Papers by Elizabeth Krusemark
Frontiers in Psychology, Oct 10, 2022
Continued interest in the distinction between grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism and the... more Continued interest in the distinction between grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism and the fluctuation between grandiose and vulnerable states has expanded the repertoire of self-report instruments. The present study examined the psychometric properties of four brief narcissism measures [the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-13 (NPI-13), Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS), Super-Brief Pathological Narcissism Inventory (SB-PNI), and the g-FLUX] in a Finnish sample of university students. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the reliability of the NPI-13, g-FLUX, SB-PNI Vulnerability, and two HSNS subfactors (Oversensitivity and Egocentrism). Tests of measurement invariance indicated the NPI-13, SB-PNI Vulnerability, HSNS Oversensitivity, and the g-FLUX perform similarly between males and females and are generally similar between individuals in younger and older age groups. Construct and predictive validity were evaluated by examining relations between narcissism measures and relevant criteria including psychopathology symptoms, selfesteem, well-being, five factor traits, and empathy. Results supported the construct validity of all four measures, while correlational profiles highlighted the convergence between the g-FLUX and measures of both grandiosity and vulnerability. The NPI-13 was most predictive of NPD symptoms, whereas vulnerable narcissism measures were most predictive of psychopathology. Results further establish the psychometric properties of the NPI-13, SB-PNI Vulnerability, HSNS Oversensitivity, Egocentrism, and provide new validation of the g-FLUX.
This is a pre-registration of hypotheses and analysis plan of a study examining whether trait nar... more This is a pre-registration of hypotheses and analysis plan of a study examining whether trait narcissism influences storyteller's behavioral, emotional, and psychophysiological reactions to a non-affiliating recipient.
Phylogenetically themost ancient sense, olfaction is characterized by a unique intimacywith the e... more Phylogenetically themost ancient sense, olfaction is characterized by a unique intimacywith the emotion system.However,mechanisms underlying olfaction–emotion interaction remain unclear, especially in an ever-changing environment and dynamic internal milieu. Perturbing the internal statewith anxiety induction inhuman subjects,we interrogated emotion-state-dependent olfactory processing in a functionalmagnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study. Following anxiety induction, initially neutral odors become unpleasant and take longer to detect, accompanied by augmented response to these odors in the olfactory (anterior piriform and orbitofrontal) cortices and emotion-relevant pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. In parallel, the olfactory sensory relay adapts with increased anxiety, incorporat-ing amygdala as an integral step via strengthened (afferent or efferent) connections between amygdala and all levels of the olfactory cortical hierarchy. This anxiety-state-dependent neural circuitry ...
Handbook of Trait Narcissism, 2018
Despite a predominant empirical focus on cognitive-emotional distinctions and problematic behavio... more Despite a predominant empirical focus on cognitive-emotional distinctions and problematic behaviors associated with narcissism, investigators are turning their attention toward understanding the physiological and neural mechanisms that underlie these characteristics. A majority of the research examining narcissistic physiological and neural activity focuses on grandiose narcissism measured with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), however, a growing number of studies are examining neurophysiological differences that distinguish dimensions of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Research to date illustrates that grandiose narcissism involves cardiovascular reactivity in response to aversive stimuli and achievement-related stressors that parallel reactivity associated with similar personality traits (e.g., competitiveness, dominance), exhibiting greater risk for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, grandiose narcissism is associated with acute and chronically elevated levels of cortisol as well as heightened testosterone reactivity and aggression. By contrast, vulnerable narcissism and exploitativeness/entitlement are generally associated with heightened cardiovascular reactivity to interpersonal rejection. Research examining structural and functional brain differences suggests a potential link between narcissism and behaviors including impaired empathy and reactive aggression. Grandiose narcissism is associated with structural abnormalities in the fronto-striatal pathway whereas vulnerable narcissism is linked to reduced cortical volume and thickness in frontal brain regions. Functional neuroimaging studies report grandiose narcissism is associated with increased brain activation in response to social exclusion and abnormal resting-state brain activation between large-scale functional networks. Although research examining physiological and neural activity associated with grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is still limited, results from these studies provide compelling evidence that may aid in understanding and reducing narcissistic reactivity to everyday challenges.
Personality disorders, 2015
Narcissistic personality disorder is associated with distinguishing traits including self-enhance... more Narcissistic personality disorder is associated with distinguishing traits including self-enhancement, arrogance, and intense reactivity to ego threat. Theoretical accounts of narcissism suggest these heterogeneous behaviors reflect a defensive motivational style that functions to both uphold and protect the self-concept. However, the notion that narcissism can be characterized by grandiose and vulnerable dimensions raises the possibility that these diverse behaviors represent distinct expressions of narcissistic defensiveness. The present study examined whether both dimensions exhibit a general defensive style marked by selective attention to evaluative stimuli or are differentially associated with selective attention to positive and negative information, respectively. Using a dot probe task consisting of valenced and neutral trait adjectives, we evaluated these hypotheses in a group of male offenders. Results indicated that vulnerable narcissism was associated with attention biase...
