Narcissism and personal values: an investigation of agentic, adversarial, communal and neurotic aspects of narcissism

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111167

Commentary

This study (N = 421) investigated the relationships among the full range of facets of narcissism.

By relationships, I mean examining the personal values of a community sample employing the sophisticated Schwartz's personal 19 value theory, which focuses on higher-order values such as agent, antagonist, co, and neuroticism. All of these narcissism facets were positively related to self-enhancement, and the antagonistic, communal, and neurotic narcissism facets were also negatively related to self-transcendence.

Agentic narcissism was positively related, and communal narcissism was negatively related to openness to change. Agentic and adversarial narcissism were negatively related to conservation.

The findings can be explained as referring to the agency-communion model of grandiose narcissism and the spectrum of narcissism of personality.

In other words, each of the examined aspects of narcissistic personality is thought to have its own relationship with values.