Narcissists may not be as self-deceptive about their reputation as commonly thought, according to new research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. Researchers found that while individuals higher in narcissistic admiration expected others to see them positively, their beliefs about how they were perceived were not overly inflated. In other words, their expectations were mostly accurate. Interestingly, those higher in narcissistic rivalry believed they were seen more negatively. This study adds to the growing understanding of narcissism, showing that it is not necessarily characterized by unrealistic beliefs about how others view them.
Narcissism is a personality trait characterized by a high sense of self-importance, a deep need for admiration, a strong sense of entitlement, and a lack of empathy for others. People with high levels of narcissism often believe they are superior to others and expect to be recognized for their achievements and qualities, regardless of whether these perceptions are justified. Narcissism can manifest in two primary forms: narcissistic admiration, where individuals seek approval and social status, and narcissistic rivalry, where they adopt a competitive and antagonistic stance towards others.
The motivation behind the new study was to explore whether narcissistic individuals, particularly those with grandiose traits, systematically overestimate how positively others view them. While past research has suggested that narcissists have inflated self-views, less is known about their “metaperceptions,” or beliefs about how they are perceived by others.
“When people think of narcissists, they’re usually imagining someone with an inflated sense of self, and we were curious how narcissists might maintain that sense of self,” explained study author Victoria Pringle, a PhD student at the University of Toronto Mississauga. “Some theories of narcissism posit that narcissists use their social arena to boost their self-views, so our work was based on the premise that narcissists might expect that they’re seen positively and that this might be a mechanism by which they maintain their positive self-views.”
The study was conducted using four separate samples, totaling 1,537 participants, most of whom were undergraduate students from North American universities. These participants were involved in different types of social interactions, which allowed researchers to explore their perceptions of how others viewed them (metaperceptions) and compare those to the actual impressions they made.
In the first two samples, participants were involved in brief interactions with others. In the first sample, participants engaged in two- to three-minute conversations with multiple group members. In the second sample, participants took part in group activities, such as problem-solving tasks. After each conversation or activity, participants rated how they believed they were perceived by their partners or group members on various attributes such as intelligence, extraversion, and likability.
The participants also provided their self-ratings and were assessed on levels of narcissism using standardized questionnaires. The researchers used a method called condition-based regression analysis, which allowed them to see if people higher in narcissism systematically overestimated how positively others viewed them.
The third sample involved a longitudinal study in which participants met with small groups for structured discussions multiple times over the course of a semester. They rated how they believed they were perceived at both the beginning and the end of the semester, which allowed the researchers to assess how perceptions changed over time.
In the fourth sample, participants provided contact information for close friends or family members, who then rated the participant on various attributes. This part of the study aimed to understand how narcissistic individuals think they are seen by people who know them well, as opposed to strangers or acquaintances.
The researchers found that individuals who scored higher on narcissistic admiration generally believed that others saw them in a positive light. They thought they were viewed as more intelligent, attractive, and likable, particularly in settings where first impressions were being formed. Interestingly, these beliefs were often in line with how others actually saw them.
In other words, narcissists with high admiration didn’t necessarily overestimate their social appeal but instead had relatively accurate perceptions of their reputation, especially when it came to traits that enhance social standing, such as intelligence and attractiveness.
“We found that people higher in narcissism expected that others saw them positively, but we didn’t find that they overestimate how positively they’re seen,” Pringle told PsyPost. “As an example, consider Natalie and Nicolas, who are both high in narcissism. They both expect to be seen positively, but only Natalie actually makes a good impression. Hence, narcissism isn’t strictly about overestimating how one is seen by others, but about generally expecting to be seen positively, even if how they’re actually seen is more complicated.”
However, the findings were different for people high in narcissistic rivalry, a more antagonistic form of narcissism. These individuals tended to believe that others saw them in a more negative light, particularly in traits related to agreeableness and emotional stability. In many cases, these negative perceptions were accurate—others did view them less favorably.
Narcissistic rivalry involves a more competitive, defensive stance in social interactions, so it makes sense that individuals high in this trait expected and often received less positive evaluations from others. This suggests that people with narcissistic rivalry may be aware of the negative impressions they leave, particularly in terms of their cooperativeness and emotional balance.
Overall, the study did not find evidence to support the idea that people with narcissistic traits systematically overestimate the impressions they make on others. While they do expect to be seen in a positive light, their beliefs were not overly inflated. Moreover, the way in which narcissists believed they were perceived differed significantly between the two facets of narcissism.
“The general pattern of results was somewhat surprising, because it suggests that narcissism is marked less by a systematic bias and more by positive metaperceptions (i.e., expecting to be seen positively),” Pringle explained. “This was a bit surprising given that a lot of the language around narcissism calls to mind that bias (e.g., ‘inflated’ self-views, ‘enhancement,’ and so on), but we didn’t find evidence of that.”
But the study, like all research, includes some caveats.
“It’s worth noting that when we talk about ‘narcissists’ here, we’re talking about non-clinical narcissism: all of our samples comprised undergraduate students, the majority of whom were women,” Pringle noted. “In some ways, this makes the findings more applicable to the average person, who is less likely to have clinical levels of narcissism, but given the popularity of narcissism in the general public’s lexicon I think it’s important to keep that distinction in mind. If we had used a clinical sample instead, it’s possible that the effects we found would be even stronger, or that those higher in narcissism would be viewed negatively, which we didn’t see as much in our samples.”
Future research could explore how narcissistic traits influence perceptions in more diverse populations, including clinical samples, to see if the findings extend beyond non-clinical settings. Additionally, examining narcissists’ self-perceptions in high-stakes or competitive environments could provide insights into whether their biases become more pronounced under pressure. Longitudinal studies could also investigate how narcissistic traits affect relationships over time, particularly how metaperceptions evolve as acquaintanceships deepen.
“Much of my work involves quantitative methods, so in this line of work I hope to continue to explore accuracy research with more rigorous methods like the condition-based regression analysis that we used in this paper,” Pringle said.
The study, “Do Narcissists Think They Make a Better Impression Than They Really Do? Re-Evaluating Enhancement as a Dominant Feature of Narcissism,” was authored by Victoria Pringle, Hasagani Tissera, Norhan Elsaadawy, Erika Carlson, and Lauren Human.
