Why narcissists are more likely to be aggressive? The role of hostile attribution bias

Abstract

Narcissism is commonly associated with aggressiveness, but the underlying mechanisms of this relationship are still not yet fully understood. Based on previous research showing that narcissists are suspicious, the present research investigated whether hostile attribution of intent could explain the relationship between narcissism and aggression. In Study 1, participants (N = 347) completed a self-report measure of grandiose narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Inventory) and a measure of hostile attribution bias (Social Information Processing-Attribution Emotion Questionnaire). Analyses revealed that narcissism was a strong predictor of hostile attribution bias, angry feelings, and aggressive reactions. Moreover, hostile attribution bias appeared to mediate the relation between narcissism and aggressive reactions. Study 2 (N = 130) replicated the findings of Study 1 using a measure of vulnerable narcissism (Hypersensitive narcissism scale). In addition, perspective taking was manipulated in Study 2 and the results showed that participants in the high perspective-taking condition (vs. low perspective taking) were less likely to make hostile attributions. These findings suggest that hostile attribution of intent is particularly relevant to understand narcissistic aggression. (170 words).