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    How Narcissism Distorts Self Image

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    Diana F
    1. The study examined how narcissism distorts self-image and self-perception through a process called "reverse correlation" where participants rapidly rated distorted image pairs to uncover unconscious biases. 2. It found those with poorer self-concept clarity (less clear sense of identity) had more distorted self-images that enhanced or inflated their attractiveness, and this relationship was mediated by vulnerable or insecure narcissism rather than grandiose narcissism. 3. The results support the psychoanalytic model that narcissistic self-enhancement stems from unconscious insecurity and vulnerabilities, contradicting social learning theory that it develops from too much praise.

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    How Narcissism Distorts Self Image

    Uploaded by

    Diana F
    83 views4 pages
    1. The study examined how narcissism distorts self-image and self-perception through a process called "reverse correlation" where participants rapidly rated distorted image pairs to uncover unconscious biases. 2. It found those with poorer self-concept clarity (less clear sense of identity) had more distorted self-images that enhanced or inflated their attractiveness, and this relationship was mediated by vulnerable or insecure narcissism rather than grandiose narcissism. 3. The results support the psychoanalytic model that narcissistic self-enhancement stems from unconscious insecurity and vulnerabilities, contradicting social learning theory that it develops from too much praise.

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    How Narcissism Distorts Self image

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    1. The study examined how narcissism distorts self-image and self-perception through a process called "reverse correlation" where participants rapidly rated distorted image pairs to uncover unconscious biases. 2. It found those with poorer self-concept clarity (less clear sense of identity) had more distorted self-images that enhanced or inflated their attractiveness, and this relationship was mediated by vulnerable or insecure narcissism rather than grandiose narcissism. 3. The results support the psychoanalytic model that narcissistic self-enhancement stems from unconscious insecurity and vulnerabilities, contradicting social learning theory that it develops from too much praise.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    83 views4 pages

    How Narcissism Distorts Self Image

    Uploaded by

    Diana F
    1. The study examined how narcissism distorts self-image and self-perception through a process called "reverse correlation" where participants rapidly rated distorted image pairs to uncover unconscious biases. 2. It found those with poorer self-concept clarity (less clear sense of identity) had more distorted self-images that enhanced or inflated their attractiveness, and this relationship was mediated by vulnerable or insecure narcissism rather than grandiose narcissism. 3. The results support the psychoanalytic model that narcissistic self-enhancement stems from unconscious insecurity and vulnerabilities, contradicting social learning theory that it develops from too much praise.

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    How Narcissism Distorts Self-Image via Self-Concept Clarity

    When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see yourself close to how others see you,
    do you devalue yourself, or do you inflate your attributes more than is healthy?

    Mirror mirror on the wall, am I the fairest one of all?


    The authors of the study described below in the journal Personality and Individual Differences
    (2021) review the literature on narcissism and self-image. Narcissistic people rate themselves as
    more attractive than others. Not only that, but narcissistic people enjoy looking at themselves,
    experiencing self-confidence and self-admiration.

    In spite of this pleasure in self-gaze, there is trouble below the surface. Brain scans of narcissistic
    people looking at their own images show increased blood flow consistent with inner conflict and
    negative feelings, betraying insecurity beneath a mask of self-regard.

    While narcissism has benefits—including offsetting the detrimental impact of other dark triad
    traits (i.e. Machiavellianism, psychopathy) on well-being (2021)—it is generally negative.
    People with narcissism overestimate their ability to lead, don’t take constructive feedback, cross
    ethical lines, take advantage of others, create toxicity, and take more than their fair share of the
    profit.

    Views of narcissism
    There are two types of pathological narcissism, grandiose and vulnerable. Research finds
    grandiose narcissists appear less troubled by how they are and what others think, and are perhaps
    more temperamentally narcissistic, more authentically grandiose. Vulnerable narcissists, on the
    other hand, are thought to use the appearance of entitlement, arrogance, and pride in themselves
    to cover up deep feelings of shame, doubt about oneself, and insecurity.

    There are two basic causal models of narcissism. The psychoanalytic model says that narcissism
    is a defense against the underlying devaluation of oneself, an over-compensation for inner
    feelings of inadequacy; generally, the result of being devalued (or even traumatized) growing up.
    Social learning theory says that narcissism comes from being praised too easily, highly valued
    without corresponding intrinsic value (presumably due to familial problems, such as parental
    narcissism and intergenerational trauma).

