Publication | Closed Access
On self-aggrandizement and anger: A temporal analysis of narcissism and affective reactions to success and failure.
321
Citations
0
References
1998
Year
Social IdentityPersonality PsychologyBehavioral SciencesManipulation (Psychology)Self-monitoringSocial PsychologyAffective ReactionsTemporal AnalysisMotivationSocial SciencesApplied Social PsychologyEmotionAggressionPsychology
Narcissists are believed to exhibit extreme affective reactions to positive and negative self‑referential information. The study proposes a temporal sequence model linking self‑attribution and emotion to narcissistic rage. Two experiments compared high‑ and low‑narcissistic participants performing success and failure tasks, after which they attributed performance and reported moods. High‑NPI participants displayed larger changes in anxiety, anger, and self‑esteem, particularly when attributing success to ability, while low self‑complexity did not moderate these affective responses.
Narcissists are thought to display extreme affective reactions to positive and negative information about the self. Two experiments were conducted in which high- and low-narcissistic individuals, as defined by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), completed a series of tasks in which they both succeeded and failed. After each task, participants made attributions for their performance and reported their moods. High-NPI participants responded with greater changes in anxiety, anger, and self-esteem. Low self-complexity was examined, but it neither mediated nor moderated affective responses. High-NPI participants tended to attribute initial success to ability, leading to more extreme anger responses and greater self-esteem reactivity to failure. A temporal sequence model linking self-attribution and emotion to narcissistic rage is discussed.