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Grandiose Narcissism and Fairness in Social Exchanges

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Abstract

The present study explored how the personality variable, grandiose narcissism, was associated with various responses to unfairness such as retaliation, forgiveness and avoidance. Participants completed personality questionnaires and read a series of scenarios that depicted unfair treatment. They then answered questions concerning how they would respond to each scenario. Results revealed that grandiose narcissists were less likely to acquiesce and more likely to engage in revenge toward or avoid the person who treated them unfairly. Grandiose narcissism tended not to be associated with forgiveness in response to specific examples of unfair treatment. The consequences of narcissists’ more negative behavior during social exchanges are discussed, as are suggestions for future studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ohio State University at Mansfield, 1760 University Drive, Mansfield, OH, 44906, USA

    Amy B. Brunell

  2. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Mark S. Davis

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  1. Amy B. Brunell
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Correspondence to Amy B. Brunell.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Brunell, A.B., Davis, M.S. Grandiose Narcissism and Fairness in Social Exchanges. Curr Psychol 35, 220–233 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-016-9415-5

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