You probably think this paper's about you: Narcissists' perceptions of their personality and reputation.

Do narcissists have insight into the negative aspects of their personality and reputation? Using both clinical and subclinical measures of narcissism, the authors examined others' perceptions, self-perceptions, and meta-perceptions of narcissists across a wide range of traits for a new acquaintance and close other (Study 1), longitudinally with a group of new acquaintances (Study 2), and among coworkers (Study 3). Results bring 3 surprising conclusions about narcissists: (a) they understand that others see them less positively than they see themselves (i.e., their meta-perceptions are less biased than are their self-perceptions), (b) they have some insight into the fact that they make positive first impressions that deteriorate over time, and (c) they have insight into their narcissistic personality (e.g., they describe themselves as arrogant). These findings shed light on some of the psychological mechanisms underlying narcissism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why are narcissists so charming at first sight? Decoding the narcissism–popularity link at zero acquaintance.

On the basis of a realistic behavioral approach, the authors showed that narcissists are popular at zero acquaintance and aimed to explain why this is the case. In Study 1, a group of psychology freshmen (N = 73) judged each other on the basis of brief self-introductions using a large round-robin design (2,628 dyads). Three main findings were revealed: First, narcissism leads to popularity at first sight. Second, the aspects of narcissism that are most maladaptive in the long run (exploitativeness/entitlement) proved to be most attractive at zero acquaintance. Third, an examination of observable verbal and nonverbal behaviors as well as aspects of physical appearance provided an explanation for why narcissists are more popular at first sight. Results were confirmed using judgments of uninvolved perceivers under 3 different conditions for which the amount of available information was varied systematically: (a) full information (video and sound, Study 2), (b) nonverbal information only (video only, Study 3), or (c) physical information only (still photograph of clothing, Study 4). These findings have important implications for understanding the inter- and intrapersonal dynamics of narcissism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissism and romantic attraction.

A model of narcissism and romantic attraction predicts that narcissists will be attracted to admiring individuals and highly positive individuals and relatively less attracted to individuals who offer the potential for emotional intimacy. Five studies supported this model. Narcissists, compared with nonnarcissists, preferred more self-oriented (i.e., highly positive) and less other-oriented (i.e., caring) qualities in an ideal romantic partner (Study 1). Narcissists were also relatively more attracted to admiring and highly positive hypothetical targets and less attracted to caring targets (Studies 2 and 3). Indeed, narcissists displayed a preference for highly positive-noncaring targets compared with caring but not highly positive targets (Study 4). Finally, mediational analyses demonstrates that narcissists' romantic attraction is, in part, the result of a strategy for enhancing self-esteem (Study 5). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Loving yourself abundantly: Relationship of the narcissistic personality to self- and other perceptions of workplace deviance, leadership, and task and contextual performance.

The authors report results from 2 studies assessing the extent to which narcissism is related to self- and other ratings of leadership, workplace deviance, and task and contextual performance. Study 1 results revealed that narcissism was related to enhanced self-ratings of leadership, even when controlling for the Big Five traits. Study 2 results also revealed that narcissism was related to enhanced leadership self-perceptions; indeed, whereas narcissism was significantly positively correlated with self-ratings of leadership, it was significantly negatively related to other ratings of leadership. Study 2 also revealed that narcissism was related to more favorable self-ratings of workplace deviance and contextual performance compared to other (supervisor) ratings. Finally, as hypothesized, narcissism was more strongly negatively related to contextual performance than to task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The performance of narcissists rises and falls with perceived opportunity for glory.

Narcissists consider themselves to be exceptional performers, but past research has found no consistent relationship between narcissism and performance. The present research tested the hypothesis that the relationship between subclinical narcissism and performance is moderated by a motivational factor: perceived self-enhancement opportunity. Four experiments were conducted, each using different manipulations of self-enhancement opportunity and different performance tasks. In each study, narcissists performed better when self-enhancement opportunity was high rather than low. In contrast, the performance of participants with low narcissism was relatively unaffected by self-enhancement opportunity. Other findings suggested that narcissists' self-enhancement motivation stems more from a desire to garner admiration than from a desire to self-evaluate. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender and sexual orientation differences in sexual response to sexual activities versus gender of actors in sexual films.