Chemosensory Perception, 2012
European Journal of Personality, 2012
In the current paper, the authors posit that trait self–esteem moderates the relationship between... more In the current paper, the authors posit that trait self–esteem moderates the relationship between social rejection and decrements in self–control, propose an information–processing account of trait self–esteem's moderating influence and discuss three tests of this theory. The authors measured trait self–esteem, experimentally manipulated social rejection and assessed subsequent self–control in Studies 1 and 2. Additionally, Study 3 framed a self–control task as diagnostic of social skills to examine motivational influences. Together, the results reveal that rejection impairs self–control, but only among low self–esteem individuals. Moreover, this decrement in self–control only emerged when the task had no social implications—suggesting that low self–esteem individuals exert effort on tasks of social value and are otherwise preoccupied with belonging needs when completing nonsocial tasks. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Threat evokes a variety of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust. Whereas they elici... more Threat evokes a variety of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust. Whereas they elicit distinct and even opposite facial, sensory, and autonomic reflexes, threat-related emotions often converge in the actions they prompt (e.g., negative evaluation and avoidance). Here, we tested a unifying hypothesis that threat processing initially involves specialized encoding of individual subtypes to support discrete reflexive operations that later gives way to generalized elaborate analysis to facilitate convergent defensive behavior. Combining event-related potentials (ERPs) and a defensive context in human subjects, we compared temporal courses of perceptual analysis of two threat subtypes—fear anddisgust. Indeed, fear enhanced anddisgust suppressed early (115ms) response in visual cortex, accentuating specialized sensory encoding of threat subtypes in accordance with the opposite behavioral and autonomic reflexes they typically elicit. By contrast, later ERP waveforms evoked by f...
Psychological assessment, Jan 24, 2018
Despite a growing interest in the use of self-report measures of narcissism among student, commun... more Despite a growing interest in the use of self-report measures of narcissism among student, community, and clinical samples, the research on narcissism in prison samples is sparse, despite elevated rates of narcissism in these samples. The current study examined the relations between commonly used measures of grandiose narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Inventory-13 [NPI-13]), vulnerable narcissism (Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale [HSNS]), and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD; Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire [PDQ]) in a sample of adult male offenders (N = 179). The NPI-13 and PDQ NPD scales overlapped substantially with one another and manifested similar empirical profiles (rICC = .81), with both being substantially correlated with interview-based symptoms of NPD, entitlement, psychopathy, and externalizing behaviors. Conversely, the HSNS manifested more limited relations with other measures of NPD and related traits (e.g., entitlement), as well as externalizing behavior...
Child psychiatry and human development, Jan 18, 2017
Psychopathic traits are a manifestation of a personality pathology that comprises a core affectiv... more Psychopathic traits are a manifestation of a personality pathology that comprises a core affective-interpersonal dysfunction (callous-unemotional traits) and an impulsive-antisocial behavioral component. Of particular importance, psychopathic traits are associated with the perpetration of some of the most severe acts of violence, and they appear to indicate a subset of youth at risk for earlier onset, greater frequency, and persistence of violent offending. Although these youth represent a minority of the population, they commit a significant proportion of the violence in the general community. In our review, we highlight evidence of a unique neurobiological predisposition that underlies the core affective deficits and describe contemporary accounts for the developmental processes leading to the antisocial behavior associated with psychopathy. Current evidence suggests that, for this subset of youth, the structure and function of neural circuitry supporting emotion processing, rewar...
Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience, Oct 1, 2016
Psychopathic individuals are prone to act on urges without adequate consideration of future conse... more Psychopathic individuals are prone to act on urges without adequate consideration of future consequences or the rights of other individuals. One interpretation of this behavior is that it reflects abnormal selective attention (i.e., a failure to process information that is incongruent with their primary focus of attention; Hiatt, Schmitt, & Newman, Neuropsychology, 18, 50-59, 2004). Unfortunately, it is unclear whether this selective attention abnormality reflects top-down endogenous influences, such as the strength or specificity of attention focus (i.e., top-down set) apart from other, more exogenous (bottom-up), effects on attention. To explore this question, we used an early visual event-related potential (N2pc) in combination with a modified visual search task designed to assess the effect of early endogenous (i.e., top-down) attention on the processing of set-congruent information. The task was administered to a sample of 70 incarcerated adult males, who were assigned to high,...
