Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012;7(1):e30858.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0030858. Epub 2012 Jan 23.

Expensive egos: narcissistic males have higher cortisol

David A Reinhard  1 , Sara H Konrath, William D Lopez, Heather G Cameron
Affiliations

Expensive egos: narcissistic males have higher cortisol

David A Reinhard et al. PLoS One. 2012.

Erratum in

  • PLoS One. 2012;7(7). doi:10.1371/annotation/1c60eca3-794f-4a09-8a82-e43ed3cc2009

Abstract

Background: Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, low empathy, and entitlement. There has been limited research regarding the hormonal correlates of narcissism, despite the potential health implications. This study examined the role of participant narcissism and sex on basal cortisol concentrations in an undergraduate population.

Methods and findings: Participants were 106 undergraduate students (79 females, 27 males, mean age 20.1 years) from one Midwestern and one Southwestern American university. Narcissism was assessed using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and basal cortisol concentrations were collected from saliva samples in a laboratory setting. Regression analyses examined the effect of narcissism and sex on cortisol (log). There were no sex differences in basal cortisol, F(1,97) = .20, p = .65, and narcissism scores, F(1,97) = .00, p = .99. Stepwise linear regression models of sex and narcissism and their interaction predicting cortisol concentrations showed no main effects when including covariates, but a significant interaction, β = .27, p = .04. Narcissism was not related to cortisol in females, but significantly predicted cortisol in males. Examining the effect of unhealthy versus healthy narcissism on cortisol found that unhealthy narcissism was marginally related to cortisol in females, β = .27, p = .06, but significantly predicted higher basal cortisol in males, β = .72, p = .01, even when controlling for potential confounds. No relationship was found between sex, narcissism, or their interaction on self-reported stress.

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the HPA axis is chronically activated in males with unhealthy narcissism. This constant activation of the HPA axis may have important health implications.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Raw cortisol concentrations of men and women who were low (−1 SD) and high (+1 SD) in narcissism (standard errors in parentheses).
Figure 2
Figure 2. Scatterplot depicting the relationship between cortisol concentrations (log) and (a) overall narcissism, and (b) unhealthy narcissism, with overlaid regression lines.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Miller JD, Campbell WK. Comparing clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism. J Pers. 2008;76(3):449–476. - PubMed
    1. Raskin R, Shaw R. Narcissism and the use of personal pronouns. J Pers. 1988;56(2):393–404. - PubMed
    1. Emmons RA. Narcissism: Theory and measurement. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1987;52(1):11–17. - PubMed
    1. Emmons RA. Factor analysis and construct validity of the narcissistic personality inventory. J Pers Assess. 1984;48(3):291–300. - PubMed
    1. Gabriel MT, Critelli JW, Ee JS. Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of intelligence and attractiveness. J Pers. 1994;62(1):143–155.

Publication types