How Narcissism changes over time: insights from recent research
Friday, July 12, 2024.
We’ve all met that person who constantly talks about themselves, believes they’re superior to everyone else, and craves admiration.
These are hallmark traits of narcissism, a personality characteristic that receives a lot of attention on this blog. But how does narcissism evolve with age?
New research offers some surprising insights, indicating that these traits may become less pronounced as folks grow older.
Researchers from the University of Bern and the University of Münster conducted an extensive review of existing studies on narcissism, analyzing data from over 37,000 participants across 51 different studies. This was a huge undertaking.
Their findings, published in the Psychological Bulletin, reveal how narcissistic traits change from childhood through old age.
Narcissism tends to decrease with age, beginning as early as eight years old and continuing into the 70s. However, these changes are modest, implying that while narcissism generally decreases over time, the reduction is not drastic.
Types of Narcissism and Their Decline
The researchers focused on three specific types of narcissism:
Agentic Narcissism: Defined by feelings of grandiosity, superiority, and a strong need for admiration.
Antagonistic Narcissism: Characterized by arrogance, entitlement, callousness, and low empathy.
Neurotic Narcissism: Marked by emotional instability and hypersensitivity.
All three types showed a decrease with age, though to different extents. Agentic narcissism showed the smallest decline, while antagonistic and neurotic narcissism experienced more significant decreases.
This indicates that although people may become slightly less self-centered and attention-seeking as they age, the more problematic traits, such as entitlement and lack of empathy, tend to diminish more noticeably.
Factors behind a decline in personal narcissism
Several factors may contribute to this decline in narcissism:
Social Roles and Relationships: As we age, we tend to invest more in social roles and relationships, which can naturally reduce narcissistic tendencies.
Life Experiences: Accumulating life experiences can temper unrealistic self-views.
Adulthood Responsibilities: The challenges and responsibilities of adulthood might make narcissistic behaviors less adaptive over time.
The study also found that these trends were consistent across genders and generations, challenging the notion that newer generations are increasingly narcissistic. This suggests that the pattern of narcissism development has remained relatively stable across different age groups.
Stability of narcissistic traits
Another key finding was the stability of narcissistic traits over time. Although levels of narcissism tend to decrease with age, an individual’s relative ranking compared to their peers remains stable.
“People who were more narcissistic than average as children remained more narcissistic than average as adults,” explains lead author Ulrich Orth, PhD, from the University of Bern.
This stability, observed over long periods, suggests that narcissism is a deeply ingrained personality trait. The study’s findings have significant implications for understanding personality development and could inform strategies for managing narcissistic behavior in various contexts, from personal relationships to professional environments.
“These findings have important implications given that high levels of narcissism influence people’s lives in many ways—both for the narcissistic individuals themselves and, perhaps even more, for their families and friends,” Orth notes.
However, it’s important to recognize that these are broad trends, and individual experiences can vary widely. Some individuals may become more narcissistic over time, while others might exhibit more dramatic decreases than the average.
Future directions for research
Looking forward, the researchers emphasize the need for more diverse studies.
Most of the data analyzed came from the United States and Western Europe, so future research should examine narcissism across a broader range of countries and cultures.
Additionally, Orth suggests that further investigation is needed to understand the mechanisms behind the observed decline in narcissism.
“One theory suggests that the social roles we take on in adulthood, such as being a partner, parent, or employee, lead to the development of more mature personality characteristics, including lower levels of narcissism,” Orth proposes.
Final thoughts
This study provides a nuanced understanding of how narcissistic traits change over the lifespan. While narcissism tends to decrease with age, the decline is modest, and the trait remains relatively stable within individuals.
These insights challenge the notion of increasing narcissism in newer generations and highlight the importance of social roles and life experiences in reducing narcissistic behaviors. I suspect that the “study of studies” model subordinated individual cultural and sub-cultural differences.
Future research should continue exploring these dynamics across diverse populations to deepen our understanding of narcissism and its development.
Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.
REFERENCES:
Orth, U., & Robins, R. W. (2023). The development of narcissism from childhood to old age: A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Psychological Bulletin, 149(3), 355-390. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000323
University of Bern. (2023). Narcissism declines across the lifespan: Evidence from a large-scale review. University of Bern News Release. Retrieved from https://www.unibe.ch/research/research_database
University of Münster. (2023). Age-related changes in narcissistic traits: A comprehensive analysis. University of Münster Research Publications. Retrieved from https://www.uni-muenster.de/research/narcissism
American Psychological Association. (2023). Understanding the decline in narcissism with age. APA Monitor on Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/06/narcissism-age
