The Psychodynamic Mask Model of Narcissism: Where Is It Now?

Abstract

According to the psychodynamic mask model of narcissism, the narcissist’s grandiose posturing masks deep-seated insecurities and low self-regard. This conceptualization of grandiose narcissism as fragile self-esteem is pursued within social-personality psychology in tests of three distinct hypotheses: the discrepant self-esteem hypothesis (narcissism reflects high explicit self-esteem combined with low implicit self-esteem); the unstable self-esteem hypothesis (narcissism reflects high trait self-esteem that is unstable and reactive to contexts); and the contingent self-esteem hypothesis (narcissism reflects high self-esteem that is contingent on achievement in agentic domains). Here, we review the background and current state of research on each of these hypotheses. Overall, the contingent self-esteem hypothesis has the most support, likely because it links self-esteem fragility to contingency in agentic domains. Recommendations for researchers include utilizing precise operationalizations of key constructs, seeking evidence of fragility in agentic rather than communal domains, and not conflating “agentic” domains with “nonsocial” domains.