Table 3. Studies of the DBS and Narcissistic Personality Traits.
| Author and Year | Sample | Gender | Age | DBS Measure | Narcissism Measure | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson, John & Keltner (2010) | 263 undergraduates | Both | College aged | Pow | NPI | Perceptions of power correlated with narcissism, r =.46. |
| Bradlee & Emmons (1992) | 147 undergraduates | 40% male | College aged | PRF Do | NPI | Dominance motivation correlated with all seven factors of the NPI, but most strongly with Authority, r =.75, and Entitlement, r =.65. |
| Bushman & Baumeister (1988) | Undergraduates Study 1 n =260 Study 2 n =280 |
50% male in both samples | College aged | Study 1: Willingness to engage in aggression (playing loud noise bursts) in response to ego threat (negative feedback) Study 2: Aggressive responses and perceived threat in response to feedback | NPI | Narcissism correlated with level of aggressiveness shown to a confederate who had given negative feedback, r =.37, but this aggression did not generalize to other confederates. Narcissism correlated with higher ratings of threat in response to negative feedback, r =.33. |
| *Cale & Lilienfeld (2006) | 98 inmates | Male | 18-59; M =23.7 | PETQ designed to capture angry response to threats to power | NPI | Reactivity to power threats correlated with narcissism, r =.41. |
| Emmons (1984), Study 2 | 127 undergraduates | 51% male | College aged | EPPS Need for Dominance, and for 45 persons, the 16 PF | NPI | Dominance motivation (EPPS) and dominance behavior (16 PF) correlated with narcissism (NPI total and all factor scores). |
| *Fulford et al. (2008) | 233 undergraduates | Both | College aged | WASSUP Subscales for Popular Fame and Wealth | NPI | Narcissism correlated with higher lifetime ambitions related to extrinsic recognition. |
| Gurtman (1992) | 279 undergraduates | 34% male | College aged | IIP | NPI | In multivariate analyses, dominant behavior correlated with narcissism. |
| *Harder & Lewis (1987) | 120 undergraduates | Both | Single item rating of shame-proneness (and other shame measures with poor psychometric characteristics) | NPI | Lower shame-proneness correlated with higher narcissism, r =-.37. | |
| *Harder & Zalma (1990) | 63 undergraduates | 59% male | M =18.46 | ASGS Shame, PFQ-2 Shame | NPI | ASGS Shame, but not PFQ-2 Shame, correlated negatively with narcissism, r =- .48. |
| Morf & Rhodewalt (1993) | 216 undergraduates | Male | College aged | Participants received feedback that they were less socially sensitive than another person (a competitor), and then were given a chance to evaluate that person. They then rated their competitor. | NPI | Narcissism correlated with more negative ratings of a competitor, p < .001. |
| Oliver & John (1994) | 102 MBA students | Both | Median =27 | Self, peer, and staff ratings after participants interacted in small groups on a decision-making task. Inflated self-evaluations were indexed by comparing self-evaluations to peer and staff ratings. | Composite measure based on staff ratings of DSM-III-R criteria, NPI, CPI Narcissism scale, and CAQ Narcissism ratings | Narcissism correlated with inflated self-evaluations compared to staff or peer ratings, r =.48. |
| Patrick et al. (2002) | 340 undergraduates | 27% male | College aged | MPQ SPS | NPI | Dominance motivation correlated with narcissism, r=.60. |
| Paulhus (1998) | 124 undergraduates | Both | College aged | Peer dominance ratings on items such as “tends to brag,” arrogant, and confident Discrepancy scores to assess overly positive ratings of self compared to peer ratings after seven 20-minute meetings |
NPI | NPI scores correlated with higher peer ratings of several dominant behaviors, and with overly positive self ratings compared to peer ratings, r =.40. Overly positive self-evaluations (self-peer discrepancy scores) predicted more negative peer evaluations over time. |
| Pincus et al. (2009) studies 3 and 4 | Study 3: 399 undergraduates Study 4: 26 outpatients |
Study 3: 50% male Study 4: 23% male |
College aged | Study 3: IIP and the ESS Study 4: IIP |
PNI NPI |
Across studies, NPI scores correlated with more dominant behavior (IIP) and lower shame-proneness (ESS). PNI scores were not correlated with dominant behavior and were correlated with higher shame-proneness. |
| Raskin & Terry (1988) | Undergraduates, Study 1 n =384 Study 2 n =57 Study 3 n =128 |
Both | College aged | Study 1 and 3: ICL Study 2: Staff ratings after two days of tasks and interactions | NPI | Narcissism correlated with self-rated ICL Managerial/Autocratic traits, rs =.57 -.71, and with staff ratings of dominant behavior, r =.71. |
| Raskin et al. (1991) | Undergraduates Sample 1 n =84 Sample 2 n =57 Sample 3 n =300 |
Both | 18-33 | Sample 1: ICL Sample 2: CPI Do Sample 3: PRF Do |
NPI | Across samples, path analyses suggested that dominant motivation (CPI Do PRF Do) and behavior (ICL Managerial/Autocratic traits) was centrally related to narcissism. |
| Rodebaugh et al. (2010) | 990 college freshman who had lived together on a dormitory floor for three months | 28.5% male | M =18.62 | IIP rated by self and peers | MAPP Narcissistic Personality Disorder | In peer and self ratings, dominant behavior (IIP) correlated with narcissism (NPI). This correlation was more pronounced in peer ratings, r =.75, than in self ratings, r =.55. |
| Tracy et al. (2009) | 2327 undergraduates | 35% male | College aged | AHPS | NPI | Narcissism correlated negatively with Authentic Pride, r=-.34, and positively with Hubristic Pride, r=.22. |
| *Wright et al. (1989) | 100 undergraduates | 38% male | College aged | ASGS Shame | NPI | Narcissism correlated with lower shame (ASGS), r =-.21. |
Note. 16 PF =Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (Cattell, Eber, & Tatsouka, 1970); AHPS =Authentic and Hubristic Pride Scales; ASGS =Adapted Shame and Guilt Scale; CAQ =California Adult Q-Set (Block, 1978); CPI Do =California Psychological Inventory Dominance Scale; EPPS =Edwards Personal Preference Schedule; ESS =Experience of Shame Scale (Andrews, Qian, & Valentine, 2002); ICL =Interpersonal Checklist (Leary, 1957); IIP =Inventory of Interpersonal Problems; MAPP =Multisource Assessment of Personality Pathology (Thomas, 2003); NPI =Narcissistic Personality Inventory; PETQ =Perceived Ego Threat Questionnaire; PFQ-2 =Personal Feelings Questionnaire-Revised; PNI =Pathological Narcissism Inventory (Pincus et al., 2009); Pow =Sense of Power Scale; PRF Do =Personality Research Form Dominance Scale; WASSUP =Willingly Approached Set of Statistically Unlikely Pursuits (Johnson & Carver, 2006).
*
Findings from this study are described in another table.