Age and gender differences in narcissism: A comprehensive study across eight measures and over 250,000 participants

Age and gender differences in narcissism have been studied often. However, considering the rich history of narcissism research accompanied by its diverging conceptualizations, little is known about age and gender differences across various narcissism measures. The present study investigated age and gender differences and their interactions across eight widely used narcissism instruments (i.e., Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, Dirty Dozen, Psychological Entitlement Scale, Narcissistic Personality Disorder Symptoms from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Version IV, Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire-Short Form, Single-Item Narcissism Scale, and brief version of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory). The findings of Study 1 (N = 5,736) revealed heterogeneity in how strongly the measures are correlated. Some instruments loaded clearly on one of the three factors proposed by previous research (i.e., Neuroticism, Extraversion, Antagonism), while others cross-loaded across factors and in distinct ways. Cross-sectional analyses using each measure and meta-analytic results across all measures (Study 2) with a total sample of 270,029 participants suggest consistent linear age effects (random effects meta-analytic effect of r = -.104), with narcissism being highest in young adulthood. Consistent gender differences also emerged (random effects meta-analytic effect was -.079), such that men scored higher in narcissism than women. Quadratic age effects and Age × Gender effects were generally very small and inconsistent. We conclude that despite the various conceptualizations of narcissism, age and gender differences are generalizable across the eight measures used in the present study. However, their size varied based on the instrument used. We discuss the sources of this heterogeneity and the potential mechanisms for age and gender differences

Is facet-level Emotional Stability useful in predicting job performance? A meta-analytic investigation of facet-level Emotional Stability

There has been much debate about the appropriate level of specificity at which to measure personality, but no consensus has been reached regarding the usefulness of facet-level Emotional Stability in predicting job performance. Research in this area has been impeded by the lack of an agreed upon facet structure for Emotional Stability. In the current article, the authors used a three facet-structure for Emotional Stability (Well-Being, No Anxiety, and Even Temperedness) to conduct a series of meta-analyses to determine if facet-level Emotional Stability is useful in predicting different types of job performance (overall performance, task performance, contextual performance, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB)). It was found that facet-level Emotional Stability explained additional variance beyond global Emotional Stability for task performance and CWB. The moderating effects of job complexity were also examined

Narcissism and leadership: a meta-analysis of linear and nonlinear relationships

Past empirical studies relating Narcissism to leadership have offered mixed results. The present study meta-analytically integrates prior research findings to make four contributions to theory on Narcissism and leadership, by: (a) distinguishing between leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness, to reveal that Narcissism displays a positive relationship with leadership emergence, but no relationship with leadership effectiveness, (b) showing Narcissism’s positive effect on leadership emergence can be explained by leader Extraversion, (c) demonstrating that self-reported leadership effectiveness ratings are positively related to Narcissism, whereas observer-reported leadership effectiveness ratings (e.g., supervisor-report, subordinate-report, and peer-report) are not related to Narcissism, and (d) illustrating that the nil linear relationship between Narcissism and leadership effectiveness masks an underlying curvilinear trend, advancing the idea that there exists an optimal, mid-range level of leader Narcissism

Narcissism and Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Review of Linear and Nonlinear Relationships

Past empirical studies relating narcissism to leadership have offered mixed results. This study integrates prior research findings via meta-analysis to make four contributions to theory on narcissism and leadership, by (a) distinguishing between leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness, to reveal that narcissism displays a positive relationship with leadership emergence, but no relationship with leadership effectiveness; (b) showing narcissism’s positive effect on leadership emergence can be explained by leader extraversion; (c) demonstrating that whereas observer-reported leadership effectiveness ratings (e.g., supervisor-report, subordinate-report, and peer-report) are not related to narcissism, self-reported leadership effectiveness ratings are positively related to narcissism; and (d) illustrating that the nil linear relationship between narcissism and leadership effectiveness masks an underlying curvilinear trend, advancing the idea that there exists an optimal, midrange level of leader narcissism

Berkeley Longitudinal Study: Narcissism and Life Events

Preregistration of hypotheses for the paper "You’re Still so Vain; Changes in Narcissism from Young Adulthood to Middle Age

