Researchers have found that people with high levels of narcissism, especially those who display traits of agentic extraversion, are more likely to set unrealistic future goals.The new discovery was published in a magazine personality and individual differences.
Narcissism is a multifaceted personality trait with three main aspects. Actual extraversion, hostility, and narcissistic neurosis. Agentic extraversion includes traits such as dominance and a desire for admiration. Hostility includes aspects such as rights and maneuverability. And narcissistic neurosis includes sensitivity to criticism and anxiety. The new study aims to investigate how these traits influence an individual’s tendency to set unrealistic goals, adding to previous studies that primarily focused on the more grandiose aspects of narcissism. expanded research.
“Pathological narcissism is highly stigmatized and poorly understood. I aim to conduct research that increases our understanding of narcissism, with the ultimate goal of informing psychotherapy. ,” said study author Ellen F. Finch, a clinical science doctoral student at Harvard University.
“I became interested in goal setting because there was a lot of anecdotal evidence that people who score high on narcissism set unrealistic goals, but there wasn’t a lot of empirical research to support this idea. I believe it is important to see whether clinical concepts hold up when examined empirically so that we can build a model of narcissism based on data.
This study recruited participants from a variety of settings, including university pools and online platforms to ensure a diverse and representative sample. A total of 482 adults participated and completed a series of questionnaires assessing narcissistic traits, self-esteem, and history of manic or hypomanic symptoms.
The primary tool used to measure propensity toward unrealistic goal setting asked participants to rate their likelihood of setting ambitious goals such as becoming a CEO or solving world hunger. It was a statistically unlikely pursuit set (WASSUP).
Researchers have found that people who exhibit high levels of agentic extraversion are especially likely to set high goals that often exceed realistic expectations. This characteristic not only encourages individuals to aim for high personal outcomes (agentic goals), but also extends to goals that may benefit others (communal goals).
Hostility was associated with setting goals primarily focused on personal gain, such as gaining fame or political influence. In contrast, narcissistic neurosis was negatively related to ambitious goal setting. This suggests that the anxiety inherent in narcissistic neuroses may undermine the desire and perceived ability to set or pursue high aspirations.
When the researchers controlled for possible overlapping effects among the three dimensions of narcissism and other psychological factors, such as self-esteem and history of manic or hypomanic symptoms, they found that unrealistic goal setting It was found that agentic extraversion emerged as the strongest correlation with
“People high in agentic extraversion, a facet of narcissism, may be more likely to set lofty and unrealistic goals for themselves,” Finch told SciPost. “While this pattern of goal setting may contribute to self-improvement, it can also lead to disappointment and a sense of failure.”
This study highlights the role of narcissistic traits in influencing both the ambition and feasibility of the goals that individuals set for themselves. However, as with any research, there are some caveats.
“Our participants were recruited from a non-clinical setting and we measure the personality traits of narcissism, not narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Therefore, there are no clinical conclusions (or conclusions specific to NPD) from this study. “Goal setting is a complex and multifaceted process. In this study, we investigate how likely people are to set goals for themselves,” Finch explains. But this is just one element of a broader goal-setting process.”
Future studies may expand to clinical populations and explore additional types of goals beyond those predefined in WASSUP. The researchers also aimed to study goal setting, including assessing participant-created goals and goal persistence and achievement, to better understand the practical impact of narcissism on daily planning and accomplishment. We propose a more dynamic approach.
“I hope to continue characterizing the cognitive patterns associated with narcissism and use this research to inform clinical conceptualizations of pathological narcissism and NPD,” Professor Finch said.
the study, “Aiming (too high): Narcissism and unrealistic goal setting”, Ellen F. Finch, Sarah E. Kalinowski, Daniel L. Schacter, Jill M. Hooley.
