Narcissists prefer the romantic companionship of other narcissists, according to new research published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.
A team of scientists led by Marcin Zajenkowski of the University of Warsaw in Poland found evidence of what the researchers call “selective mating,” or the tendency to enter into romantic relationships with people who have similar characteristics to oneself, in a sample of 150 heterosexual Polish couples. Specifically, people who scored high on the personality dimension of narcissism tended to be with partners who also scored high on narcissism, while people who scored low on narcissism tended to be with less narcissistic partners.
Previous research has hinted that such a relationship might exist, but this study provides more compelling evidence that narcissists may indeed be grouped.
“We confirmed our hypothesis about selective mating for narcissism, which is consistent with previous findings,” the authors say. “Thus, our findings confirm the broader literature on compatibility in romantic relationships, as well as the literature on narcissism and compatibility. Narcissists seek out potential partners who are similar to themselves—that is, who are oriented toward themselves rather than others.”
To reach this conclusion, the psychologists recruited 150 heterosexual Polish couples, 32% of whom were married, to take part in a personality study. Participants were asked to complete a scale measuring “grandiose narcissism,” or the tendency to express personal dominance, high self-esteem, and overestimate one’s abilities, with items such as “I have a natural talent for influencing people” and “I like to receive praise.”
The scientists calculated the degree to which individuals displayed narcissistic personality traits and then compared those scores to their partners’ scores. They found a near-significant correlation between an individual’s level of narcissism and their partner’s level of narcissism, suggesting selective mating among narcissists.
That wasn’t the only thing they found. They also asked participants to complete a short intelligence test and report their self-rated intelligence. Four additional findings emerged from this line of questioning, as described below.
- Narcissists overestimate their intelligence. This finding is consistent with previous research showing that narcissists are more likely to consider themselves more intelligent. The scientists also found that male and female narcissists were equally likely to overestimate their intelligence.
- Female narcissists scored higher on intelligence tests. The researchers found evidence that female narcissists may have higher intelligence than non-narcissists. This pattern was not found for males.
- Narcissistic women tend to associate with men they perceive as intelligent. The scientists found that narcissistic women placed a higher value on having an intelligent partner than narcissistic men. This may be because men choose partners based on physical attractiveness rather than intelligence.
- Narcissistic couples were neither more nor less happy than other couples. Interestingly, the researchers found no evidence that narcissism was linked to relationship satisfaction. What predicted relationship satisfaction? The degree to which one’s partner was happy in the relationship.