You’re Still so Vain; Changes in Narcissism from Young Adulthood to Middle Age

To date, there have been no long-term longitudinal studies of continuity and change in narcissism. This study investigated rank-order consistency and mean-level changes in overall narcissism and three of its facets (leadership, vanity, entitlement) over a 23-year period spanning young adulthood (Mage=18; N = 486) to midlife (Mage=41; N = 237). We also investigated whether life experiences predicted changes in narcissism from young adulthood to midlife, and whether young adult narcissism predicted life experiences assessed in midlife. Narcissism and its facets showed strong rank-order consistency from age 18 to 41, with latent correlations ranging from .61 to .85. We found mean-level decreases in overall narcissism (d = –0.79) and all three facets, namely leadership (d = –0.67), vanity (d = –0.46), and entitlement (d = –0.82). Participants who were in supervisory positions showed smaller decreases in leadership, and participants who experienced more unstable relationships and who were physically healthier showed smaller decreases in vanity from young adulthood to middle age. Analyses of the long-term correlates of narcissism showed that young adults with higher narcissism and leadership levels were more likely to be in supervisory positions in middle age. Young adults with higher vanity levels had fewer children and were more likely to divorce by middle age. Together, the findings suggest that people tend to become less narcissistic from young adulthood to middle age, and the magnitude of this decline is related to the particular career and family pathways a person pursues during this stage of life

Does openness to experience matter in love and work? Domain, facet, and developmental evidence from a 24-year longitudinal study

Objective: Although numerous studies have demonstrated that personality traits predict important love and work outcomes, there is mixed evidence for the relevance of openness to experience to love and work. We sought to better understand the long-term consequences of openness in these two domains. Method: We examined associations between openness and 51 love and work outcomes using data from a 24-year longitudinal study of UC Berkeley students (N=497) followed from the beginning of college into midlife. Using latent growth curve modeling, we examined whether openness levels and change in openness from college to midlife were associated with downstream love and work outcomes Additionally, we tested whether three facets of openness (intellectual interests, aesthetic interests, and unconventionality) had differential associations with outcomes. Results: Although stable levels of openness predicted few work or love outcomes, individual differences in openness change were associated with delayed romantic commitment and some career outcomes. In addition, there were significant differences among facets of openness: intellectual interests were highly associated with educational outcomes, whereas aesthetic interests and unconventionality predicted non-traditional career motivations. Conclusions: We situate these results in past research on real-world consequences of personality traits and discuss implications for theory and future research

Does Openness to Experience matter in love and work? Domain, facet, and developmental evidence from a 24-year longitudinal study

OBJECTIVE: Although numerous studies have demonstrated that personality traits predict important love and work outcomes, there is mixed evidence for the relevance of Openness to Experience to love and work. We sought to better understand the long-term consequences of Openness in these two domains. METHOD: We examined the associations between Openness and 51 love and work outcomes using data from a 24-year longitudinal study of UC Berkeley students (N = 497) followed from the beginning of college into midlife. Using latent growth curve modeling, we examined whether Openness levels and change in Openness from college to midlife were associated with downstream love and work outcomes. Additionally, we tested whether three facets of Openness (intellectual interests, aesthetic interests, and unconventionality) had differential associations with outcomes. RESULTS: Although stable levels of Openness predicted few work or love outcomes, individual differences in Openness change were associated with delayed romantic commitment and some career outcomes. In addition, there were significant differences among facets of Openness: intellectual interests were highly associated with educational outcomes, whereas aesthetic interests and unconventionality predicted nontraditional career motivations. CONCLUSIONS: We situate these results in past research on real-world consequences of personality traits and discuss implications for theory and future research

Stability and change in personality traits and major life goals from college to midlife

The association between personality traits and motivational units, such as life goals, has been a longstanding interest of personality scientists. However, little research has investigated the longitudinal associations between traits and life goals beyond young adulthood. In the present study (N=251) we examined the rank-order stability of, and mean-level changes in, the Big Five and major life goals (Aesthetic, Economic, Family/Relationship, Hedonistic, Political, Religious, Social) from college (age 18) to midlife (age 40), as well as their co-development. Findings showed that personality traits and major life goals were both moderately-to-highly stable over 20 years. On average, there were mean-level increases in the Big Five and mean-level decreases in life goals over time. Patterns of co-development suggest people formulate goals consistent with their personality traits, and conversely, investing in goal-relevant contexts is associated with trait change. We discuss the results in light of Social Investment Theory and the developmental regulation literature