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Aggression, Avoidance, Shame And Narcissism In Fragile Masculinity, Israel Zev Meth

Selected Full-Text Dissertations 2020-

The overwhelming representation of males in physically aggressive acts and violent crime suggests that masculinity contributes to the gender discrepancy. Fragile masculinity, a term denoting the cultural mandate and the individual’s perception that manhood is precarious, has been posited as particularly meaningful in understanding the etiology of aggression and relational avoidance in men. Empirical work suggests that there is a link among these constructs (Vandello, 2013), but the literature has not fully explored variables that may inform or impact these connections. Based on psychodynamic theories of narcissism, shame and aggression, this study aimed to empirically test their impact. Mediation and …

Relationship Experiences Of Long-Term Partners Of Individuals With Narcissistic Traits, Tamara Betty-Jean Knott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The phenomenon of narcissism is well-documented and has garnered much attention from the scientific community. However, a facet of this subject that has been largely unstudied involves the consequences that narcissistic relationships have on intimates. Typically, an individual with narcissistic traits (INT) most negatively affects the romantic partner. Still, there has been very little in the way of academic knowledge, understanding of partner experiences, or how to help from a mental health standpoint. Research has implied that partnering with an INT entails distinct forms of emotional abuse (EA), resulting in the development of unique psychological distress. This qualitative narrative study …

Religiosity As A Moderator Of Infidelity In Dark Triad Women, Sophie M. Domanik

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Projects

Personality is a major determinant of behavior. The Dark Triad is a cluster of personality traits-- psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism-- commonly associated with callousness, manipulation, and anti-social behavior. In the realm of relationships, Dark Triad traits have been shown to predict a host of destabilizing behaviors, including infidelity. Infidelity has negative psychological impacts on those involved, with research citing infidelity as a precursor to major depressive episodes for some individuals. High levels of religiosity, on the other hand, predict negative attitudes toward infidelity and fewer instances of cheating overall. The present study investigated whether levels of religiosity moderate infidelity intentions …

Relationship Experiences Of Long-Term Partners Of Individuals With Narcissistic Traits, Tamara Betty-Jean Knott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The phenomenon of narcissism is well-documented and has garnered much attention from the scientific community. However, a facet of this subject that has been largely unstudied involves the consequences that narcissistic relationships have on intimates. Typically, an individual with narcissistic traits (INT) most negatively affects the romantic partner. Still, there has been very little in the way of academic knowledge, understanding of partner experiences, or how to help from a mental health standpoint. Research has implied that partnering with an INT entails distinct forms of emotional abuse (EA), resulting in the development of unique psychological distress. This qualitative narrative study …

Narcissism And Risk-Taking For Others, Tyler B. Cowley

LSU Master's Theses

While prior findings demonstrate that narcissists are excessively risk-seeking for themselves, research does not yet understand if their risk-seeking behaviors extend to others as well. This paper examines the role of narcissism in risk-taking on behalf of others. I hypothesize that narcissists will take more risks when deciding for others because they lack empathy and perspective taking. Therefore, narcissists are more likely to take risks based on their personal preferences, rather than the recipient’s desires. To test my hypotheses, participants completed the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) for themselves, another individual, and an anonymous individual, followed by completing the Narcissistic …

How Narcissism Relates To Social Rank Dynamics In Teams, Tianyue Xu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Team performance can be impaired when two team members both believe they outrank one another in status (upward-status disagreement; USD; Kilduff et al., 2016). Drawing from the narcissistic admiration and rivalry concept (Back et al., 2013), the current study examined how two forms of narcissism distinctively relate to USDs across a team’s lifecycle. Gathering data at four time points, I studied over 126 small task teams from inception to dissolution. The results indicate that narcissistic admiration did not predict one’s status perception tendency or absolute status. However, narcissistic admiration predicted the number of USDs one experiences during team formation and …

Testing Barriers To Non-Suicidal Self-Injury With College Students: Narcissistic Traits As Moderators, Philip Stoner