    Looking below the surface


    To glean a deeper understanding of self-image evaluation in narcissism, Steiner and colleagues
    (2021) used a clever study design in which people are shown many pairs of distorted images and
    asked to rate them so quickly and so many times it is impossible to throw off the results, a
    procedure called “reverse correlation”1. By looking at correlations between the image ratings for
    different comparison instructions (e.g. which image is more attractive) we can determine the role
    of underlying grandiosity (supporting the social learning model) and insecurity (pointing toward
    the psychoanalytic “mask” model).

    Participants in the study were 96 college students, aged 18-25, 56 were women. They
    participated in two experiments, the first designed to look for inaccuracies in self-perceived self-
    image, and the second to look for distortions in how attractive participants saw themselves. In
    both experiments, narcissistic self-image perception was correlated with measures of self-
    concept clarity and subtype of narcissism.

    Self-Concept Clarity (SCC)2 looks at how crisp or how vague the idea of oneself is, rating for
    example how many conflicting beliefs one has about oneself, feelings of inauthenticity, and
    difficulty sharing who one is with others. The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) has
    multiple items, the “grandiose fantasizing” component correlating with the social learning theory
    model and the “hiding the self” with the psychoanalytic.

    In experiment 1, participants were given 500 pairs of reference images randomized with noise
    drawn from a standard database to compare with one another, making judgments about which
    looked more like themselves. Based on these choices, a “composite” image of the participant was
    generated by computer software which represented the unconscious inner way participants saw
    themselves. This composite was then compared with their actual image to calculate a measure of
    self-image distortion.

    Experiment 2 used a similar procedure for unconscious self-perceived attractiveness.


    Participants’ photos were rated by independent judges using a validated approach. Participants
    compared pairs of photos, either of themselves or of reference images, rating them on an
    attractiveness scale. Ratings were analyzed to derive a measure of self-image enhancement, in
    reference to judges’ independent ratings.

    Findings
    Those with poorer SCC had greater distortion in how they saw themselves. Narcissistic
    insecurity, not grandiose fantasizing, accounted for 75 percent of the connection between self-
    concept clarity and distorted self-image, supporting the psychoanalytic model of hidden
    vulnerability.

    Grandiose fantasy actually had the opposite effect, weakening the connection between identity
    stability and self-image distortion by 25 percent. Likewise, increased self-enhancement was
    connected with greater narcissistic insecurity and not grandiose fantasizing. The greater the
    tendency to hide themselves out of insecurity, the greater participant’s belief that they were more
    attractive than others deemed them.

    The study authors conclude that:

    individuals with low SCC have more distorted self-images


    the relation between low SCC and distortion of one’s self-image is mediated by the hiding-the-
    self dimension on the vulnerable narcissism factor
    this distortion of one’s self-image, via vulnerable narcissism, is one of enhancement
    Implications
    These results are informative, though as is always the case, further investigation is warranted.
    However, this study design minimizes inaccuracy by using a technique that infers underlying
    attitudes from behavior. Simply asking people what they think about themselves is often subject
    to inaccuracy.

    Reverse correlation—much like the implicit association test (IAT)3, which measures consciously
    imperceptible differences in reaction times when pairing words with images to reveal
    unconscious bias—shows what is going on outside of awareness.

    One of the most significant findings is the key role played by insecurity, supporting the
    psychoanalytic hypothesis that unconscious vulnerabilities and unresolved conflicts about
    oneself lead to defensive over-estimation of one’s attractiveness.

    This research did not support social learning theory, suggesting that narcissistic self-image self-
    enhancement may not develop because of undeserved praise. If anything, it may be that
    undeserved praise undermines motivation, resilience, and self-efficacy by making it too easy to
    win the prize. This ultimately may increase vulnerability and intolerance of failure, amplifying
    the insecure core sense of self.
    Self-concept clarity is a key factor. The more diffuse our identity, the more distorted one’s view
    is of oneself. This distortion is toward self-enhancement. When we don’t know who we are, we
    may compensate for this uncertainty by unconsciously puffing up ourselves.

    SCC has also been shown to be important in breaking-up. Research suggests that anxiously
    attached people with a poor sense of self are more likely to return to unwanted relationships
    simply to hold on to a strong sense of identity as part of the couple rather than tolerate the
    uncomfortable uncertainty of being single. This is all the more relevant because, somewhat
    counterintuitively, when people divorce, research (2021) suggests personality does not change,
    though it may free up who they are.

    Contrary to explaining narcissistic over-evaluation, grandiosity did not significantly impact


    distortion or self-enhancement in this study. In fact, grandiosity reduced the impact of unclear
    sense of self, ironically leading to greater self-perception accuracy. This is consistent with the
    finding of research suggesting that grandiose narcissists are more intrinsically narcissistic, as
    compared with vulnerable narcissists where preoccupation with oneself is self-protective.

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