Modern models of narcissism as a personality trait in foreign psychology

Psychology

Authors

  • Ekaterina V. Nicheporuk Perm State University, 15, Bukirev st., Perm, 614068, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2025-4-601-615

Keywords:

grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, narcissistic traits, structural models of narcissism, process models of narcissism, personality traits

Abstract

Foreign studies of narcissism are aimed at examining more specific features of narcissism — grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. In Russian science, studies on grandiose and vulnerable narcissism are not fully presented, which creates a conceptual gap between the two scientific communities in the modern understanding of the trait of narcissism, its structure and manifestation mechanism. Thus, there is a need to present and discuss modern foreign models of narcissistic traits. The paper provides a review of modern scientific literature on grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, describes characteristics of these types of narcissism, emphasizing their similarities and differences. The author analyzes the structural models of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism (the three-factor model of narcissism, the narcissism spectrum model, the hierarchical model of narcissism, and the circular model of narcissistic traits) and process models of narcissism (the self-regulation model of narcissism, the self-determination theory adapted to the study of narcissism, the narcissistic status-seeking model, and the hierometer theory). As a result of the analysis, the three-factor model of narcissism by J.D. Miller as well as the self-determination theory of E.L. Deci and R.M. Ryan adapted to the study of narcissism in the works of C. Sedikides were identified as the most suitable for integration into Russian studies of narcissistic traits. The paper provides definitions of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism as more specific manifestations of the personality trait of narcissism, and also outlines the prospects for further psychological research on narcissistic traits in the psychology of personality and individual differences, clinical psychology, psychodiagnostics, and practical psychology.

Author Biography

Ekaterina V. Nicheporuk, Perm State University, 15, Bukirev st., Perm, 614068, Russia

Postgraduate Student of the Department of General and Clinical Psychology

References

Кернберг О.Ф. Тяжелые личностные расстройства / пер. с англ. М.И. Завалова. М.: Класс, 2000. 464 с.

Клепикова Н.М. Нарциссизм как объект дифференциальной психометрики // Вестник Новосибирского государственного педагогического университета. 2013. Т. 3, № 4. С. 5–18. URL: http://sciforedu.ru/article/345 (дата обращения: 07.09.2022).

Корниенко Д.С., Вязовкина В.К., Горностаев И.С. Адаптация и психометрическая проверка методики «Короткий опросник темной тетрады» // Психологический журнал. 2022. Т. 43, № 5. С. 87–98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31857/s020595920022787-1

Красавцева Ю.В., Корнилова Т.В. Нарциссизм как «светлая» черта в Темной триаде // Консультативная психология и психотерапия. 2019. Т. 27, № 4. С. 65–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2019270405

Лутова Н.Б., Макаревич О.В., Вид В.Д., Новикова К.Е., Сорокин М.Ю. Внутренняя стигма и нарциссическая регуляция больных эндогенными психозами // Российский психологический журнал. 2021. Т. 18, № 3. С. 18–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21702/rpj.2021.3.2

Нестерова С.Б. Стандартизация и адаптация зарубежной методики «Шкала сензитивного нарциссизма» Х.М. Хендин и Дж.М. Чик (HSNS) // Сибирский педагогический журнал. 2017. № 1. С. 117–123.

Райан Р.М., Деси Э.Л. Теория самодетерминации и поддержка внутренней мотивации, социальное развитие и благополучие / пер. с англ. Н.А. Вороновой // Вестник Барнаульского государственного педагогического университета. 2003. Вып. 3–1. С. 97–111.

Соколов С.Е. Ценностные корреляты нарциссических проявлений личности: в пределах психической нормы: дис. … канд. психол. наук. Хабаровск, 2009. 236 с.

Терехин А.С. Нарциссическое расстройство личности // Актуальные исследования. 2022. № 36(115). С. 69–71. URL: https://apni.ru/article/4566-nartsissicheskoe-rasstrojstvo-lichnosti (дата обращения: 07.07.2025).

