The Wax and Wane of Narcissism: Grandiose Narcissism as a Process or State

Giacomin, Miranda; Jordan, Christian H.

doi:10.1111/jopy.12148

Cited by 103Personality Traits and PsychologyEmotions and Moral BehaviorPersonality Disorders and Psychopathology

The Wax and Wane of Narcissism: Grandiose Narcissism as a Process or State

Giacomin, Miranda, Jordan, Christian H.·2016·Journal of Personality

DOI 10.1111/jopy.12148

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Abstract

Though grandiose narcissism has predominantly been studied in structural terms—focused on individuals' general tendencies to be more or less narcissistic—we tested whether it also has a meaningful process or state component. Using a daily diary study methodology and multilevel modeling (N = 178 undergraduates, 146 female; Mage = 18.86, SD = 2.21), we examine whether there is significant variability in daily state narcissism and whether this variability relates systematically to other psychological states (i.e., self‐esteem, stress) and daily events. We assessed state narcissism and daily experiences over a 10‐day period. We observed significant within‐person variability in daily narcissism. Notably, this variability was not simply random error, as it related systematically to other psychological states and daily events. Specifically, state narcissism was higher when people experienced more positive agentic outcomes (e.g., having power over someone) or more positive communal outcomes (e.g., helping someone with a problem). State narcissism was lower on days people experienced greater felt stress. These relations held when state self‐esteem, gender, and trait narcissism were controlled. These findings suggest that grandiose narcissism has a meaningful process or state component.

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These results support the notion that an individual's narcissism presentation may fluctuate over time and that vulnerable and grandiose presentations are inter-related and oscillating.
“As such, these results support the notion that an individual’s narcissism presentation may fluctuate over time [20, 21] and that vulnerable and grandiose presentations are inter-related and oscillating [9, 19].”
From Living with pathological narcissism: a qualitative study (2020) · cites this paper as [21]
Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism may reflect both sides of a narcissistic 'coin' that may be regularly oscillating, inter-related and state dependent.
“While the differences in presentation between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism appear manifest, it has been argued that they reflect both sides of a narcissistic ‘coin’ [9] that may be regularly oscillating, inter-related and state dependent [6, 18–22].”
From Living with pathological narcissism: a qualitative study (2020) · cites this paper as [21]

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Authors: Giacomin, M., & Jordan, C. H.
Affiliations: Wilfrid Laurier University (CA)
Corresponding author: Giacomin, Miranda
Jordan, Christian H.
ORCID: Giacomin, Miranda
Jordan, Christian H.
Venue: Journal of Personality
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2014-12-30
Volume: 84
Issue: 2
Pages: 154-164
ISSN: 0022-3506 (ISSN-L)
1467-6494
DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12148
OpenAlex: W2131318374
Cited by: 103
References: 74
Citations by year: 2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 4
FWCI: 3.55
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations: Journal of Personality (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
Keywords: grandiose narcissism, within-person variability, daily diary, self-esteem, stress, narcissistic personality traits, gender differences
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adult, Female, Helping Behavior, Humans, Internal-External Control, Male, Narcissism, Personality, Personality Disorders, Power, Psychological, Self Concept, Young Adult

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The Wax and Wane of Narcissism: Grandiose Narcissism as a Process or State

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