Interpersonal and intrapsychic adaptiveness of trait self-enhancement: A mixed blessing?

TLDR

The study examined how trait self‑enhancers are perceived over time in discussion groups. Participants formed 4‑to‑6‑person groups that met seven 20‑minute sessions, with members rating each other after the first and final meetings, while trait self‑enhancement was measured via narcissism and self‑deceptive enhancement scales in Study 1. Initially, self‑enhancers were viewed positively as agreeable, well‑adjusted, and competent, but after seven weeks they were judged negatively and displayed self‑evaluations that diverged from peer ratings, a pattern replicated in Study 2, while all self‑enhancement measures remained positively correlated with self‑esteem.

Abstract

Reactions to trait self-enhancers were investigated in 2 longitudinal studies of person perception in discussion groups. Groups of 4-6 participants met 7 times for 20 min. After Meetings 1 and 7, group members rated their perceptions of one another. In Study 1, trait self-enhancement was indexed by measures of narcissism and self-deceptive enhancement. At the first meeting, self-enhancers made positive impressions. They were seen as agreeable, well adjusted, and competent. After 7 weeks, however, they were rated negatively and gave self-evaluations discrepant with peer evaluations they received. In Study 2, an independent sample of observers (close acquaintances) enabled a pretest index of discrepancy self-enhancement: It predicted the same deteriorating pattern of interpersonal perceptions as the other three trait measures. Nonetheless, all self-enhancement measures correlated positively with self-esteem.