do so.

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Antecedents and consequences of collective narcissism
(Eker et al., 2022)

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Antecedents and consequences of collective narcissism
(Golec de Zavala et al., 2020)

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Antecedents and consequences of collective narcissism
(Golec de Zavala et al., 2020)

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Narcissism and self-presentational strategies

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 Overview of self-presentation strategies

Hart, Tortoriello, Richardson, 2020 48

Which self-presentation tactics do
narcissists use?

Hart, Adams, et al., 2017 49

Narcissism and the role of neuroscience
(Jauk & Kanske, 2021)

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 The Neural basis of Narcissism

Jauk & Kanske, 2021

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 Reflection question

What are the costs and benefits of narcissism on society?

What are the benefits of narcissism research?
What are the differences and similarities between self-
esteem and narcissism?
How is self-esteem implicated in individual and collective
narcissism?

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