Do you think I’m as kind as I do? The relation of adolescent narcissism with self- and peer-perceptions of prosocial and aggressive behavior

The Strategic Helper: Narcissism and Prosocial Motives and Behaviors

“…When comparing empathy and narcissism as predictors of self-reported prosocial behavior, it found that more empathic people reported fewer public and opportunistic prosocial behaviors (i.e., helping to look good) while more narcissistic people reported more public and opportunistic prosocial behaviors (Eberly-Lewis & Coetzee, 2015). Therefore, even though both empathy (Borman et al, 2001;Eisenberg & Miller, 1987;Underwood & Moore, 1982) and narcissism (Kauten & Barry, 2014;Zhou et al, 2010) are positively associated with self-reported prosocial behaviors, there are differences in the types of situations that typically elicit such prosocial behaviors. However, no research has examined to what extent they differentially predict motives for volunteering.…”

“…Nearly all research to date focuses on self-reported prosocial behavior (Brunell et al, 2014;Eberly-Lewis & Coetzee, 2015;Kauten & Barry, 2014;Naderi & Strutton, 2014;Zhou et al, 2010). However, one study used peer-reports of prosocial behaviors in addition to self-reports, finding that although more narcissistic people self-report more prosocial behaviors, their peers do not perceive them that way (Kauten & Barry, 2014). It is easier to look good in self-report measures of prosocial behaviors, but there has been limited research measuring the actual prosocial behaviors of more narcissistic people.…”

“…Although some studies have found that more narcissistic people report more frequently engaging in prosocial behaviors (Kauten & Barry, 2014;Zhou, Zhou, & Zhang, 2010), another study finds that people who score higher in narcissistic entitlement are less likely to volunteer for nonprofit organizations (Brunell, Tumblin, & Buelow, 2014). Yet these studies measured prosocial behaviors in general, rather than specifically asking which situations elicit them or why people engaged in them.…”

Adolescent Communal Narcissism and Peer Perceptions

“…That is, an individual who makes a point to convey a strong sense of his or her helpfulness probably reports engaging in pro‐social behavior for other‐oriented/altruistic reasons, yet actually engages in egoistic pro‐social behaviors (e.g., helping for recognition or attention) and may not be recognized by peers as particularly pro‐social. Indeed, narcissism, particularly the self‐sacrificing self‐enhancement element of grandiose narcissism, has been positively correlated with self‐reported pro‐social behavior (Kauten & Barry, ). Furthermore, in their investigation of correlates of different pro‐social motives in adolescents, Eberly‐Lewis and Coetzee () suggested that helpful behaviors may, in part, represent efforts at positive impression management, as opposed to more genuine motives, in a developmental period marked by a focus on peer approval.…”

The relations of basic and dark personality traits with prosocial tendencies: Exploring gender differences

“…However, these traits seem to be positively linked to at least some forms of prosocial behaviour, such as self-reported (Kauten & Barry, 2016;Zuo, Wang, Xu, Wang, & Zhao, 2016), public (Konrath, Ho, Zarins, 2016;White, 2014) and opportunistic prosocial behaviour (Eberly-Lewis & Coetzee, 2015), reflecting the nature of these traits. For example, it is possible that beneath the positive link between prosocial behaviour and narcissism, which is perceived as "brighter" than the other two dark traits (Rauthmann & Kolar 2012), there lies a need for gaining social validation and rewards (Kauten & Barry, 2014;Zuo et al, 2016).…”