Crowe M.L., Lynam D.R., Campbell W.K., Miller J.D. Exploring the structure of narcissism: toward an integrated solution // Journal of Personality. 2019. Vol. 87, iss. 6. P. 1151–1169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12464

Deci E.L., Ryan R.M. Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health // Canadian Psychology. 2008. Vol. 49, no. 3. P. 182–185. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801

Gabriel M.T., Critelli J.W., Ee J.S. Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of intelligence and attractiveness // Journal of Personality. 1994. Vol. 62, iss. 1. P. 143–155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00798.x

Grapsas S., Brummelman E., Back M.D., Denissen J.J.A. The «why» and «how» of narcissism: A process model of narcissistic status pursuit // Perspectives on Psychological Science. 2020. Vol. 15, iss. 1. P. 150–172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619873350

Hendin H.M., Cheek J.M. Assessing hypersensitive narcissism: A reexamination of Murray’s narcism scale // Journal of Research in Personality. 1997. Vol. 31, iss. 4. P. 588–599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1997.2204

Krizan Z., Herlache A.D. The narcissism spectrum model: A synthetic view of narcissistic personality // Personality and Social Psychology Review. 2017. Vol. 22, iss. 1. P. 3–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868316685018

Levy K.N., Ellison W.D., Reynoso J.S. A historical review of narcissism and narcissistic personality // The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments / ed. by W.K. Campbell, J.D. Miller. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. P. 3–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118093108.ch1

Mahadevan N., Gregg A.P., Sedikides C., Waal-Andrews W.G. de. Winners, losers, insiders, and outsiders: Comparing hierometer and sociometer theories of self-regard // Frontiers in Psychology. 2016. Vol. 7. URL: https://public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00334/pdf (accessed: 12.05.2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00334

Mahadevan N., Jordan Ch. Desperately seeking status: How desires for, and perceived attainment of, status and inclusion relate to grandiose and vulnerable narcissism // Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2022. Vol. 48, iss. 5. P. 704–717. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211021189

Miller J.D., Back M.D., Lynam D.R., Wright A.G.C. Narcissism today: what we know and what we need to learn // Current Directions in Psychological Science. 2021. Vol. 30, iss. 6. P. 519–525. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214211044109

Miller J.D., Gentile B., Carter N.T., Crowe M., Hoffman B.J., Campbell W.K. A comparison of the nomological networks associated with forced-choice and likert formats of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory // Journal of Personality Assessment. 2018. Vol. 100, iss. 3. P. 259–267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2017.1310731

Miller J.D., Hoffman B.J., Gaughan E.T., Gentile B., Maples J., Campbell W.K. Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism: a nomological network analysis // Journal of Personality. 2011. Vol. 79, iss. 5. P. 1013–1042. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00711.x

Miller J.D., Lynam D.R., Vize C., Crowe M., Sleep Ch., Maples-Keller J.L., Few L.R., Campbell W.K. Vulnerable narcissism is (mostly) a disorder of neuroticism // Journal of Personality. 2018. Vol. 86, iss. 2. P. 186–199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12303

Morf C.C., Rhodewalt F. Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism: a dynamic self-regulatory processing model // Psychological Inquiry. 2001. Vol. 12, iss. 4. P. 177–196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1204_1

Morf C.C., Torchetti L., Schürch E. Narcissism from the perspective of the dynamic self-regulatory processing model // The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments / ed. by W.K. Campbell, J.D. Miller. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. P. 56–70.

Murray H.A. Explorations in personality. N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1938. 780 p.

Paulhus D.L. Interpersonal and intrapsychic adaptiveness of trait self-enhancement: A mixed blessing? // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998. Vol. 74, iss. 5. P. 1197–1208. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.74.5.1197

Pincus A.L., Lukowitsky M.R. Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder // Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 2010. Vol. 6. P. 421–446. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131215

Raskin R.N., Hall C.S. A narcissistic personality inventory // Psychological Reports. 1979. Vol. 45, iss. 2. P. 590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1979.45.2.590

Rogoza R., Cieciuch J., Strus W., Baran T. Seeking a common framework for research on narcissism: An attempt to integrate the different faces of narcissism within the circumplex of personality metatraits // European Journal of Personality. 2019. Vol. 33, iss. 4. P. 437–455. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2206

Sedikides C. In search of Narcissus // Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2021. Vol. 25, iss. 1. P. 67–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.10.010

Stone B.M., Bartholomay E.M. A two-factor structure of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale describes gender-dependent manifestations of covert narcissism // Current Psychology. 2022. Vol. 41, iss. 9. P. 6051–6062. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01088-2

Thomaes S., Brummelman E., Sedikides C. Narcissism: a social-developmental perspective // The SAGE handbook of personality and individual differences. Vol. III: Applications of personality and individual differences / ed. by V. Zeigler-Hill, T.K. Shackelford. London, UK: Sage, 2018. P. 377–396. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526470300.n16

