The narcissistic personality inventory: applicability in a Swedish population sample

A Swedish translation of the 40-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was mailed to 410 participants, aged 21-61 years, randomly sampled from the Swedish general population. The participation rate was 62%. The applicability of a previously published seven-factor structure (Raskin & Terry) and a four-factor structure (Emmons) was investigated. The factor structure found in the present in the Swedish sample corresponded better with Emmons's version. Therefore the four-factor structure was chosen. Because the correspondence to Emmons's factor structure was not perfect, a revised NPI for Swedish use was constructed. The total scale score is usually used, although the Swedish NPI includes four subscales: Leadership/Power, Exhibitionism/Self-admiration. Superiority/Arrogance, and Uniqueness/Entitlement. For the total scale, the internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.80 and the test-retest correlation was 0.93. The total scale score correlated with self-esteem as well as the interpersonal style and emotional aspects of psychopathy, supporting the validity of the scale.     

Reliability,Validity and Invariance of the Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R)

Using confirmatory factor analysis, this study compared the 4-factor 18-item Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children (NPQC) and the 2-factor, 12-item Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire for Children-Revised (NPQC-R). Support was found for the 2-factor structure of the 12-item NPQC-R using two independent adolescent school-based samples (n = 479 and n = 470). The 2-factor NPQC-R model (i.e., Superiority, Exploitativeness) showed a better fit in both adolescent samples than the alternative 4-factor NPQC model. There was strong support for NPQC-R’s invariance across gender and age. The NPQC-R was found to have reasonable internal consistency estimates, test–retest reliability estimates, and adequate convergent and discriminant validity estimates. Collectively, these results support the utility of the NPQC-R as a measure of narcissism in children and adolescents. A copy of the NPQC-R and scoring key can be obtained from Rebecca P. Ang.     

The Factor Structure of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.     

Equivalence of Narcissistic Personality Inventory constructs and correlates across scoring approaches and response formats

The prevalent scoring practice for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) ignores the forced-choice nature of the items. The aim of this study was to investigate whether findings based on NPI scores reported in previous research can be confirmed when the forced-choice nature of the NPI’s original response format is appropriately modeled, and when NPI items are presented in different response formats (true/false or rating scale). The relationships between NPI facets and various criteria were robust across scoring approaches (mean score vs. model-based), but were only partly robust across response formats. In addition, the scoring approaches and response formats achieved equivalent measurements of the vanity facet and in part of the leadership facet, but differed with respect to the entitlement facet.     

The factor structure of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

In the first study, we administered the 40-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Terry, 1988) to 843 female and 843 male college students, most of whom were Euro-American, to comprehensively assess the NPI factor structure using confirmatory factor analysis. Initial exploratory common factor analyses (N = 724) revealed a 2-factor model (Leadership/Authority and Exhibitionism/Entitlement). Subsequently, we used confirmatory factor analysis in a separate sample (N = 724) to evaluate the Emmons (1987) 4-factor model, the Raskin and Terry (1988) 7-factor model, the Kubarych, Deary, and Austin (2004) 2- and 3-factor models, and our 2-factor model. Finally, we assessed construct validity by correlating the scale scores with the Five-factor model of personality in an independent sample (N = 238). The 2-factor models for the NPI we obtained in this study and by Kubarych et al. (2004) appeared to be the most parsimonious models, with both a good fit to the data and satisfactory internal consistency values; so they are recommended for use. However, additional NPI research is needed to rescale, modify, or omit several NPI items and develop gender-equivalent items.     

Comparing the construct validity of scales derived from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory: A reply to

Rosenthal and Hooley (2010) suggested that the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) includes items that are tangential to narcissism. They demonstrated that the removal of these items resulted in scores that are not confounded by self-esteem. We tested whether NPI scales derived from Rosenthal and Hooley’s included (NPI-N) and excluded (NPI-X) items manifest divergent relations with self-esteem, entitlement, distress, NPD, and general traits in two samples of undergraduates. The scales generated similar patterns of correlations, although the NPI-N items were more strongly related to (dis)Agreeableness, whereas the NPI-X items were more strongly related to Extraversion. Ultimately, the NPI-X items bore significant relations to constructs central to grandiose narcissism and do not seem to have caused problems in the assessment of narcissism.     

