The "Why" and "How" of Narcissism: A Process Model of Narcissistic Status Pursuit

Abstract

We propose a self-regulation model of grandiose narcissism. This model illustrates an interconnected set of processes through which narcissists (i.e., individuals with relatively high levels of grandiose narcissism) pursue social status in their moment-by-moment transactions with their environments. The model shows that narcissists select situations that afford status. Narcissists vigilantly attend to cues related to the status they and others have in these situations and, on the basis of these perceived cues, appraise whether they can elevate their status or reduce the status of others. Narcissists engage in self-promotion (admiration pathway) or other-derogation (rivalry pathway) in accordance with these appraisals. Each pathway has unique consequences for how narcissists are perceived by others, thus shaping their social status over time. The model demonstrates how narcissism manifests itself as a stable and consistent cluster of behaviors in pursuit of social status and how it develops and maintains itself over time. More broadly, the model might offer useful insights for future process models of other personality traits.

Keywords: motivation; narcissism; self-regulation; social status.

Fig. 1.

Hypothesized self-regulation model of narcissistic status pursuit. Once narcissists select or otherwise encounter a status-relevant situation, they are more likely to attend to cues that indicate whether the environment facilitates or hinders status pursuit. Perceived facilitation of status pursuit might activate appraisals about the heightened utility of self-promoting behaviors in granting status, leading to the enactment of self-promoting behaviors (admiration pathway). By contrast, perceived hindrance of status pursuit might activate appraisals about the heightened utility of other-derogating behaviors in granting status, leading to the enactment of other-derogating behaviors (rivalry pathway). Self-promoting and other-derogating behaviors might in turn elicit status-relevant reactions from others, thus triggering the processes anew.