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

We investigated narcissism in a naturalistic social context. Specifically, we examined how individuals high in admirative and rivalrous narcissism are perceived in team dynamics. Participants (n = 101) worked in small teams (k = 23 teams) during escape room-based tasks. Using a round-robin design, we observed alignment between self- and peer-ratings on interpersonal traits. Those high on admirative narcissism were perceived as confident but overestimated their likeability, whereas those high on rivalrous narcissism were perceived as aggressive and lazy. Teams characterized by high levels of rivalry exhibited reduced team cohesion, which in turn was associated with poorer team performance. There were no team-level effects for narcissistic admiration. The research advances understanding of admirative and rivalrous narcissism by simulating real-time teamwork in escape rooms.