Gender Differences in the Structure of Narcissism: A Multi-Sample Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Multi-sample analysis of the Emmons factor modelof the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was usedto test the prediction that exploitive tendencies andfeelings of entitlement are less central to the construct of narcissism among females thanthey are among males. As predicted, the hypothesis ofcross-gender equivalence of the Emmons factorvariance/covariance matrixwas rejected. Follow-upanalyses confirmed thatthis hypothesis was rejectedprimarily because Exploitiveness/Entitlement showedweaker correlations with the other Emmons factors amongfemales that it did among males. Results are discussed in terms of such factors as norms regardingappropriate sex role conduct, as well as the powerdifferential between males and females.     

Narcissism and empathy: validity evidence for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Three empathy questionnaires were correlated with scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and the predicted negative relationship was observed in two of the three cases. In addition, the Exploitiveness/Entitlement (E/E) subscale of the NPI was inversely related to all three empathy scales and directly related to another hypothesized measure of narcissism. Unexpected negative correlations between the E/E subscale and social desirability scales were interpreted as evidence of E/E subscale sensitivity to the manipulative dimension of narcissistic relationship styles. These data further support the construct validity of the NPI in general and of the Exploitiveness/Entitlement subscale in particular.     

Factor analysis and construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Three studies are reported which provide evidence for the validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Factor analysis of the NPI in Study 1 revealed four factors which were labelled: Exploitativeness/Entitlement, Leadership/Authority, Superiority/Arrogance, and Self-absorption/Self-admiration. In Study 2, scores on the NPI were correlated with basic dimensions of personality, and with relevant self-variables. Narcissism scores were positively related to dominance, exhibitionism, extraversion, self-esteem, and self-monitoring, among others; and negatively related to abasement, deference, and social anxiety, among others. Correlations between the NPI factors and personality variables are also examined. In Study 3, peer ratings of narcissism were obtained and it was found that these were strongly related to scores on the NPI. Taken together, the three studies provide considerable evidence for the construct validity of the NPI, and avenues for future research are suggested.     

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.     

Further evidence of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory’s validity problems: A meta-analytic investigation—Response to Miller, Maples, and Campbell (this issue)

Miller, Maples, and Campbell (this issue) present evidence that Rosenthal and Hooley’s (2010) concerns regarding the Narcissistic Personality Inventory’s (NPI) relation to psychological health may be unwarranted. To resolve this issue empirically, we conducted a meta-analysis (k = 54, N = 38,932). Meta-analytic results revealed that a subset of NPI items were indeed problematic; items that function poorly at differentiating narcissists from non-narcissists accounted entirely for the NPI’s connection to psychological health. These items were also strongly associated with self-esteem, but unrelated to aggression/anger. In contrast, the remaining NPI items were unrelated to psychological health, but associated with aggression/anger. We conclude that although the NPI measures narcissism, its poorest functioning items also link it to outcomes unrelated to narcissism.     

古代中国人人格结构的因素探析

以古代典籍《史记》为材料,按词汇法构建了具有相当信度和效度的古代中国人人格描述词单,施测于118名专家及研究生,令他们对《史记》中记载的102名古代中国人作评定,经由因素分析获取了以仁为核心,由仁、智、勇、隐4个因素组成的古代中国人人格维度。进而用内容分析的方法验证了该维度的稳定性,并结合中国传统哲学思想,对仁、智、勇、隐4个因素的内涵作了深入的剖析和阐释。     

