Impulsivity and the Self-Defeating Behavior of Narcissists

2006/05/01 by Simine Vazire, David C. Funder · 412 citations
Psychology · #Personality Traits and Psychology #Personality Disorders and Psychopathology #Gambling Behavior and Treatments #Impulsivity #Psychology #Social psychology #Narcissism #Self-control #Self-concept #Developmental psychology

paper · doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr1002_4

published in Personality and Social Psychology Review 10(2), 154-165 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2006/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01

Abstract

Currently prominent models of narcissism (e.g., Morf and Rhodewalt, 2001) primarily explain narcissists' self-defeating behaviors in terms of conscious cognitive and affective processes. We propose that the disposition of impulsivity may also play an important role. We offer 2 forms of evidence. First, we present a meta-analysis demonstrating a strong positive relationship between narcissism and impulsivity. Second, we review and reinterpret the literature on 3 hallmarks of narcissism: self-enhancement, aggression, and negative long-term outcomes. Our reinterpretation argues that impulsivity provides a more parsimonious explanation for at least some of narcissists' self-defeating behavior than do existing models. These 2 sources of evidence suggest that narcissists' quest for the status and recognition they so intensely desire is thwarted, in part, by their lack of the self-control necessary to achieve those goals.

Citations

• The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy
• Boredom Proneness--The Development and Correlates of a New Scale
• Factor Analysis and Construct Validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory\
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• Do people know how they behave? Self-reported act frequencies compared with on-line codings by observers.

Cited by

• Self-enhancement [wikipedia]