Narcissism and romantic attraction.

Abstract

A model of narcissism and romantic attraction predicts that narcissists will be attracted to admiring individuals and highly positive individuals and relatively less attracted to individuals who offer the potential for emotional intimacy. Five studies supported this model. Narcissists, compared with nonnarcissists, preferred more self-oriented (i.e., highly positive) and less other-oriented (i.e., caring) qualities in an ideal romantic partner (Study 1). Narcissists were also relatively more attracted to admiring and highly positive hypothetical targets and less attracted to caring targets (Studies 2 and 3). Indeed, narcissists displayed a preference for highly positive-noncaring targets compared with caring but not highly positive targets (Study 4). Finally, mediational analyses demonstrated that narcissists' romantic attraction is, in part, the result of a strategy for enhancing self-esteem (Study 5). From the perspective of the modern observer, the ancient Greek myth of Narcissus can be viewed as a tale of romantic attraction. The handsome youth Narcissus wanders the world refusing romantic offers from a variety of eligible others, none of whom he deems worthy of his love. Eventually, he finds himself in a dark wood staring into a pool of water. It is here that he discovers the face of the person he loves staring back at him. This person he so adores is himself. Narcissus's attraction freezes him on the spot; he dies, and eventually turns into a flower. The story of Narcissus yields interesting insights into the nature of narcissism and romantic attraction. The myth suggests that, in the domain of narcissism, romantic attraction is bound up with a focus on the self and a lack of attention to others. The former is evident in Narcissus's gaze at his own reflection, and the latter is evident in his refusal to form relationships with those who desire him. What drives this pattern of romantic attraction in narcissists? The myth of Narcissus suggests that self-love, which in modern psychological terms may be translated as self-enhancem ent (i.e., the desire to maintain or increase the positivity of the selfconcept), underlies narcissists' romantic attraction. The goal of the present research was to understand the relation between narcissism and romantic attraction. Arguably, this brief exposition of the myth of Narcissus reveals a theme central to the romantic life of narcissists, elements of which are an attention to the self, a relative lack of intimate contact with others, and a strategy for self-esteem regulation. I trace this theme through the

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