Narcissism in Action: Perceptions, Team Dynamics, and Performance in Naturalistic Escape Room Settings.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Narcissism is a personality construct with distinct facets.
• Understanding narcissism's impact in group settings is crucial for team dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the perception of admirative and rivalrous narcissism in naturalistic team settings.
• To examine the relationship between these narcissistic traits and team cohesion and performance.

Main Methods:

• 101 participants worked in 23 small teams on escape room tasks.
• A round-robin design was employed to gather self- and peer-ratings.
• Interpersonal traits and team dynamics were assessed.

Main Results:

• Individuals high in admirative narcissism were seen as confident but misjudged their likeability.
• Those high in rivalrous narcissism were perceived as aggressive and lazy.
• High team rivalry correlated with reduced cohesion and poorer performance; narcissistic admiration had no team-level effects.

Conclusions:

• Rivalrous narcissism negatively impacts team cohesion and performance.
• Admirative narcissism does not appear to affect team dynamics at a group level.
• Escape room simulations offer a valuable method for studying real-time teamwork and personality interactions.