Narcissism and the Moderating Effect on Performance and Competition

Indianapolis, IN

This research investigates the relationship between competition and performance and ifnarcissism moderates that relationship. A meta-analysis conductedby Muryama and Elliot (2012) showed that there is no reliable relationship between competition and performance, but the authors believed that individuals high in grandiose narcissism would respond favorably to competition, whereas those low in grandiose narcissism might not. Grandiose narcissists want to be seen as better then the next person, and competition gives them the opportunity to do that. In order to test this moderation effect, subjects will complete an assesment of grandiose narcissism. They will then randomly be put in either the competition condition (where they will be competing against some in the room) or the non-competitive condition (where they will be trying to beat a pre-determined score). The competitive task will be the board game, "Operation" and participants will complete the game three times under the competitive or non-competitive conditions. Data collection is currently ongoing.