Egos inflating over time: a cross-temporal meta-analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

ABSTRACT A cross-temporal meta-analysis found that narcissism levels have risen over the generations in 85 samples of American college students who completed the 40-item forced-choice Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) between 1979 and 2006 (total n =16,475). Mean narcissism scores were significantly correlated with year of data collection when weighted by sample size (β=.53, p <.001). Since 1982, NPI scores have increased 0.33 standard deviation. Thus, almost two-thirds of recent college students are above the mean 1979–1985 narcissism score, a 30% increase. The results complement previous studies finding increases in other individualistic traits such as assertiveness, agency, self-esteem, and extraversion.