Knowledge Bank

Narcissism is a personality trait encompassing multiple facets. Communal narcissists look to selfenhance by helping others and the community. Grandiose narcissists tend to be self-centered, selffocused, and self-serving. Vulnerable narcissists are more prone to negative emotional states and are more inhibited and insecure. Grandiose narcissists tend to take on leadership roles, where they may make volatile decisions that negatively affect the workplace. However, less is known about how vulnerable and communal narcissists act as leaders or make decisions that can affect others. The present study sought to examine how receiving false feedback about one's level of narcissism can affect decision making and leadership styles. After applying exclusion criteria, participants were 851 Mechanical Turk (MTurk) workers (Mage=40.03, 42.2% Male; 77.6% White, 10.6% Black or African American) who completed both study parts. In Part 1, participants completed measures of grandiose, vulnerable, and communal narcissism. Part 2 occurred a week later. Participants were invited to complete another survey, which included assessments of leadership and decision making, and were first given false feedback that they were high in grandiose (n=207), communal (n=219), or vulnerable (n=221) narcissism (n=204 no feedback controls). Results indicated that the relationship between narcissism, leadership styles, and decision making depended on the specific facet of narcissism assessed. Although no significant main effects of the false feedback manipulation were found, there were several areas in which the false feedback interacted with prior levels of narcissism to affect outcomes. The relationship between narcissism, leadership, and decision making is complex, and greater research is needed to determine if one facet is more strongly related to these factors than another.