In this study, the authors investigated the hypothesis that women's sexual orientation and sexual responses in the laboratory correlate less highly than do men's because women respond primarily to the sexual activities performed by actors, whereas men respond primarily to the gender of the actors. The participants were 20 homosexual women, 27 heterosexual women, 17 homosexual men, and 27 heterosexual men. The videotaped stimuli included men and women engaging in same-sex intercourse, solitary masturbation, or nude exercise (no sexual activity); human male-female copulation; and animal (bonobo chimpanzee or Pan paniscus) copulation. Genital and subjective sexual arousal were continuously recorded. The genital responses of both sexes were weakest to nude exercise and strongest to intercourse. As predicted, however, actor gender was more important for men than for women, and the level of sexual activity was more important for women than for men. Consistent with this result, women responded genitally to bonobo copulation, whereas men did not. An unexpected result was that homosexual women responded more to nude female targets exercising and masturbating than to nude male targets, whereas heterosexual women responded about the same to both sexes at each activity level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Romantic involvement often reduces men's testosterone levels--but not always: The moderating role of extrapair sexual interest.

Testosterone (T) appears to facilitate what biologists refer to as mating effort--the investment of time and energy into same-sex competition and mate-seeking behavior. Multiple studies show that men who are romantically involved (i.e., are paired) have lower T than single men, which may be due to a facultative adjustment by men of T levels in response to lower demands for mating effort. The authors proceeded on the basis of the idea that men who retain interests in sexual opportunities with women other than a primary partner continue to dedicate more time and energy to mating effort when romantically paired, and so they predicted that the association between relationship status and T depends on men's extrapair sexual interests. Study 1 used the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory to measure extrapair sexual interests, whereas Study 2 used a broader measure to examine this interaction. Both studies found support for it. These results have implications for an understanding of the biosocial regulation of men's behavior in romantic relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood abuse and premilitary sexual assault in male navy recruits.

Three samples of male U.S- Navy recruits (N?=?7,850) were surveyed to determine whether a history of childhood physical abuse (CPA) or childhood sexual abuse (CSA) was predictive of premilitary rape of women and whether these relationships were mediated by alcohol problems and number of sex partners. In the 3 samples, 11.3%, 11.6%, and 9.9% of men reported committing premilitary rape. When demographic factors were controlled for, both CPA and CSA were independently and additively predictive of rape in each sample, with men who experienced both forms of abuse showing the highest risk of committing rape. Additional analyses revealed that alcohol problems and number of sex partners significantly mediated the relationship between childhood abuse (CPA and CSA) and rape perpetration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Shame, guilt, narcissism, and depression: Correlates and sex differences.

This study examines the relationships between shame, guilt, narcissism, and depression and the gender differences connected with these states. We hypothesize that shame would be a more powerful contributor to narcissism and depression than guilt and that women would score higher in shame, higher in depression, and lower in narcissism than men. The Adapted Shame/Guilt Scale, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale were administered to male and female undergraduates. The results show that shame plays an important role in both narcissism and depression, and that its role in depression is stronger than that of guilt. It was also concluded that men are more prone to narcissism and women to depression, and sex differences related to shame and guilt are linked to specific situations and self-images. Implications for treatment are also noted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Student acceptance and expectation of sexual assault.

46 male and 108 female students' (aged 18–33 yrs) attitudes regarding the acceptance and expectation of sexual assault were examined. Participants also completed M. Burt's (1980) Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) Scale. It is noted that acceptance of sexual aggression can lead to the exoneration of the perpetrator, whereas expectations of sexual aggression can lead to victim blaming. A feminist perspective of rape, with a focus on sexual socialization, indicates that rape myth beliefs deny or justify male sexual aggression against women. Therefore, it was predicted and found that high RMA participants expected and accepted more sexual assault than low RMA participants. Sexual assault was also expected more often than it was accepted, suggesting that these judgments are made separately. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of sexual arousal in sexually aggressive behavior: A meta-analysis.

Meta-analyses were performed on 9 studies of 434 Ss' penile responsivity to rape stimuli. The mean effect size for raw score data suggested that most sexual aggressors against women exhibit slightly more rape arousal than control or comparison Ss, whereas the mean effect size for rape index (rape arousal:consenting sexual arousal) data suggested a moderate between-groups difference. Rape index effect sizes in individual studies, however, were heterogeneous. The rape index appears sensitive to differences between sexually aggressive men and those who are not but is not sensitive to differences between men who sexually aggress against women vs other types of sexual aggressors. Also discussed are the needs for standardization and methodological and statistical improvements. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissism, affect, and gender: An empirical examination of Kernberg's and Kohut's theories of narcissism.

