The frustrated narcissist: Intelligence may reduce the chances of developing narcissistic rivalry

Abstract

Within the narcissistic admiration and rivalry concept (NARC), it has been theorized that narcissistic admiration is the default mode of narcissistic expression, however, relatively little research has examined this possibility. Furthermore, although narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry have been reported to be inter-correlated positively, no research has examined any factors that might moderate the association, which may have implications for our understanding of the development of narcissistic rivalry. Consequently, on the basis of two samples (sample 1: N = 169; sample 2: N = 484) that completed the Narcissistic Admiration Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), we tested whether people, on average, report higher levels of NARQ-Admiration than NARQ-Rivalry. Additionally, we tested whether intelligence moderated (reduced) the association between NARQ-Admiration and NARQ-Rivalry. Across two samples, we found that NARQ-Admiration had a statistically significantly higher mean than NARQ-Rivalry (sample 1: d = 0.71; sample 2: d = 0.65). Additionally, across both samples, we found that intelligence moderated (reduced) statistically significantly the association between NARQ-Admiration and NARQ-Rivalry. The results were interpreted as supportive of the contention that narcissistic admiration may be the default mode of narcissism. Additionally, whether narcissistic rivalry is developed or manifested may be contingent, in part, upon a person's level of cognitive intelligence.