Dissertations

Research on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) has produced mixed findings, resulting in a lack of clarity regarding these behaviors (Klonsky & Meuhlenkamp, 2007). To address this, Hooley and Franklin (2018) developed the Benefits and Barriers Model (BBM) to provide a comprehensive understanding of NSSI, in which they identified the barriers that commonly prevent people from engaging in these behaviors (e.g., self-esteem, shame, and peer-bonding motivations/social norms). They also identified adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as a distal predictor of NSSI, which aids people in overcoming the barriers to engaging in these behaviors. Recent NSSI literature has shown that college women in the …

Are Narcissism And Entitlement Associated With Higher Rates Of Violence And Unsuccessful Treatment Completion?, Melissa Chipollini

PCOM Psychology Dissertations

Following the dimensional-categorical model of personality functioning, this study used archival data to examine the degree to which narcissism and entitlement determined engagement in violent acts and treatment completion. The study reviewed MCMI-III/IV scores, discharge summaries, and violence histories for a sample of 105 individuals who were referred for forensic outpatient services by the court. One-way ANOVAs were used to assess all four of the hypotheses (a) individuals with more than one violent act (vs. one violent act) would have significantly higher mean scores on the MCMI-III/IV entitlement subscale, (b) individuals with more than one violent act would have significantly …

Further Investigating The Predictors Of Aggressive Driving: Vulnerable Narcissism, Implicit Self-Esteem, And Rebelliousness, Cassidy Kost

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aggressive driving is a dangerous and common occurrence that is steadily on the rise. The aim of the current study was to further investigate three constructs: narcissism, self-esteem, and rebelliousness; and their role in aggressive driving. All three constructs predict aggressive driving as singular concepts; however, their subtypes have not been separately examined using a North American sample. In particular, this study explored whether vulnerable narcissism, implicit self-esteem, and both proactive and reactive rebelliousness could predict aggressive driving behaviour. This study also aimed to investigate how the constructs of narcissism, self-esteem, and rebelliousness relate to each other. One hundred and …

The Relationship Of Pathological Narcissism To Empathic Functioning, Antonia M. Mcmaster

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examined the relationship of pathological (grandiose and vulnerable) expressions of narcissism to empathic functioning by comparing performance-based and self-report assessments of empathy. Current research suggests that narcissism is related to more impairments in affective than cognitive empathy, and that narcissistic individuals over-report their empathic capabilities overall on self-report measures because empathy is a socially-desirable trait, and they may wish to appear more empathic in order to manage the positive impression of others. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted in an undergraduate college sample of eighty-nine participants using a cross-sectional study design. It was hypothesized that self-reported pathological (grandiose and …

The Effect Of Feedback On State Narcissism, Ian C. Kloss

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: Prior research suggests that grandiose and vulnerable narcissists differ from one another in their responses to various threats—among these results is a finding suggesting individuals displaying grandiose narcissism are more likely to report negative mood states following an imaginal achievement failure, while individuals displaying vulnerable narcissism report more negative mood following an imagined romantic rejection. Further, a body of literature within the field of narcissism examines whether grandiose and vulnerable narcissism are better conceived as stable traits or as states that may fluctuate within an individual. This study sought to determine whether state grandiose and vulnerable narcissism might differ …

Timber! How Loss Of Trust Contributes To The Downfall Of Narcissistic Leaders, Jennifer Lynch

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Individuals higher in grandiose narcissism are motivated to maintain a grandiose self-view, which can be accomplished through self-promotion and self-defence (Back et al., 2013). Drawing from the dual-process model of narcissistic admiration and rivalry, the current study examined how these forms of narcissism differentially relate to changes in perceived leader effectiveness. As well, I tested whether trust mediated these relationships. The final sample included 165 participants in 42 teams followed from team formation to dissolution, gathering data at four time points. During their lifecycle, the teams worked on a design project. Support was found for narcissistic rivalry corresponding to a …

Moth To A Flame: An Investigation Of The Personality Traits And Early-Life Trauma Histories Of Women Who Have Survived Adult Relationships With Men With Pathological Narcissism, Michelle D. Roberts