The activation of narcissistically affirming and disaffirming early memories were used to assess Kernberg's and Kohut's propositions regarding the roles of hostile, depressive, and positive affect in narcissistic character structures. After completing the Narcissistic Personality Inventory participants wrote either an early memory of pride, an early memory of shame, an unspecified memory, or no memory before completing the Projective Affect Scale and Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist. ANOVAs were conducted on participants ratings of hostile, depressive, and positive affect. The results indicated that for high relative to low narcissists, prideful and nonspecific memories resulted in less hostility, less pride, and more positive affect. Shameful memories resulted in higher projected hostility for high narcissists. Shame was negatively related to narcissism for males and positively related for females. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Pornography and sexual aggression.

Reviews the book, Pornography and sexual aggression by N. M. Malamuth and E. Donnerstein (1984). Malamuth and Donnerstein are well qualified to prepare a book on pornography by virtue of their extensive research on the topic over the last several years. In 1970, the United States Commission on Obscenity and Pornography concluded that there was no evidence that pornography had adverse effects on the incidence of violence toward women. It is clear from Malamuth and Donnerstein's chapters that they believe the evidence now points to radically different conclusions and that a book summarizing all of the evidence was warranted. In the opening chapters, Malamuth and Donnerstein present summaries of their respective lines of research. Malamuth has concentrated primarily on the effects of aggressive pornography on men's sexual arousal to portrayals of coercive sexual interactions, their self-reported likelihood to rape, their acceptance of rape myths, their acceptance of interpersonal violence, and the belief that women enjoy being raped. Donnerstein discusses the effects of aggressive pornography on men's aggression toward females in a laboratory situation. The evidence presented in the book points to three main conclusions: (a) portrayals of sex and violence in the media have important effects on at least some people; (b) it is possible to formulate general theories to account for most of the results presented; and (c) the results present serious problems for society. This book is an important contribution to the literature on the effects of pornography. Put together in one volume, the evidence on the effects of pornography, especially violent pornography, is very convincing. The theoretical aspects of why this should be so are much less convincing. But the authors have made a good beginning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining Masculinity Norms, Problem Drinking, and Athletic Involvement as Predictors of Sexual Aggression in College Men.

Male sexual aggression toward women is a serious social problem, particularly on college campuses. In this study, college men's sexually aggressive behavior and rape myth acceptance were examined using conformity to 11 masculine norms and 2 variables previously linked to sexual aggression: problem drinking and athletic involvement. Results indicated that men who use alcohol problematically and conform to specific masculine norms (i.e., having power over women, being a playboy, disdaining gay men, being dominant, being violent, and taking risks) tended to endorse rape myths and report sexually aggressive behavior. Additionally, men who reported higher levels of problematic alcohol use and risk taking were more likely to report sexually aggressive behavior without endorsing rape myths. Implications and recommendations are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Narcissism, shame, masochism, and object relations: An exploratory correlational study.

A correlational study with 701 students examined measures of narcissism, shame, masochism, object relations, and social desirability. Moderate correlations were found for narcissism, shame, object relations, and masochism. Narcissism divided into 2 different styles, a "phallic," grandiose style and a narcissistically vulnerable style. Shame primarily accounted for the differences in these styles, correlating negatively with the grandiose style, positively with the more vulnerable style. The narcissistically vulnerable style correlated more with the core pathology measures; that is, object relations and masochism. Social desirability did not mediate the relationship between grandiose narcissism and shame. Masochism was a better predictor of shame in women than was narcissism whereas there was little difference between masochism and narcissism for predicting shame in men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The sexual harassment of uppity women.

In 3 studies, the author tested 2 competing views of sexual harassment: (a) It is motivated primarily by sexual desire and, therefore, is directed at women who meet feminine ideals, and (b) it is motivated primarily by a desire to punish gender-role deviants and, therefore, is directed at women who violate feminine ideals. Study 1 included male and female college students (N = 175) and showed that women with relatively masculine personalities (e.g., assertive, dominant, and independent) experienced the most sexual harassment. Study 2 (N = 134) showed that this effect was not because women with relatively masculine personalities were more likely than others to negatively evaluate potentially harassing scenarios. Study 3 included male and female employees at 5 organizations (N = 238) and showed that women in male-dominated organizations were harassed more than women in female-dominated organizations, and that women in male-dominated organizations who had relatively masculine personalities were sexually harassed the most. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conquest by force: A narcissistic reactance theory of rape and sexual coercion.

