Sure, it might seem like narcissists at the very least have a lot going for them in general but the truth is they are lacking in more areas than we can usually see. A recent study has brought something quite interesting to our attention.
While it appears as though narcissists think a lot, most of them are ‘overconfidently underthinking.’ You see because narcissists are usually very impulsive and tend to feel very entitled as a whole, they don’t reflect properly. They jump into an obvious answer or solution and refuse to see anything differently from there.
The abstract for this study goes as follows:
There exists a large body of work examining individual differences in the propensity to engage in reflective thinking processes. However, there is a distinct lack of empirical research examining the role of dispositional factors in these differences and understanding these associations could provide valuable insight into decision-making. Here, we examine whether individual differences in cognitive reflection are related to narcissism (excessive self-focused attention) and impulsiveness (trait-based lack of inhibitory control). Participants across three studies completed measures of narcissism, impulsiveness and cognitive reflection. Results indicate that grandiose and vulnerable narcissists differ in their performance on problem-solving tasks (i.e., Cognitive Reflection Test [CRT]) and preferences for intuitive thinking, as well as the degree to which they reflect on and understand their own thoughts and enjoy cognitively effortful activities. Additionally, though impulsiveness was significantly related to self-report measures of cognitive reflection (i.e., metacognitive reflection, metacognitive insight, and need for cognition), it showed no association with a behavioral measure of cognitive reflection (i.e., CRT scores). Our results suggest that certain individual differences in dispositional and personality characteristics may play important roles in the extent to which individuals engage in certain forms of reflective thinking.
As a normal person when we think about something we break it down, narcissists do not necessarily do that. They are according to these findings much less likely to use critical thinking processes when making decisions. The more intense a person’s narcissistic tendencies are the less likely they are to make sound decisions. This because they are far too confident in their performance overall.
Jonathan Fugelsang who worked on this study said as follows in a statement:
“We found that grandiose and vulnerable narcissism are negatively associated with certain types of important reflective thinking processes,”
What do you think about all of this? Does it make more sense for a narcissist to be this way or do you have your own assumptions that you feel are more correct? For more information on narcissists in general and what they are please feel free to check out the video below.