Exploring the Relationship Between Covert Narcissism and Amorality: The Mediating Influences of Self-efficacy and Psychological Entitlement

Abstract

Narcissism, as a personality construct, has attracted attention from countless scholars across multiple disciplines. It has been suggested that two forms of narcissism exist (Wink, 1991) and research has supported the delineation of overt (grandiose) and covert (hypersensitive) narcissism (Dickinson & Pincus, 2003; Gabbard, 2009; Luchner, Houston, Walker, & Houston, 2011). To date, most of the research devoted to narcissism has been focused on the overt rather than the covert form (Cain, Pincus, & Ansell, 2008). Further, researchers propose that a decreased level of meaningful relational interactions among narcissists may result in a higher propensity for amoral behaviors. Thus, to extend the research the current study explores the influence of several mediating variables on the relationship between covert narcissism and amorality. The current study found a negative relationship between covert narcissism and self-efficacy as well as an anticipated positive relationship between covert narcissism and psychological entitlement. It was also observed that self-efficacy and psychological entitlement did partially mediate the relationship between covert narcissism and higher amorality, supporting the study’s predictions.