Within Rothstein's ego-psychological framework, the pursuit of perfection is central to self-esteem regulation along a narcissistic spectrum of self-functioning [1]. In a test of this perspective, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and other measures of narcissism were administered to 400 undergraduates. Self- and Other-Oriented Perfectionism predicted greater self-esteem, but this effect was mediated by the apparently more adaptive NPI factors. Self-functioning variables displayed systematic linkages with perfectionism; and a rough “spectrum” of functioning was evident in the effects of partial correlations controlling for healthy self-esteem, for more adaptive narcissism, or for more maladaptive narcissism. These data supported a previously articulated hypothesis that at least some conscious representations of the self may vary along a continuum of self-esteem regulation.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
RothsteinA., The Narcissistic Pursuit of Perfection (2nd revised ed.), International Universities Press, New, York, 1984.
2.
FreudS., Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of his Childhood, in The Freud Reader, GayP. (ed.), W. W. Norton, New York, pp. 443–481, 1989. (Original work published 1910)
3.
GayP., Freud: A Life for Our Time, W. W. Norton, New York, 1988.
4.
FreudS., On Narcissism: An Introduction, in The Freud Reader, GayP. (ed.), W. W. Norton, New York, pp. 545–562, 1989. (Original work published 1914)
5.
KohutH., The Restoration of the Self, International Universities Press, New York, 1977.
6.
KernbergO., Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism, Jason Aronson, Northvale, New Jersey, 1985.
7.
American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.), American Psychiatric Association, Washington, D.C., 1994.
8.
RaskinR. and HallC. S., The Narcissistic Personality Inventory: Alternate Form Reliability and Further Evidence of Construct Validity, Journal of Personality Assessment, 45, pp. 159–162, 1981.
9.
EmmonsR. A., Factor Analysis and Construct Validation of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, Journal of Personality Assessment, 48, pp. 291–300, 1984.
10.
EmmonsR. A., Narcissism: Theory and Measurement, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, pp. 11–17, 1987.
11.
WatsonP. J.TaylorD., and MorrisR. J., Narcissism, Sex Roles, and Self-Functioning, Sex Roles, 16, pp. 335–350, 1987.
12.
WatsonP. J.HickmanS. E., and MorrisR. J., Self-Reported Narcissism and Shame: Testing the Defensive Self-Esteem and Continuum Hypotheses, Personality and Individual Differences, 21, pp. 253–259, 1996.
13.
RaskinR.NovacekJ., and HoganR., Narcissistic Self-Esteem Management, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, pp. 911–918, 1991.
14.
BaumeisterR. F.SmartL., and BodenJ. M., Relation of Threatened Egotism to Violence and Aggression: The Dark Side of High Self-Esteem, Psychological Review, 103, pp. 5–33, 1996.
15.
WatsonP. J.MorrisR. J., and MillerL., Narcissism and the Self as Continuum: Correlations with Assertiveness and Hypercompetitiveness, Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 17, pp. 249–259, 1997–98.
16.
WatsonP. J.LittleT.SawrieS. M., and BidermanM. D., Measures of the Narcissistic Personality: Complexity of Relationships with Self-Esteem and Empathy, Journal of Personality Disorders, 6, pp. 434–449, 1992.
17.
HewittP. L. and FlettG. L., Perfectionism in the Self and Social Contexts: Conceptualization, Assessment, and Association with Psychopathology, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, pp. 456–470, 1991.
18.
BroucekF. J., Shame and the Self, Guilford Press, New York, 1991.
19.
HewittP. L.FlettG. L., and BlanksteinK. R., Perfectionism and Neuroticism in Psychiatric Patients and College Students, Personality and Individual Differences, 12, pp. 273–279, 1991.
20.
HewittP. L.FlettG. L.BlanksteinK. R., and MosherS. W., Perfectionism, Self-Actualization, and Personal Adjustment, Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6, pp. 147–160, 1991.
21.
HewittP. L.FlettG. L.Turnbull-DonovanW., and MikailS. F., The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Reliability, Validity, and Psychometric Properties in Psychiatric Samples, Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 3, pp. 464–468, 1991.
22.
FlettG. L.HewittP. L.BlanksteinK. R., and O'BrienS., Perfectionism and Learned Resourcefulness in Depression and Self-Esteem, Personality and Individual Differences, 12, pp. 61–68, 1991.
23.
RosenbergM., Society and the Adolescent Self-Image, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1965.
24.
RaskinR. and TerryH., A Principal-Components Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and Further Evidence of Its Construct Validity, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, pp. 890–902, 1988.
25.
WatsonP. J. and BidermanM. D., Narcissistic Personality Inventory Factors, Splitting, and Self-Consciousness, Journal of Personality Assessment, 61, pp. 41–57, 1993.
26.
O'BrienM. L., Examining the Dimensionality of Pathological Narcissism: Factor Analysis and Construct Validity of the O'Brien Multiphasic Narcissism Inventory, Psychological Reports, 61, pp. 499–510, 1987.
27.
BlascovichJ. and TomakaJ., Measures of Self-Esteem, in Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Attitudes (Vol. 1), in RobinsonJ. P.ShaverP. R., and WrightsmanL. S. (eds.), Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 115–160, 1991.
28.
GramzowR. and TangneyJ. P., Proneness to Shame and the Narcissistic Personality, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, pp. 369–376, 1992.
29.
WatsonP. J.McKinneyJ.HawkinsC., and MorrisR. J., Assertiveness and Narcissism, Psychotherapy, 25, pp. 125–131, 1988.
30.
O'BrienM. L., Further Evidence of the Validity of the O'Brien Multiphasic Narcissism Inventory, Psychological Reports, 62, pp. 879–882, 1988.
31.
HickmanS. E.WatsonP. J., and MorrisR. J., Optimism, Pessimism, and the Complexity of Narcissism, Personality and Individual Differences, 20, pp. 521–525, 1996.
32.
WinkP., The Two Faces of Narcissism, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, pp. 590–597, 1991.
33.
WatsonP. J. and BidermanM. D., Narcissistic Traits Scale: Validity Evidence and Sex Differences in Narcissism, Personality and Individual Differences, 16, pp. 501–504, 1994.