Dissertations

Although emotional and psychological abuse, in addition to physical assault, are now commonly accepted as aspects of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), narcissistic abuse as a subset of IPV is not widely recognized or understood. Due to the extremely debilitating, chronic mental health effects of narcissistic abuse (Bremner, 2008; Campbell, 2002; Yoon et al., 2009), this study sought to explore the experiences, personalities, early-life (childhood) trauma histories and mental health outcomes of heterosexual women who self-identify as having been in an adult romantic relationship with a man with pathological narcissism. Specifically, this study aimed to identify the nature and frequency of …

Reducing Narcissistic Aggression: Examining The Effect Of Self-Affirmation On Subclinical Levels Of Narcissism, Kelsey Ann Anello

Theses and Dissertations

The concept of narcissism has been studied for hundreds of years and has typically emphasized grandiose aspects of personality – inflated self-esteem and being socially domineering. More recent literature has sought to differentiate between two aspects of narcissism – grandiosity and vulnerability; that is, narcissism may be marked by not only grandiose thoughts and beliefs, but also have negative emotionality and hypersensitivity. Both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism exhibit tendencies to act out aggressively, especially in the face of interpersonal rejection. There are still gaps in the literature when it comes to interventions, especially ones that may be used in order …

Power For The Powerless: How Donald Trump Used Voters’ Anxieties To Win In 2016, Nathaniel Stekler

Honors Theses

Previous research has attempted to explain the results of the 2016 presidential election, and has concluded that a jaded and anxious electorate propelled Trump to the White House. The current research examines what psychological processes might have been at play. When people feel powerless in their day-to-day lives but are made to feel powerful it leads to behavior that goes against standard moral beliefs (e.g., supporting a presidential candidate who makes offensive comments that one might not explicitly endorse). I hypothesize that a feeling of powerfulness among a subset of the population used to feeling powerless will increase their support …

Narcissism And Attachment Anxiety Predicting The Impact Of Hiding Instagram “Likes” In Canada, Madeleine T. Visca

Undergraduate Honours Theses

The social networking site, Instagram, made the decision to hide publicly viewable “likes” from users in Canada in the Spring of 2019. The current study was designed to examine whether levels of trait narcissism and peer attachment anxiety in adolescence predict satisfaction with the decision to hide publicly viewable likes on Instagram and authenticity in Instagram use since the implementation of this decision. Participants (21.7% male, 78.3% female, M = 1.78, SD = .41) first completed The Narcissistic Personality Inventory for Children, then The Peers Attachment Scale, followed by scales I created to measure satisfaction with, authenticity of, and use …

Do Narcissism Levels Affect Conflict Resolution When Their Ego Is Threatened? An Experiment, Laura E. Harper

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The present experimental study, examined the influence of ego-threat on participant aggression levels, and investigated whether Narcissism moderated this relationship. A sample of N= 54 undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to receive either positive or negative feedback on their writing abilities from what they were told was a co-participant, with the negative feedback condition serving as the ego-threat condition. Afterwards, participants responded to a hypothetical conflict scenario involving the imagined co-participant and completed a self-report measure of Narcissism online. Results showed that being assigned to the ego-threat condition resulted in more aggressive responses to the conflict scenario, increased use of …

Examining Entitlement And Antagonism As Distinguishing Features Of Narcissism, Zane M. Repp

USC Aiken Psychology Theses

Objective: In this study, I worked to examine possible core features in narcissism. Researchers largely accept that there are at least two main dimensions of narcissism, grandiosity and vulnerability. However, these two dimensions have very different presentations in individuals, with very different personality factors, interpersonal traits, and relationships to other psychopathology. This raises the question of whether grandiosity and vulnerability are two versions of the same disorder, or if they would be better understood as different pathologies. This study examines whether the features of entitlement and antagonism can be used to distinguish grandiosity and vulnerability as both unique versions of …

Narcissistic Worldview: How Narcissism Relates To Perceptions Of Conflict And Exploitative Behaviour, Nicola Urquhart

