Overt narcissism

... Dedicated in loving memory to Cates Anderson Gossett and Linda Murray ... To my friends and colleagues, particularly Sydnye Allen, Silvia Bartolic, Scott Blackwood, Candace Boheme, Lila Bouchet, Maggie Brubaker, Melissa Curran, Kristin Doyle, Andy Fiegel, Lynn French ...

The idea that the self-overvaluation characteristic of narcissism can be directed either overtly toward the public self (ego) or covertly toward the privately idealized self-image (ego ideal) was first discussed in the 1920s (e.g., Ellis, 1927). The more recent designation of these two faces of narcissism as Grandiosity-Exhibitionism (overt) and Vulnerability-Sensitivity (covert) by Wink (1991) finally has become accepted in contemporary personality and social psychological research (e.g., Miller et al., 2011). Researchers have tended to focus on what divides or distinguishes these two faces of narcissism (e.g., Krizan & Johar, 2012), and the extent of such distinctions now raises questions about what connects overt and covert narcissism as aspects of the same psychological construct and is covert “really” a form of narcissism? In two studies (total N = 595) we found answers in strong positive correlations between both overt and covert narcissism and measures of entitlement rage and grandiose fantasies.

The Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS; Hendin & Cheek, 1997) has become widely used as a measure of covert, vulnerable narcissism. In the original scale construction article, the 10 items were interpreted as forming a single factor based on loadings on the first unrotated factor. More recently, however, researchers studying an Italian translation of the HSNS interpreted a two-factor structure for the 10-item scale (Fossati et al., 2009). The purpose of the present research was to explore the factor structure of the HSNS in two large English language samples (total N = 28,791). Statistical tests for the number of factors to rotate indicated two factors for both of these samples. The two subscales of the HSNS identified in the present research, Self-Absorption and Hypersensitivity, are conceptually similar to the two Italian components obtained in two samples by Fossati et al. (2009; Egocentrism and Oversensitivity to Judgement). We conclude that these two components should be explored further in ongoing work on revising and expanding the original 10-item HSNS.

This study emphasizes the shallow connection that has been overshadowed between metafiction and self-reflective literature (also called 'narcissist narratives') and the psychological and cultural aspects of the phenomena of Narcissism. Drawing from Jameson's and Lasch's Postmodernism culture theories, it is speculated that the term 'narcissism' has been a key term to define the sense of loss and unstable identity towards the end of the 20th century. Furthermore, considering Heinz Kohut's Psychology of the Self theories, Narcissism Personality Disorder is defined as a pathological defense against the loss of a stable self-image, leading to an I/Other projection mechanism that attempts to reconstruct its identity. Therefore,  this projection mechanism is applied to the comparative frame of 20th-century metafiction works by Italo Calvino, Virginia Woolf, and Miguel de Unamuno, to prove the existence of a diachronic phenomenon enrooted in parallel origins.

This study seeks to explore how narcissistic attention-seeking behaviors in face-to-face conversation contribute to marital quality and partner’s mental health over the
transition to parenthood. Narcissism, considered a personality disorder, is defined as an
all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity in fantasy or behavior. Central features of narcissism
include a need for admiration and a lack of empathy. The concept of narcissism has been
extended beyond mental illness and is now considered a personality trait (Raskin &
Terry, 1988). It follows then that narcissistic tendencies might affect one’s
communication style. This research elaborates the concept of narcissism and discusses
the ways that narcissistic patterns in interpersonal relationships have been studied.
Finally, drawing upon social exchange theory, it finds that conversational narcissism
characterizes 78 percent of marriages, frequently renders spouses invisible, and predicts
maladaptive dialogue and divorce at seven years.

Objective: For decades, both theory and research have focused on the role of self-esteem and
shame in constructing narcissistic traits. However, studies on the exact relationship between
these two and overt and covert facets of narcissism have been equivocal.
Methods: The current study is correlational. It examined these relationships among 308
Iranian college students (155 males, 153 females, mean age=23.49 years, SD=2.83). The target
population was all students of national universities of Tehran, Iran. The sampling method was
non-random multi-step clustering. Participants were asked to fill four self-report measures:
Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPD), Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale (RSES), Test of Selfconscious
Affect (TOSCA-3), and Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS). The data were
analyzed by SPSS 19.0.0 software, using Pearson’s Correlation, T-test and Multiple Regression
Analysis methods.
Results: Surprisingly, there was no significant difference between men and women with respect
to NPI scores. Findings also revealed that shame was negatively related to overt narcissism
(r=-0.22, P<0.05) and positively related to covert narcissism (r=0.23, P<0.05). Self-esteem
was found to be positively correlated with overt narcissism (r=0.42, P<0.01) and negatively
correlated with covert narcissism (r=-0.30, P<0.01).
Conclusion: The results provide support for the models of overt narcissism in which the
narcissistic self serves as a buffer against inner feelings of inferiority. It also supports the
importance of shame and low self-esteem in shaping the covert narcissistic traits. However,
shame could not differentiate between overt and covert narcissism. The empirical, cultural, and
clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

... Dedicated in loving memory to Cates Anderson Gossett and Linda Murray ... To my friends and colleagues, particularly Sydnye Allen, Silvia Bartolic, Scott Blackwood, Candace Boheme, Lila Bouchet, Maggie Brubaker, Melissa Curran, Kristin Doyle, Andy Fiegel, Lynn French ...