Blind Spots in Personality Traits and Interpersonal Problems: The Roles of Narcissism and Self-esteem
Year: 2022
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Across clinical theory, clinical diagnostic criteria, and social/personality psychological research, narcissism has been conceptualized as having pathological presentations as well as normative, adaptive presentations that align more closely with self-esteem. Previous research has demonstrated that narcissistic individuals have some awareness about how others view them. However, much of this research has focused exclusively on grandiose and normative presentations of narcissism. Given these various accounts of narcissism and the general findings of meta-accuracy research focusing on its grandiose presentation, I sought to examine how pathological narcissism and both of its grandiose and vulnerable dimensions are related to blind spots in self-knowledge compared to more normative and adaptive presentations of narcissism. Moreover, given the relationship between normative narcissism and self-esteem, I also sought to examine how narcissism and its various presentations are related to blind spots in self-knowledge in comparison to self-esteem. In the first study, I examined how narcissism and self-esteem moderate meta-accuracy for personality traits and interpersonal problems in a university sample. In the second study, I sought to replicate the first study in an adult community sample while also controlling for depressive symptoms and cognitions which are often comorbid in vulnerable narcissism. For personality traits, people with higher self-esteem were more accurate in their understanding of their reputations, tended to assume that other people see them as more normative, and tended to assume that they were more transparent with others. Conversely, people higher in pathological narcissism and its vulnerable dimension were less accurate in their understanding of their reputation and tended to assume that others saw them as less normative. Normative and grandiose narcissism were inconsistently associated with bright spots and blind spots in people’s self-knowledge. For interpersonal problems, people higher in vulnerable narcissism tended to assume that they were less transparent with others, especially when controlling for depression symptoms and dysfunctional attitudes. Overall, both self-esteem and narcissism were inconsistently associated with bright spots and blind spots in people’s reputations about their interpersonal problems. These findings suggest that a more authentic positive self-image is conducive for understanding of one’s reputation relative to a more pathological positive self-image.
Source: TSpace (University of Toronto)
Author: Quitasol, Matthew
Institution: University of Toronto
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W6989624147