Narcissism: theory and measurement

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Personality Science

Background:

• Empirical study of narcissism was limited by a lack of valid measurement tools.
• The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was developed by Raskin and Hall (1979) to address this gap.
• The NPI demonstrates favorable psychometric properties for assessing narcissistic traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To utilize the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) in empirical investigations.
• To conduct a factor analysis of the NPI scale.
• To explore the relationship between NPI subscales and other psychological constructs.

Main Methods:

• Factor analysis was employed to examine the structure of the NPI.
• The Exploitiveness/Entitlement subscale was correlated with measures of pathological narcissism.
• The study considered Linville's (1982) theory of self-complexity and affect intensity.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis confirmed Emmons' (1984) four-factor solution: Leadership/Authority, Self-Absorption/Self-Admiration, Superiority/Arrogance, and Exploitiveness/Entitlement.
• The Exploitiveness/Entitlement subscale showed significant correlations with measures of pathological narcissism.
• This subscale also correlated with affective intensity and variability.

Conclusions:

• The NPI is a psychometrically sound instrument for measuring narcissism.
• The four-factor structure provides a robust framework for understanding narcissistic personality.
• The Exploitiveness/Entitlement dimension is particularly relevant to pathological narcissism and affective dysregulation.
• The findings support the integration of self-complexity theory in understanding narcissism.
• The study offers implications for attribution theory and future research on narcissism.