Men's efforts to force women to engage in unwanted sexual activity can be explained by a combination of reactance theory and narcissism. Reactance theory suggests that deprivation of specific sexual options will cause men to desire them more, to try to reclaim them by forcing sex and by aggressing against the woman who has refused them, and assorted findings support this analysis. Narcissism is proposed to moderate the link, especially because coercion is relatively rare in response to sexual refusals. Evidence about sexually coercive men supports the narcissism hypothesis, such as by showing self-serving cognitive distortions, an excessive concern with being admired, an inflated sense of entitlement, selectively low empathy, and a broadly exploitative approach to heterosexual relations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Date rape and sexual aggression in dating situations: Incidence and risk factors.

In this study we assessed the incidence of and the risk factors for date rape and other forms of male-against-female sexual aggression (SA) in dating situations. Over the course of two semesters, 341 women and 294 men anonymously completed questionnaires. They were asked to describe their most recent date (to provide normative data on dating) and their worst experience with SA during a date, if applicable. We assessed possible risk factors in three ways: (a) For people who had been involved in SA, we compared the characteristics of their SA dates and their recent dates; anything occurring more often on SA dates than on recent dates might be a risk factor. (b) We compared the most recent dates of people who had versus had not experienced SA to identify differences in their date habits. (c) We compared attitudes of people who had versus had not been involved in SA. Results showed that 77.6% of the women and 57.3% of the men had been involved in some form of SA; 14.7% of the women and 7.1% of the men had been involved in unwanted sexual intercourse. Variables that appear to be risk factors are the man's initiating the date, paying all the expenses, and driving; miscommunication about sex; heavy alcohol or drug use; "parking"; and men's acceptance of traditional sex roles, interpersonal violence, adversarial attitudes about relationships, and rape myths. The length of time that dating partners have known each other seems unrelated to the risk of SA. Implications for rape-prevention programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual robbery: The missing concept in the search for an appropriate legal metaphor for sexual aggression.

Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the early years of the next decade, feminists provided compelling evidence that under the existing rape laws a woman's sexuality was treated as "property" belonging to a man. They emphasized that rape was an aggressive invasion of a person's physical integrity and in 1983 rape was redefined in the Criminal Code as a form of assault. The use of physical assault as a metaphor had the effect of shifting the emphasis of the essence of sexual aggression away from a woman's sexuality as property to the coercive nature of the act. A decade later, the evidence suggests this was an ill-conceived change. Redefining rape as a sexual assault, and measuring the severity of the crime by the level of physical violence, has established the legal and social expectations that the woman must be injured to be a "legitimate" victim. This paper advances the proposition that treating a woman's sexuality as property, as did the old rape law, was correct, and that a more appropriate metaphor is robbery. The metaphor of robbery treats a woman's sexuality as property, but achieves reform by shifting ownership from the domain of a male to the woman herself. Robbery implies the use or threat of force, but, unlike assault, does not require harm to the victim as evidence of the robbery. The theoretical proposition that conceptualizing the essence of sexual aggression as "assault" has failed and that "robbery" may be more appropriate was evaluated by examined every case of sexual assault (n=50), physical assault (n=158) and robbery (n=82) that appeared before the Halifax Law Courts between 1983 and 1988. This legal profile of sexual assault was compared to the alternative profile created by examining every case (n=593) of sexual assault reported to the local sexual assault service during the same time period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on male perception of female sexual arousal in a date rape analog.

The impact of alcohol and alcohol expectancies on men's perception of female sexual arousal and men's ability to discriminate accurately female sexual intentions in a dating situation was examined. In a 2 (alcohol)?×?2 (expectancy) balanced placebo design, men were exposed to an audiotape of a date rape and asked to signal when the man should stop making sexual advances. On 4 occasions during the vignette, participants rated how sexually aroused the woman on the tape was at that moment. Relative to controls, participants who consumed alcohol or expected to consume alcohol took significantly longer to identify the inappropriateness of the man's sexual behavior toward his date. Similarly, alcohol participants also rated the woman's sexual arousal level significantly higher at the first 2 refusals. Implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)