Watson L.R., Patten E., Baranek G.T., Poe M., Boyd B.A., Freuler A., Lorenzi J. Differential associations between sensory response patterns and language, social, and communication measures in children with autism or other developmental disabilities // Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2011. Vol. 54, no. 6. P. 1562–1576. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0029)

Wink P. Two faces of narcissism // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1991. Vol. 61, iss. 4. P. 590–597. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.4.590

Zajenkowski M., Witowska J., Maciantowicz O., Malesza M. Vulnerable past, grandiose present: The relationship between vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, time perspective and personality // Personality and Individual Differences. 2016. Vol. 98. P. 102–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.092

References

Crowe, M.L., Lynam, D.R., Campbell, W.K. and Miller, J.D. (2019). Exploring the structure of narcissism: toward an integrated solution. Journal of Personality. Vol. 87, iss. 6, pp. 1151–1169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12464

Deci, E.L. and Ryan, R.M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology. Vol. 49, no. 3, pp. 182–185. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801

Gabriel, M.T., Critelli, J.W. and Ee, J.S. (1994). Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of intelligence and attractiveness. Journal of Personality. Vol. 62, iss. 1, pp. 143–155. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00798.x

Grapsas, S., Brummelman, E., Back, M.D. and Denissen, J.J.A. (2020). The «why» and «how» of narcissism: A process model of narcissistic status pursuit. Perspectives on Psychological Science. Vol. 15, iss. 1, pp. 150–172. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691619873350

Hendin, H.M. and Cheek, J.M. (1997). Assessing hypersensitive narcissism: A reexamination of Murray’s narcism scale. Journal of Research in Personality. Vol. 31, iss. 4, pp. 588–599. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1997.2204

Kernberg, O.F. (2000). Tyazhelye lichnostnye rasstroystva [Severe personality disorders]. Moscow: Klass Publ., 464 p.

Klepikova, N.M. (2013). [Narcissism as an object of differential psychometrics]. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta [Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University Bulletin]. Vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 5–18. Available at: http://sciforedu.ru/article/345 (accessed 07.09.2022).

Kornienko, D.S., Vyazovkina, V.K. and Gornostaev, I.S. (2022). [Adaptation and psychometric properties of the Dark Tetrad short questionnaire]. Psikhologicheskiy zhurnal [Psychological Journal]. Vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 87–98. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31857/s020595920022787-1

Krasavtseva, Yu.V. and Kornilova, T.V. (2019). [Narcissism as a «light» trait in the Dark Triad]. Konsul’tativnaya psikhologiya i psikhoterapiya [Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy]. Vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 65–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2019270405

Krizan, Z. and Herlache, A.D. (2017). The narcissism spectrum model: A synthetic view of narcissistic personality. Personality and Social Psychology Review. Vol. 22, iss. 1, pp. 3–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868316685018

Levy, K.N., Ellison, W.D. and Reynoso, J.S. (2011). A historical review of narcissism and narcissistic personality. W.K. Campbell, J.D. Miller (eds.) The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Publ., pp. 3–13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118093108.ch1

Lutova, N.B., Makarevich, O.V., Vid, V.D., Novikova, K.E. and Sorokin, M.Yu. (2021). [Internalized stigma and narcissistic regulation among patients with endogenous psychoses]. Rossiyskiy psikhologicheskiy zhurnal [Russian Psychological Journal]. Vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 18–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21702/rpj.2021.3.2

Mahadevan, N., Gregg, A.P., Sedikides, C. and Waal-Andrews, W.G. de. (2016). Winners, losers, insiders, and outsiders: Comparing hierometer and sociometer theories of self-regard. Frontiers in Psychology. Vol. 7. Available at: https://public-pages-files-2025.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00334/pdf (accessed 12.05.2025). DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00334

Mahadevan, N. and Jordan, Ch. (2022). Desperately seeking status: How desires for, and perceived attainment of, status and inclusion relate to grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Vol. 48, iss. 5, pp. 704–717. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211021189

Miller, J.D., Back, M.D., Lynam, D.R. and Wright, A.G.C. (2021). Narcissism today: what we know and what we need to learn. Current Directions in Psychological Science. Vol. 30, iss. 6, pp. 519–525. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214211044109

Nesterova, S.B. (2017). [Standardization and adaptation foreign methods «scale senzitivnost narcissism» H.M. Hendin and J.M. Cheek (HSNS)]. Sibirskiy pedagogicheskiy zhurnal [Siberian Pedagogical Journal]. No. 1, pp. 117–123.

