A recent study has unveiled important insights into recognizing narcissistic tendencies in individuals.
Published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the research discovered that narcissists are more prone to feeling excluded than the average person and are likely to react negatively to subtle social cues. For instance, they may take it personally if someone doesn’t respond immediately or if a friend forgets shared memories.
“Feeling excluded is a subjective experience influenced by an individual’s interpretation of social signals. While some individuals may genuinely be excluded, others perceive themselves as excluded even when they are not,” explained the lead author, Christian Buttner from the University of Basel.
To arrive at this conclusion, researchers analyzed data from various studies, including a long-term study in Germany involving 1,592 individuals. The results illustrated that individuals with higher narcissism levels were significantly more prone to feeling excluded compared to those with lower levels of narcissism.
In subsequent experiments involving 2,500 individuals with varying narcissism levels, the researchers created situations simulating social exclusion to observe participants’ reactions. The outcomes indicated that individuals with strong narcissistic traits were more likely to interpret perceived exclusions as intentional rejection. Moreover, they tended to overestimate the frequency of their exclusions.
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
