Narcissistic personality features and contingencies of self-worth: What are the foundations of narcissistic self-esteem?

ABSTRACT Although different aspects of narcissism share certain similarities, it is believed that they may differ with regard to the domains upon which feelings of self-worth are based. To explore this possibility, the present research examined the associations that narcissistic personality features had with domain-specific contingencies of self-worth. Across five studies (N = 846/751/1,055/471/257), the assertive/extraverted, antagonistic/disagreeable, and vulnerable/neurotic aspects of narcissism had similar associations with the competition-based contingency. However, these aspects of narcissism diverged in their associations with other contingencies of self-worth. The pattern that emerged for vulnerable/neurotic narcissism suggested that it was characterized by a broad desire to please others in order to receive external validation. In contrast, the results for the assertive/extraverted and antagonistic/disagreeable aspects of narcissism were more complex and suggested that these aspects of narcissism were characterized by the desire to demonstrate superiority over others. Communal narcissism was included in Study 5 and its pattern of associations with the contingencies of self-worth was similar to the results for assertive/extraverted narcissism. These results demonstrate the similarities and important differences between narcissistic personality features with regard to contingencies of self-worth. Discussion will focus on the implications of these results for understanding the foundations of narcissistic self-esteem.