Grandiose narcissism was associated with high self-perceived intelligence (Studies 1-3) and explained more variance in self-perceived intelligence than objective intelligence and the Big Five personality traits.
Cerebral narcissists, also known as intellectual narcissists, are individuals who try to fulfill their narcissistic supply through their perceived intelligence. While intellectual narcissists are generally smart, they may present as if they are more educated than they really are.
First, just as the authors had projected prior to the experiment, grandiose narcissists reliably ranked themselves as being more intelligent than others, even though this did not translate to higher marks on the intellect exams.
As stated in the literature review, a person high in narcissism has the characteristics of high trait EI, such as assertiveness and achievement motivation (Foster and Campbell, 2005).
Narcissists consider intelligence to be an important asset that leads to benefits in the social world. They are highly motivated to maintain a grandiose self-view with regard to intelligence, which enables them to feel good; they defend this self-view against criticism and want to appear smart to other peo- ple.
Individuals with high grandiose narcissism tend to think they are extraordinarily intelligent, and these views determine their psychological well-being.
Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.
While narcissists perceive themselves to be above average intelligence and strong critical thinkers, they are unable to use reflective thinking skills effectively. The high levels of confidence they have in their intellectual abilities are often misplaced.
“Grandiose narcissism appears to correlate positively with healthy self-esteem and extroversion,” Papageorgiou says. These types of narcissists tend to be very confident, which is a good thing.
Grandiosity is the defining characteristic of narcissism. More than just arrogance or vanity, grandiosity is an unrealistic sense of superiority. Narcissists believe they are unique or “special” and can only be understood by other special people.
Narcissists' Greatest Fear
To narcissists, ordinary people (i.e., nearly everybody around them) aren't worthy of attention, so being ordinary would leave them unworthy of the spotlight and left to suffocate. Narcissists also need to feel special and superior to others.
A narcissist views themself as better, more special, and more deserving than others. They tend to have a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), which is marked by grandiose thinking, an inflated ego, lack of empathy, and a need to be admired by all.
The root of the disorder is actually a strict resistance to feeling vulnerable with anyone at any time. Here's a lay description of how it works: The narcissist does not truly trust others in close relationships.
First, narcissists usually have overly positive self-views, especially of their own physical appearance (Buffardi and Campbell 2008;Buss and Chiodo 1991). They make much account of their physical appearance (Davis et al. 2001) and usually overestimate their attractiveness (Bleske-Rechek et al. 2008; Gabriel et al.
Long-term abuse can change a victim's brain, resulting in cognitive decline and memory loss. In turn, the changes in the brain can increase the risk for chronic stress, PTSD, and symptoms of self-sabotage.
It can be baffling, but it all makes sense when you understand what drives them. That awareness protects you from their games, lies, and manipulation. Narcissists have an impaired or undeveloped self. They think and function differently from other people.
Participants who had high levels of narcissism were more mentally tough and resilient than participants who had low levels of narcissism. Subclinical psychopathy and Machiavellianism were largely unrelated to mental toughness and resilience.
Highly empathetic
Individuals who have a high level of empathy are extremely appealing to narcissists because narcissists crave acknowledgment and validation for their thoughts and feelings (clinically, being "mirrored").
Narcissistic parents are often emotionally abusive to their children, holding them to impossible and constantly changing expectations. Those with narcissistic personality disorder are highly sensitive and defensive. They tend to lack self-awareness and empathy for other people, including their own children.
To a narcissist, love is an external source of validation used to boost their self-esteem. They do not understand that real love involves reciprocity. Instead, they believe that love is something they can obtain from a person or object and use to feel better about themselves.
Narcissists over-estimate their ability to read social cues, misunderstand how others perceive them, and lack perspective-taking abilities.
We demonstrate that narcissism in children is cultivated by parental overvaluation: parents believing their child to be more special and more entitled than others. In contrast, high self-esteem in children is cultivated by parental warmth: parents expressing affection and appreciation toward their child.
People with narcissistic personality disorder tend not to perceive that they themselves may have a mental health problem, and thus may be less likely to seek evaluation or treatment.