Narcissistic defensiveness: Hypervigilance and avoidance of worthlessness

Clinical theories of narcissism postulate the paradoxical coexistence of explicit self-perceptions of grandiosity and covert fragility and worthlessness. To examine the operation and time course of the latter component at a very early stage of information processing, a sequential priming study was conducted. Consistent with predictions high narcissists appear to be hypervigilant for ego-threats; they initially activated worthlessness and then rapidly and automatically inhibited it. In contrast, low narcissists neither activated nor inhibited worthlessness after ego-threat. A second study showed that conscious suppression did not elicit parallel effects among narcissists, thus supporting the idea that the effects in the first study were the result of unconscious repression processes. Differences between intentional and automatic processes in self-regulation are discussed. The findings demonstrate the importance of worthlessness in narcissistic self-regulation and help clarify how narcissists protect and defend their grandiose self-views.     

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory: alternative form reliability and further evidence of construct validity

The aim of this study was twofold: (a)to measure the alternate form reliability of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and (b)to determine its construct validity by correlating it with the four scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The alternate form reliability was .72. The Extraversion and Psychoticism scales of the EPQ were positively and significantly correlated with the narcissism measure, and the Lie scale showed a significant negative correlation. The Neuroticism scale showed a nonsignificant relationship with narcissism. In addition, the combined Extraversion and Psychoticism scales produced[ a Multiple R with the narcissism measure that accounted for significantly more of the variance in narcissism than did either measure alone.     

Subdimensional Structure of the Hogan Personality Inventory

This study examined the subdimensional structure of the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI). A sample of 200 Spanish applicants completed the HPI as a requirement of a selection process for several jobs at a large international company. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted with the homogenous item composites (HIC) included in the HPI. Globally, the results indicated that the Big Five are divided into 13 subdimensions, which explained the variance of the HICs. Based on these results, we suggest that the HPI can be described as a personality inventory consisting of a hierarchical structure of three levels (Big Five – subdimensions – HICs).     

Predicting Supervisor Ratings of Job Performance Using the NEO Personality Inventory

The resurging interest in identifying personality predictors of job performance has led researchers to use the five-factor model of personality as an important conceptual tool. Two recent meta-analyses illustrated the potential predictive power of the model within an employment context. In this study, we evaluated the relations between a well-validated self-report measure of the five-factor model and supervisor ratings of performance. Fifty-two women and 159 men completed the NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1985) and were independently rated on various performance dimensions by their supervisors. Scores on the Conscientiousness scales correlated with all the performance ratings over this diverse number of occupational groups. Low Neuroticism and high Extraversion scores also predicted high performance. Low straightforwardness (a facet of agreeableness) was associated with ability to accomplish work-related goals and to adapt to changing work conditions. The results support the utility of the five-factor model as a predictor of job performance.     

中国大学生艾森克人格问卷测试因素结构之探讨

本文旨在检验艾森克人格理论对中国人的适合性,探明艾森克人格问卷(成人)的结构。经对2311名大学生艾森克人格问卷的作答数据做验证性因素分析,艾森克人格理论未能得到证明。使用全息项目因素分析方法对EPQ进行因素分析,得出神经质、外向性、友善因素、诚实因素、任性因素和严谨因素六个因素。该方法较好地克服了经典线性因素分析高估维度数。低估因素负荷等缺陷。     

A Comparison of the Nomological Networks Associated With Forced-Choice and Likert Formats of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is one of the most popular measures of narcissism. However, its use of a forced-choice response set might negatively affect some of its psychometric properties. The purpose of this research was to compare a Likert version of the NPI, in which only the narcissistic response of each pair was given, to the original NPI, in 3 samples of participants (N = 1,109). To this end, we compared the nomological networks of the forced-choice and Likert formats of the NPI in relation to alternative measures of narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder, entitlement, self-esteem, general personality traits (reported by self and informants), interpersonal styles, and general pathological traits included in the DSM–5. The Likert format NPI—total and subscales—manifested similar construct validity to the original forced-choice format across all criteria with only minor differences that seem to be due mainly to the increased reliability and variability found in the Likert NPI Entitlement/Exploitativeness subscale. These results provide evidence that a version of the NPI that employs a Likert format can justifiably be used in place of the original.