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Narcissism is associated with highly competitive and exploitative behaviour. This thesis examines the possibility that these behaviours may be, in part, due to a bias to perceive a high amount of social conflict, thus promoting exploitative behaviour through greed or to avoid being taken advantage of. Two studies tested this possibility through a game format – one a novel anagram task, and the other a Commons Dilemma task. Results across both studies suggest that individuals high in grandiose narcissism perceive a higher amount of conflict than individuals low in grandiose narcissism, regardless of the degree of conflict inherently present. Study …

The Effect Of Perceived Role Suitability On Prestige, Dominance, Performance, And Communication., Lynden Jensen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The pursuit of social rank is pervasive across societies and cultures. Previous studies have identified two distinct avenues for attaining social rank: prestige and dominance. While prestige (communication of skill/ability) and dominance (communication of superiority) are crucial to interpersonal interactions, it is unclear how people communicate prestige or dominance and how such communication affects team performance. To investigate these ideas, 206 individuals participated in a cooperative dyadic building task. A computer randomly assigned dyad members to one of two roles—builder (who handled and placed model pieces) and instructor (who directed the builder's actions). Additionally, using a false feedback paradigm, a …

Overparenting And Young Adult Narcissism: Psychological Control And Interpersonal Dependency As Mediators, Nathan Alexander Winner

Dissertations

Overparenting, or “helicopter parenting,” is a unique style of parenting characterized by parents’ well-intentioned but age-inappropriate over-involvement and intrusiveness in their children’s lives. Recent research has linked overparenting to the development of narcissistic traits in young adults, although the mechanisms of this relationship remain unclear. Two plausible mechanisms include the parenting behavior of psychological control and the increased interpersonal dependency of the child. Psychological control is a construct that overlaps with overparenting and has been linked to both dependent and narcissistic traits. Similarly, interpersonal dependency is a key predictor of narcissistic traits. Therefore, the present study sought to examine psychological …

Leadership On The Ropes: How Hostile Followership Affects Leadership Behaviour, Noelle Baird

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The current study examined the effect of followership on leadership behaviours, and whether leaders’ responses to hostile followership varies as a function of individual differences. This study used a randomized controlled between-subjects experimental design. Participants were assigned to the role of either the “team leader” or a “team member”. As the focal manipulation, participants were assigned to a hostile followership condition or a control condition. In these two conditions, a confederate either antagonized and challenged the leader’s ideas (i.e., hostile followership) or engaged in neutral behaviours (i.e., control condition) throughout a virtually-mediated group decision-making task. Support was found for the …

Relations Between Subclinical Narcissism, Effortful Control, And Well-Being In Emerging Adulthood, Beth M. Rachlin

Honors Theses

The present study evaluates relations between subclinical grandiose narcissism, facets of effortful control, and hedonic well-being in a sample of emerging adults. The goal of this study was threefold. First, to assess the relation between subclinical grandiose narcissism and hedonic well-being. Correlational analyses provided support for increased grandiose narcissistic tendencies being associated with increased hedonic well-being. Second, the study sought to examine the relation between effortful control and hedonic well-being. Regression analyses revealed a lack of support for this relationship; however, this could be due to lurking variables such as self-esteem. Last, the study aimed to explore whether there is …

Dark Triad Personality Traits Prediction Of Managers' Mind-Set In Business Organizations, Robert Kabat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Presence of the Dark Triad traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy in the workplace, especially among managers, has received increased attention due to the implications for organizations. One way to influence behavior in business organizations is through controlled interventions to change individual mind-sets. A review of the extant literature indicated that the relationship between Dark Triad traits and mind-set had not been sufficiently examined. A quantitative study was conducted to examine whether a manager's Dark Triad traits predict their mindset. To explore this relationship, a sample of 153 managers' responses was collected online. The Short Dark Triad measure was used …

Helping Those Who Are Like Me: Highlighting Similarities To Elicit Empathy In Narcissists, Alys Yijun Zhao, Christian H. Jordan

