The relationship between narcissism and empathy: A meta-analytic review

Simard, Pascal; Simard, Valérie; Laverdière, Olivier; Descôteaux, Jean

doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104329

Cited by 13 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 204 publications

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“…Another recent meta-analysis (Simard et al, 2023) focusing on the three-factor model dimensions of narcissism showed that antagonistic narcissism is most strongly negatively related to social affect ( r = −.37) as well as empathic concern ( r = −.21) and also social cognition ( r = −.16), whereas agentic narcissism is only weakly negatively related to social affect ( r = −.08) and empathic concern ( r = −.11), and unrelated to social cognition. Neurotic narcissism, in contrast, is most strongly related to experiencing empathic distress ( r = .28).…”

Section: Narcissism and Narcissistic Pathology From A Dimensional Per...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological and neural correlates of social affect and cognition in narcissism: A multimethod study of self-reported traits, experiential states, and behavioral and brain indicators.

Jauk,

Blum,

Hildebrandt

et al. 2024

Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment

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Lack of empathy" is a diagnostic criterion of narcissism, but the nature of interpersonal functioning in narcissism is still being debated. Both, empathy and narcissism, are multidimensional constructs, and their relation might depend upon contextual factors. We investigated social affect and cognition in narcissism spanning self-reported traits and experiential states (Ecological Momentary Assessment) as well as behavioral and brain indicators (task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging). N = 140 individuals were selected to cover the full dimensional range of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, including their constituent self-regulatory dimensions of agentic, antagonistic, and neurotic narcissism. Grandiose narcissism was associated with lower social affect at almost all analysis levels. The associations can be attributed to antagonistic self-regulatory dynamics, and are associated with lower brain activation during subjective experiencing of social affect in regions of the salience network. Social cognition was habitually lowered but not impaired in antagonistic narcissism. Our findings do not support a general "lack of empathy."

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Section: Narcissism and Narcissistic Pathology From A Dimensional Per...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychological and neural correlates of social affect and cognition in narcissism: A multimethod study of self-reported traits, experiential states, and behavioral and brain indicators.

Jauk,

Blum,

Hildebrandt

et al. 2024

Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment

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“…Although individuals high in narcissism tend to display less empathy towards humans, there is limited research exploring how narcissism relates to animal-centered empathy and attitudes towards animals among pet owners. Given that the core of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism is relatively low empathy ( Hart et al, 2018 ; Urbonaviciute and Hepper, 2020 ; Simard et al, 2022 ), it is important to explore whether this empathy deficit is directed towards both humans and animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have found that exploring narcissism at the trifurcated level is helpful for highlighting narcissism’s relations with important outcomes (e.g., Edershile and Wright, 2021 ; Mahadevan and Jordan, 2022 ; Szymczak et al, 2022 ). In a recent meta-analysis, Simard et al (2022) found that each narcissistic trait can account for differences in empathic responding toward humans. Agentic Extraversion, Antagonism, and Narcissistic Neuroticism were related to less human-centered empathic concern, yet only Narcissistic Neuroticism predicted greater feelings of personal distress in response to another person’s suffering ( Simard et al, 2022 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent meta-analysis, Simard et al (2022) found that each narcissistic trait can account for differences in empathic responding toward humans. Agentic Extraversion, Antagonism, and Narcissistic Neuroticism were related to less human-centered empathic concern, yet only Narcissistic Neuroticism predicted greater feelings of personal distress in response to another person’s suffering ( Simard et al, 2022 ). Notably, the three-factor model of narcissism can provide insight into the motives that might predict differences in empathic responding.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notably, the three-factor model of narcissism can provide insight into the motives that might predict differences in empathic responding. For example, individuals high in Agentic Extraversion may display lower empathy due to a lack of concern for others or less consideration for the perspective of others, while individuals high in Narcissistic Neuroticism may display lower empathy due to their overwhelming insecurities, and individuals high in Antagonism may have more pathological and antisocial motives for their empathy deficit ( Simard et al, 2022 ). Thus, adopting the three-factor model of narcissism is useful for understanding an individual’s empathy profile; however, limited research has explored how narcissism may relate to animal-centered empathy, attitudes towards animals, and pet attachment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Exploring narcissism and human- and animal-centered empathy in pet owners

2023

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Having empathy for others is typically generalized to having empathy for animals. However, empathy for humans and for animals are only weakly correlated. Thus, some individuals may have low human-centered empathy but have high animal-centered empathy. Here, we explore whether pet owners who are high in narcissism display empathy towards animals despite their low human-centered empathy. We assessed pet owners’ (N = 259) three components of trait narcissism (Agentic Extraversion, Antagonism, and Narcissistic Neuroticism), human- and animal-centered empathy, attitudes towards animals, and their pet attachment. We found that Agentic Extraversion was unrelated to both human- and animal-centered empathy. We also found that Antagonism was related to less empathy for both humans and animals, as well as more negative attitudes towards animals. Lastly, we found that Narcissistic Neuroticism was unrelated to human-centered empathy and positively related to animal-centered empathy and attitudes towards animals. This research furthers our understanding of the relation between empathy towards humans and animals and provides insight into whether animal-assisted approaches may be useful for empathy training in those with narcissistic characteristics.

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Loneliness in narcissistic vulnerability: Examining domains of personality functioning

Finch,

Kealy

2024

Personality & Mental Health

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Research has indicated loneliness to be a detrimental correlate of narcissistic vulnerability. However, no research has examined if this relationship persists across time or why it occurs. The present study explores the link between narcissistic vulnerability and loneliness across time and examines which domains of personality dysfunction (i.e., identity, self‐direction, empathy, and intimacy) may account for why narcissistic vulnerability is related to loneliness. Adult participants (N = 298) were recruited from Prolific and completed study questionnaires assessing narcissistic vulnerability, narcissistic grandiosity, loneliness, domains of self and interpersonal functioning, and neuroticism. Two months later, participants repeated the measure of loneliness. Correlations among all study variables were calculated, followed by linear regression analyses to investigate how personality functioning domains may mediate the longitudinal relationship between narcissistic vulnerability and loneliness. The effects of baseline loneliness, relationship status, and trait neuroticism were controlled for. Narcissistic vulnerability, but not narcissistic grandiosity, was associated with loneliness at baseline and 2 months later. Intimacy functioning, but not identity, self‐direction, or empathy functioning, was a significant mediator of the relationship between narcissistic vulnerability and loneliness over time. These findings suggest that narcissistic vulnerability may contribute to the development or maintenance of loneliness across time, highlighting the role of impaired intimacy functioning in this relationship. The impact of these findings on our understanding of interpersonal functioning in narcissistic vulnerability, as well as clinical implications, is discussed.

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The relationship between narcissism and empathy: A meta-analytic review

Cited by 13 publications

References 204 publications

Psychological and neural correlates of social affect and cognition in narcissism: A multimethod study of self-reported traits, experiential states, and behavioral and brain indicators.

Psychological and neural correlates of social affect and cognition in narcissism: A multimethod study of self-reported traits, experiential states, and behavioral and brain indicators.

Exploring narcissism and human- and animal-centered empathy in pet owners

Loneliness in narcissistic vulnerability: Examining domains of personality functioning

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