Dynamic processes in narcissism and affect across Chinese and American individuals: A registered report

Recent research has examined the state dynamics of narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability and of positive and negative affect, yet few studies have directly linked the two conceptually similar constructs or addressed their conceptual overlap, especially beyond Western samples. In this study, we used a newly collected Chinese sample (N = 594, observations = 26,802) and an existing American data set (N = 862, observations = 36,631) to investigate the dynamics of narcissism and affect in daily life. Using dynamic structural equation modeling, we characterized these dynamics through key indicators-mean, variability, contemporaneous correlations, autoregressive effects, and cross-lagged effects-and examined their intercorrelations and associations with dispositional variables. Results showed that indicators within each dynamic were closely interrelated and substantially linked to dispositional traits. The dynamics of narcissism and affect exhibited moderate similarity with grandiosity corresponding to positive affect and vulnerability to negative affect. The two dynamics mainly differed in the associations between their two components: Grandiosity and vulnerability were generally more positively correlated than positive and negative affect, which were somewhat inversely related. These patterns generalized well across Chinese and American samples, although Chinese participants showed a stronger cross-lagged effect of vulnerability on subsequent grandiosity. Additionally, grandiosity and positive affect showed more adaptive external associations with trait variables, whereas variability in affect and narcissism showed more maladaptive external associations in the Chinese sample. This study bridges narcissism and affect research, advances understanding of their dynamics, and enhances the generalizability of findings by examining them across two national contexts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).