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Previous research suggests that narcissists (compared to less narcissistic individuals) lack empathy toward others unless specifically instructed to take others’ perspectives. But are narcissists capable of spontaneously empathizing with others without the need for instructed perspective-taking? Three studies addressed this question. Study 1 (Study 1a; N = 232 & Study 1b; N = 488) examined whether manipulating a target person’s level of narcissism (i.e., non-narcissistic, moderately-narcissistic, or highly-narcissistic) encouraged more empathy toward more narcissistic targets, who described a difficult romantic breakup, from more narcissistic participants. Study 2 (N = 590) used the same procedure and further examined whether target …

Vulnerable Narcissism And First-Person Singular Pronoun Use, Hannah L. Dorough

Honors College Theses

Who talks about themselves most frequently? Recent research has explored the top correlates of self-focused language use. Depression and negative emotionality tend to appear as key positive correlates. Surprisingly, narcissism—which is largely known for its trait of self-centeredness—is not a major correlate of self-focused language use. Studies demonstrating this null effect have only measured grandiose narcissism, while entirely neglecting vulnerable narcissism. By using a survey methodology with carefully-selected trait inventories and a language task, the purpose of this study is to fill the gap in the literature—to see whether vulnerable narcissism accounts for talking about oneself, above and beyond the …

Grateful Beneficiaries And Proud Benefactors: A Moderated Mediation Model Relating Supervisors' Gratitude Expression To Employees' Organizational Citizenship Behavior, William Peter Jimenez

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

Few organizational researchers have considered examining gratitude or pride—much less both simultaneously. In the present study, two complementary emotion theories (i.e., affective events theory and broaden-and-build theory) are integrated in an examination of the prosocial consequences of supervisors’ gratitude expression, employees’ authentic and hubristic pride experiences, and employees’ narcissism in a large construction company in China. Results from the analyses of the moderated mediation model pathways indicated that most of the proposed relationships were nonsignificant. Supervisors’ gratitude expression predicted employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) but did not predict employees’ authentic or hubristic pride. Employees’ hubristic pride—but not authentic pride—predicted employees’ …

Factors Influencing Millennials’ Perception Of And Attitudes Toward Therapy, Kaylee Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The millennial generation (those born after 1985) appears to be seeking mental health services (MHS) less frequently than older generations. Additionally, this generation is reportedly more narcissistic and entitled than older generations and have maladaptive helicopter parents. One explanation for millennials’ underutilization of MHS would be to attribute this to their narcissism, entitlement, and helicopter parents. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether differences exist between millennials and non-millennials regarding their levels of narcissism, entitlement, experiences of helicopter parenting, and attitudes towards therapy. Additionally, the study predicted that increased levels of narcissism, entitlement, and helicopter parenting would be …

Narcissistic Intolerance: Verbal Hostility And Dismissiveness In Response To Subjective Disagreement, Wan Wang

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

We examine the novel proposition that disagreement on matters of opinion may threaten narcissists’ self-esteem and cause them to express dismissiveness of differing opinions and hostility toward the dissenter, a phenomenon we refer to as narcissistic intolerance. In three studies, participants ostensibly read about an earlier participant’s opinion on a painting (Studies 1 & 2, MTurk samples) or TV show (Study 3, undergraduate sample) that agreed or disagreed with the participant’s own opinion. Participants then wrote a response to the opinion, as though they were responding on an anonymous Internet message board. We coded participants’ responses, finding that participants higher …

Who Posts Selfies And Why?: Personality, Attachment Style, And Mentalization As Predictors Of Selfie Posting On Social Media, Nancy Adler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the phenomenon of selfie posting on social media and its relationship to narcissism, the Dark Triad, impulsivity, attachment style, rejection sensitivity, and reflective functioning. The sample was made up of 499 participants who completed an online survey consisting of personality measures and open- and closed-ended questions about selfie posting behavior. Data were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model.

Results: The study found that individuals with high levels of the Dark Triad trait of psychopathy post more selfies on social media than do individuals with low levels of the trait. The Dark Triad trait of narcissism was …