The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, Jan 9, 2013
Threat evokes a variety of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust. Whereas they elici... more Threat evokes a variety of negative emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust. Whereas they elicit distinct and even opposite facial, sensory, and autonomic reflexes, threat-related emotions often converge in the actions they prompt (e.g., negative evaluation and avoidance). Here, we tested a unifying hypothesis that threat processing initially involves specialized encoding of individual subtypes to support discrete reflexive operations that later gives way to generalized elaborate analysis to facilitate convergent defensive behavior. Combining event-related potentials (ERPs) and a defensive context in human subjects, we compared temporal courses of perceptual analysis of two threat subtypes-fear and disgust. Indeed, fear enhanced and disgust suppressed early (115 ms) response in visual cortex, accentuating specialized sensory encoding of threat subtypes in accordance with the opposite behavioral and autonomic reflexes they typically elicit. By contrast, later ERP waveforms evoked b...
Encyclopedia of Social Psychology, 2007
This article examined the impact of relationship closeness on the self-serving bias (SSB). Member... more This article examined the impact of relationship closeness on the self-serving bias (SSB). Members of relationally distant dyads working on interdependent-outcomes tasks manifested the SSB: They took credit for dyadic success but blamed the partner for dyadic failure. However, members of relationally close dyads did not manifest the SSB: They did not take more credit than their partner for dyadic success and did not blame the partner more than the self for dyadic failure. This gracious attributional pattern of relationally close dyad members is due, at least in part, to formation of a favorable impression of the partner. Relationship closeness acts as a bound to an individual's selfenhancing tendencies. If more than one person is responsible for a miscalculation, none will be at fault-Murphy's Law Individuals self-enhance. They believe that they are more trustworthy, moral, and physically attractive than others and that they are above-average teachers, managers, and leaders. One mechanism through which individuals maintain such unduly positive beliefs is the self-serving bias (SSB). The SSB refers to individuals taking responsibility for successful task outcomes but blaming circumstances or other persons for failed task outcomes. For example, students will take credit for passing a difficult examination but will attribute failing the examination to its difficulty or the instructor's tough grading policy. Explanations for the SSB have been the subject matter of considerable debate. One early review advocated imperfect information-processing strategies such as selective attention and informational availability or accessibility in memory (Miller & Ross, 1975). This cognitive explanation emphasizes differential access to information as the leading cause of the SSB. Individuals manifest the SSB because they restrict their attention to the information available to them, not because they are motivated
The Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic …, 2011
... Research reviewed above indicates specific emotional deficits among psychopaths, potentially ... more ... Research reviewed above indicates specific emotional deficits among psychopaths, potentially mediated by ... Self-serving attributions are commonly seen among narcissists (Farwell & Wohlwend ... egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and indirect aggression: Does self-love ...
Self-serving attributions occur when negative personal outcomes are ascribed to external circumst... more Self-serving attributions occur when negative personal outcomes are ascribed to external circumstances and when
positive outcomes are ascribed to internal factors. Individuals strategically employ the self-serving bias to maintain and
protect positive self-views. The current study investigated the neural correlates of the self-serving bias using dense array
EEG, giving 20 participants false (success or failure) feedback during a facial workingmemory task. Participantsmade
self-serving attributions during the task, primarily following failure feedback. Voltage and source analyses in response
to attribution stimuli revealed that, compared to self-serving responses, non-self-serving attributions were preceded by
enhanced dorsomedial frontal cortex activity. This finding suggests that unbiased attributions require greater
self-control, overriding the automatic tendency for self-enhancement.
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Papers by Elizabeth Krusemark
positive outcomes are ascribed to internal factors. Individuals strategically employ the self-serving bias to maintain and
protect positive self-views. The current study investigated the neural correlates of the self-serving bias using dense array
EEG, giving 20 participants false (success or failure) feedback during a facial workingmemory task. Participantsmade
self-serving attributions during the task, primarily following failure feedback. Voltage and source analyses in response
to attribution stimuli revealed that, compared to self-serving responses, non-self-serving attributions were preceded by
enhanced dorsomedial frontal cortex activity. This finding suggests that unbiased attributions require greater
self-control, overriding the automatic tendency for self-enhancement.
positive outcomes are ascribed to internal factors. Individuals strategically employ the self-serving bias to maintain and
protect positive self-views. The current study investigated the neural correlates of the self-serving bias using dense array
EEG, giving 20 participants false (success or failure) feedback during a facial workingmemory task. Participantsmade
self-serving attributions during the task, primarily following failure feedback. Voltage and source analyses in response
to attribution stimuli revealed that, compared to self-serving responses, non-self-serving attributions were preceded by
enhanced dorsomedial frontal cortex activity. This finding suggests that unbiased attributions require greater
self-control, overriding the automatic tendency for self-enhancement.