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Vulnerable Narcissism Modulates Early Neural Processing of Verbal Violence in Women: An ERP Study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study examined how narcissistic traits influence women's cognitive processing of verbal violence. Using a lexical decision task, an emotional Stroop task, and event-related potentials, we analyzed neural responses to violent versus neutral words in 70 women. Behaviorally, while narcissism showed no significant impact on performance in the Lexical Decision Task, a specific interference effect emerged in the emotional Stroop task, where higher narcissistic vulnerability predicted reduced accuracy for violent words relative to neutral ones. Notably, ERP results revealed a consistent pattern across both tasks: higher PNI total scores significantly predicted reduced amplitudes of early components, specifically the N170 and P2. Furthermore, in the emotional Stroop task, the vulnerability dimension emerged as a significant predictor of reduced EPN and P2 amplitudes. These findings suggest that when exposed to verbal violence, narcissistic women exhibit attenuated early evaluation and attentional allocation. This reflects a preemptive cognitive avoidance strategy used to protect the self-concept, driven primarily by a general narcissistic defensive pattern that manifests most acutely in vulnerable traits under high-interference conditions.

Source: Behavioral Sciences

DOI: 10.3390/bs16020270

Authors: Qianglong Wang, Ping Song, Yongxiang Hu, Rongbao Li

Institutions: Fujian Normal University, Xinjiang Normal University, Criminal Investigation Police University of China, Fujian Polytechnic Normal University

Language: English

Topic: Personality Traits and Psychology

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,654