Miller J.D., Gentile B., Carter N.T., Crowe M., Hoffman B.J. and Campbell W.K. (2018). A comparison of the nomological networks associated with forced-choice and likert formats of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment. Vol. 100, iss. 3, pp. 259–267. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2017.1310731

Miller, J.D., Hoffman, B.J., Gaughan, E.T., Gentile, B., Maples, J. and Campbell, W.K. (2011). Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism: a nomological network analysis. Journal of Personality. Vol. 79, iss. 5, pp. 1013–1042. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00711.x

Miller J.D., Lynam D.R., Vize C., Crowe M., Sleep Ch., Maples-Keller J.L., Few L.R. and Campbell W.K. (2018). Vulnerable narcissism is (mostly) a disorder of neuroticism. Journal of Personality. Vol. 86, iss. 2, pp. 186–199. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12303

Morf, C.C. and Rhodewalt, F. (2001). Unraveling the paradoxes of narcissism: a dynamic self-regulatory processing model. Psychological Inquiry. Vol. 12, iss. 4, pp. 177–196. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1204_1

Morf C.C., Torchetti L. and Schürch E. (2011). Narcissism from the perspective of the dynamic self-regulatory processing model. W.K. Campbell, J.D. Miller (eds.) The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings, and treatments. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Publ., pp. 56–70.

Murray, H.A. (1938). Explorations in personality. New York: Oxford University Press, 780 p.

Paulhus, D.L. (1998). Interpersonal and intrapsychic adaptiveness of trait self-enhancement: A mixed blessing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 74, iss. 5, pp. 1197–1208. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.74.5.1197

Pincus, A.L. and Lukowitsky, M.R. (2010). Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. Vol. 6, pp. 421–446. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.121208.131215

Raskin, R.N. and Hall, C.S. (1979). A narcissistic personality inventory. Psychological Reports. Vol. 45, iss. 2, p. 590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1979.45.2.590

Rogoza, R., Cieciuch, J., Strus, W. and Baran, T. (2019). Seeking a common framework for research on narcissism: An attempt to integrate the different faces of narcissism within the circumplex of personality metatraits. European Journal of Personality. Vol. 33, iss. 4, pp. 437–455. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2206

Ryan, R.M. and Deci, E.L. (2003). [Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being]. Vestnik Barnaulskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta. Iss. 3–1, pp. 97–111.

Sedikides, C. (2021). In search of Narcissus. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. Vol. 25, iss. 1, pp. 67–80. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.10.010

Sokolov, S.E. (2009). Tsennostnye korrelyaty nartsissicheskikh proyavleniy lichnosti: v predelakh psikhicheskoy normy: dis. … kand. psikhol. nauk [Value correlates of narcissistic personality manifestations: within the limits of the mental norm: Abstract of Ph.D. dissertation]. Khabarovsk, 236 p.

Stone, B.M. and Bartholomay, E.M. (2022). A two-factor structure of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale describes gender-dependent manifestations of covert narcissism. Current Psychology. Vol. 41, iss. 9, pp. 6051–6062. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01088-2

Terekhin, A.S. (2022). [Narcissistic personality disorder]. Aktual’nye issledovaniya [Actual research]. No. 36(115), pp. 69–71. Available at: https://apni.ru/article/4566-nartsissicheskoe-rasstrojstvo-lichnosti (accessed 07.07.2025).

Thomaes, S., Brummelman, E. and Sedikides, C. (2018). Narcissism: a social-developmental perspective. V. Zeigler-Hill, T.K. Shackelford (eds.) The SAGE handbook of personality and individual differences. Vol. III: Applications of personality and individual differences. London, UK: Sage Publ., pp. 377–396. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526470300.n16

Watson, L.R., Patten, E., Baranek, G.T., Poe, M., Boyd, B.A., Freuler, A. and Lorenzi, J. (2011). Differential associations between sensory response patterns and language, social, and communication measures in children with autism or other developmental disabilities. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Vol. 54, no. 6, pp. 1562–1576. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0029)

Wink, P. (1991). Two faces of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol. 61, iss. 4, pp. 590–597. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.61.4.590

Zajenkowski, M., Witowska, J., Maciantowicz, O. and Malesza, M. (2016). Vulnerable past, grandiose present: The relationship between vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, time perspective and personality. Personality and Individual Differences. Vol. 98, pp. 102–106. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.03.092

Published

2025-12-24

Issue

Section

Статьи