The relationship between perfectionism and grandiose narcissism is well established. Available studies on this issue are prevalently cross-sectional and assessed grandiose narcissism as a unidimensional construct, whereas recent authors claim its multidimensionality. The present project overcomes these limits by examining the reciprocal associations between perfectionistic dimensions and the assertive and antagonistic aspects of grandiose narcissism in a sample of Italian undergraduates. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) will be administrated to a sample of university students over three measurement occasions with six-month intervals. The longitudinal associations between each of the three forms of perfectionism measured through the MPS (self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented) and the two dimensions of grandiose narcissism proposed by the NARQ (admiration and rivalry) will be explored. Longitudinal cross-lagged panel models will be employed to test for competing hypotheses regarding the direction of effects between the two sets of variables. The findings of this study will contribute to our understanding of the dynamic interplay between specific aspects of perfectionism and narcissistic grandiosity. Moreover, they will expand previous findings on the growth trajectory of these traits in emerging adulthood, a key life period for personality development.
One limit of the existing literature on multidimensional perfectionism and grandiose narcissism is that, until recently, narcissistic grandiosity has typically been assessed as a unidimensional construct. Some scholars (Hewitt & Flett, 1991; Watson, Varnelli, & Morris, 2000) have examined different grandiose narcissism aspects employing the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Hall, 1981), and analyzed their associations with perfectionistic dimensions assessed through Hewitt and Flett's model (1991), reporting inconsistent findings. In this regard, however, several authors have expressed concerns about the psychometric properties of the NPI (e.g., Brown, Budzek & Tamborski, 2009). Most importantly, the instrument only reflects assertive features of narcissism, underrepresenting its antagonistic aspect (Rogoza & Cieciuch, 2019). As stated by Beck et al. (2014), failing to differentiate these two aspects does not permit a full understanding of the manifestations of narcissism and its underlying dynamics. The Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept (NARC, Back et al., 2013) overcome this limitation, by conceptualizing grandiose narcissism as characterized by two dimensions: the assertive aspect, namely the tendency to approach social admiration by means of self-promotion, and the antagonistic aspect, that is the tendency to prevent social failure by means of self-defense. These two dimensions, referred to as admiration and rivalry, have been regarded as the bright and the dark side of side of narcissism, respectively (Beck et al., 2013). Admiration and rivalry have shown distinct effects on several social and interpersonal outcome variables, as well as differentiated pattern of relations with a number of individual dispositions. For example, admiration has shown to be related to more assertive self-perceptions and stronger self-esteem, whereas rivalry was related to negative self-perceptions and maladaptive intrapersonal orientations (see Beck et al., 2013).
To date, little is known about the relationship of Admiration and Rivalry with perfectionism. A recent study examined the perfectionism-NARC relationship, showing a positive association with narcissistic rivarly (Benson, Jeschke, Jordan, Bruner, & Arnocky, 2019). Yet, this study focused on perfectionism as a unitary construct. To the best of our knowledge, no attempts have been made to investigate the relationship between Hewitt and Flett's (1991) multidimensional model of perfectionism and the grandiose narcissistic aspects included in the NARC.
Moreover, earlier studies focusing on the relationship between perfectionism and grandiose narcissism employed a cross-sectional design. Longitudinal evidence is needed to test whether perfectionism predicts changes in narcissism (and vice versa). Finally, assessing these relationships among college students allows extensions of research on personality development in emerging adulthood. A large body of evidence shows that this age period involves change in identity more than in any other period in life (Watson & Humrichouse, 2006). It would be therefore important to observe the dynamic interplay between perfectionistic and narcissistic in this particular developmental stage.
Selected bibliography
Back, M.D., Küfner, A.C., Dufner, M., Gerlach, T.M., Rauthmann, J.F., & Denissen, J.J. (2013). Narcissistic admiration and rivalry: Disentangling the bright and dark sides of narcissism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 105, 1013.
Flett, G.L., Sherry, S.B., Hewitt, P.L., & Nepon, T. (2014). Understanding the narcissistic perfectionists among us: Grandiosity, vulnerability, and the quest for the perfect self. Handbook of psychology of narcissism: Diverse perspectives, 43-66.
Hewitt, P.L., & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of personality and social psychology, 60, 456.
Lee, M.A., Schoppe-Sullivan, S.J., & Dush, C.M.K. (2012). Parenting perfectionism and parental adjustment. Personality and individual differences, 52, 454-457.
Mann, M.P. (2004). The adverse influence of narcissistic injury and perfectionism on college students' institutional attachment. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 1797-1806.
Rothstein, A. (2018). The narcissistic pursuit of perfection. Routledge.
Smith, M.M., Sherry, S.B., Chen, S., Saklofske, D.H., Flett, G.L., & Hewitt, P.L. (2016). Perfectionism and narcissism: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Research in Personality, 64, 90-101.
Stoeber, J., Sherry, S.B., & Nealis, L.J. (2015). Multidimensional perfectionism and narcissism: Grandiose or vulnerable?. Personality and Individual Differences, 80, 85-90.
Watson, P.J., Varnelli, S.P., & Morris, R.J. (1999). Self-reported narcissism and perfectionism: An ego-psychological perspective and the continuum hypothesis. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 19, 59-69.