Narcissism between facets and domains. The relationships between two types of narcissism and aspects of the Big Five

Abstract

Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism have distinct personality profiles. Specifically, grandiose narcissism correlates positively with Extraversion and negatively with Neuroticism, whereas vulnerable narcissism showed a reverse associations with these traits. Additionally, both types of narcissism have common antagonistic core as they are negatively related to Agreeableness. Although correlations between narcissism and basic personality traits are well-documented, researchers focused mainly on broad, higher order factors which reflect a very wide spectrum of behavior. To better understand the nature of narcissism and its personality correlates, we examined the association of narcissisms with 10 aspects of the Big Five. Aspects are located between domains and facets in the personality hierarchy. The results of the current study (n = 437) indicated that grandiose narcissism was more differentiated within all of the Big Five traits. Specifically, grandiose narcissism correlated mainly positively with Assertiveness (from Extraversion), and Intellect (Openness/Intellect), and negatively with Politeness (Agreeableness), Industriousness (Conscientiousness) and Withdrawal (Neuroticism). Vulnerable narcissism showed less differentiated correlations within broad domains, except for Openness/Intellect. Surprisingly, individuals with high vulnerable narcissism exhibited a high level of Openness. The results of the current study contribute to our understanding of the two types of narcissism and their personality correlates.