Abstract:
Previous research suggests that narcissists (vs. non-narcissists) may be more tolerant of other narcissists. However, previous research on this topic has involved methodologies that rely on trait-relevant priming rather than observations of actual behavior, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings. It remains unclear whether the narcissistic-tolerance effect holds up under more ecologically valid conditions. The current study examined whether narcissists tolerated narcissists by assessing participants’ reactions to actors behaving in a narcissistic or non-narcissistic fashion. Narcissism was positively associated with liking in the narcissistic-actor condition and negatively associated with liking in the non-narcissistic-actor condition. Path modeling suggested that this interactive effect of narcissism and actor condition was mediated by perceived similarity and tendencies to selectively interpret the actor’s behavior. These findings have implications for how narcissists view other narcissists and interpret social information.
