Narcissism Distorts the Fading Affect Bias in Autobiographical Memory |
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| Authors: | Timothy D. Ritchie W. Richard Walker Shawnda Marsh Claire Hart John J. Skowronski |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Psychology, Saint Xavier University, Chicago, USA;2. Department of Psychological Sciences, Winston‐Salem State University, Winston‐Salem, USA;3. School of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK;4. Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, USA |
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| Abstract: | The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) occurs when the affect associated with personal events fades differentially across time: Positive affect fades slower than negative affect. Three studies examined whether the magnitude of the FAB is moderated by narcissism. Results from Study 1 (diary method, N = 26) showed that low narcissism participants evidenced a large FAB, but high narcissism participants evidenced a reversed FAB. Results from Study 2 (retrospective recall method, N = 110) showed that low narcissism participants evinced a large FAB and that the FAB diminished or dissipated as narcissism increased. Results from Study 3 (retrospective recall method, N = 83) showed that high narcissists evinced a FAB when they recalled achievement‐themed autobiographical events but evinced a reversed FAB when they recalled communal‐themed events. These findings occurred independently of event rehearsal frequency. Results are discussed in terms of the idea that emotion regulation efforts may be disrupted in narcissists. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
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