TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY

1 Narcissism and Empathy . 4 Emotion Perception Ability . 4 Metacognitive Ability . 7 Brain Structures Associated with Emotion Perception Ability . 10 Brain Structures Compromised in those with Narcissism and NPD . 11 The Dark Triad . 12 Aims and Hypotheses . 13 Method . 15 Design . 15 Participants . 15 Materials . 16 Self-Report Questionnaires . 17 Procedure . 19 Statistical Analyses . 20 Emotion Perception Accuracy . 21 Results . 22 Baseline Assessments . 22 TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY v ERT Performance . 22 Calibration Analyses . 30 Calibration Statistic. 30 ANDI Statistic. 30 O/U Statistic. 31 Discussion . 36 Limitations and Future Directions . 41 References . 45 Appendix . 59 Appendix A Ethics Approval . 59 Appendix B Participant Recruitment Flyer . 60 Appendix C Participant Information Sheet . 61 Appendix D Participant Consent Form . 63 TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY vi List of Tables Table 1. Descriptive Statistics for Self-Report Measures and Correlations with Trait Narcissism.26 Table 2. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores at 20% Intensity.27 Table 3. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores at 40% Intensity.28 Table 4. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores at 60% Intensity.29 Table 5. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores at 80% Intensity.30 Table 6. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores at 100% Intensity.31 Table 7. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores for the ANDI statistic.35 Table 8. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores for the Calibration statistic.36 Table 9. A Regression Model with the Various Emotions Predicting Trait Narcissism Scores for the O/U statistic.37 TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY vii List of Figures Figure 1. (A) Overall relationship between mean scores on the SD3 narcissism subscale and the Adjusted Normalized Discrimination Index. (B) Overall relationship between mean scores on the SD3 narcissism subscale and the Calibration Statistic. (C) Overall relationship between mean scores on the SD3 narcissism subscale and the Over/Under Statistic.34 TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY viii List of Acronyms APA American Psychiatric Association ANDI Adjusted Normalised Discrimination Index C Calibration Statistic DASS21 Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale21 items DSM Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ERT Emotion Recognition Task IRI Interpersonal Reactivity Index NPD Narcissistic Personality Disorder O/U Overconfidence/Underconfidence RSE Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale SD3 Short Dark Triad SEQ Social Emotional Questionnaire TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY ix An Investigation of Emotion Recognition Ability and Metacognitive Judgements of Emotion Recognition Performance in Trait Narcissism. Nikki Turner (BPsychSc) Word Count: 9118 TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY 1 Abstract Empathy deficits have been consistently found in people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and trait narcissism. However, few studies have examined underlying difficulties in social cognitive ability experienced in these individuals. This study was a preliminary investigation to determine whether individuals with higher levels of trait narcissism would experience difficulties identifying basic emotional expressions (anger, disgust, sadness, fear, happiness and surprise) and whether these individuals lack insight into their emotion perception abilities. Sixty participants aged between 18 and 35 (M = 24.17, SD = 5.26) completed the Short Dark Triad (SD3) and the Emotion Recognition Task (ERT) to assess emotion perception abilities. Metacognition of emotion recognition was assessed by obtaining confidence ratings (0% to 100%) for each presented emotion. The study identified trends towards those with higher trait narcissism experiencing emotion recognition difficulties, particularly for the emotions fear, sadness and surprise. They were also found to be more overconfident in their predictions ofEmpathy deficits have been consistently found in people with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and trait narcissism. However, few studies have examined underlying difficulties in social cognitive ability experienced in these individuals. This study was a preliminary investigation to determine whether individuals with higher levels of trait narcissism would experience difficulties identifying basic emotional expressions (anger, disgust, sadness, fear, happiness and surprise) and whether these individuals lack insight into their emotion perception abilities. Sixty participants aged between 18 and 35 (M = 24.17, SD = 5.26) completed the Short Dark Triad (SD3) and the Emotion Recognition Task (ERT) to assess emotion perception abilities. Metacognition of emotion recognition was assessed by obtaining confidence ratings (0% to 100%) for each presented emotion. The study identified trends towards those with higher trait narcissism experiencing emotion recognition difficulties, particularly for the emotions fear, sadness and surprise. They were also found to be more overconfident in their predictions of emotion recognition ability. The results provide preliminary evidence that higher levels of trait narcissism may be related to difficulties in emotion perception ability and metacognitive functioning concerning this ability. This might contribute to the underlying associated difficulties in empathy often seen in individuals high in trait narcissism. TRAIT NARCISSISM AND EMOTION PERCEPTION ABILITY 2 ‘Generation Y’ (those born after 1980) display higher levels of trait narcissism than any previous generation (Twenge & Foster, 2010). Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a clinical disorder that causes considerable distress and impaired functioning to the individual (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). Prevalence is estimated at up to 6.2% within the community. According to the APA, difficulties in social functioning derive from a sense of entitlement, general disregard for the wants and needs of others, fantasies of ideal love, and need for admiration. NPD is associate