Does Making Narcissists Feel Bad Make Them Better People?

Abstract

Narcissism is characterized by an inflated sense of importance, lack of empathy for other people, and excessive need for admiration or special treatment. In this study, we aimed to find out if ruminating on an unpleasant personal experience influenced how people defensively seek out information about themselves, and whether narcissistic tendencies moderate this link. Before visiting out lab, participants completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988). Then, during a virtual laboratory visit on Zoom, participants engaged in our novel Emotional Re-Experiencing Task (ERET). Preliminary results indicate that after controlling for general mood, when participant scoring high on narcissism were asked to ruminate about hurting others, they engage in significantly less defensive feedback seeking memories (p < .05). However, when participants scoring high on narcissism were asked to distance themselves from thinking about hurting another person, they became significant more defensive (p < .05).