Key Points

Research on delay in rewards shows that the inability to postpone long-term rewards is linked to key aspects of narcissism.

By engaging in the protective behavior of accidental future thinking, it is possible to counteract the negative effects of delay in reward.

The need to get their desires met immediately can lead to life problems for people high in narcissism.

If you know someone you consider high in narcissism, you are undoubtedly familiar with their annoying traits. They expect to be treated as special, get angry when they are not, and constantly brag about their superior qualities. These traits of so-called grandiose narcissism may also coexist with the sense of vulnerability that people high in narcissism also display, allowing you to see their weaker side, if only briefly.

According to a new study by Sulaman Coleman and colleagues from the University of Vermont (2022), one key trait that is often overlooked in the narcissism literature is the quality of “delayed discounting.” Delayed discounting, a feature of decision-making, refers to the tendency to view a reward you might receive in the future as less desirable (“discounted”) than a reward you might receive immediately.

Researchers at the University of Vermont argue that people high in narcissism may be similar to individuals with other psychiatric disorders who are known to exhibit greater delayed discounting. As they put it, “Delayed discounting has been proposed to constitute a ‘multi-diagnostic process’ that underpins a wide range of psychiatric conditions.”

Delayed Discounting in Narcissism

Delayed discounting may be of particular concern for people high in narcissism. Coleman and others argue that these individuals may be more likely to exhibit delayed discounting because they are also high in what’s called “approach motivation” and low in “avoidance motivation.” In other words, they see rewards as enticing, even those that come at the cost of risk.

Again, if you think about someone you know who is high in narcissism, there may have been a time when that person needed you to do them a favor. They wanted to clean out their closet because the top shelves were too high for them. He insisted that this had to happen “now.” I promised to do it in a few days, but that didn’t stop the steady drumbeat of texting demands from him. The reward of getting what he wants right away outweighed, in his mind, the risk of alienating you completely.

To test their theoretical hypothesis, Coleman and his colleague Anthony C. Oliver conducted a meta-analysis in which they assessed the strength of the associations between dimensions of narcissism and narcissistic depression, as reported in seven previously conducted studies. The international samples in these studies ranged from college students to the general adult population.

The quantitative method researchers use to measure narcissistic depression involves the “monetary choice questionnaire,” in which the time it takes to receive a reward is plotted against the size of the reward, making it possible to measure how much long-term benefit a person is willing to sacrifice for a short-term reward. For example, one measure asks participants to make the following set of choices: “Would you rather have (a) $100 today or (b) $1,000 in one month?” and “Would you rather have (a) $100 today or (b) $1,000 in one year?” The resulting curve from questions like this would show the rate of devaluation of the reward over the longer term and allow the researcher to convert the rate of devaluation into a number that can be correlated with scores on a narcissism scale.

Across the seven studies, various standardized narcissism questionnaires tapped total levels of this quality along with its dimensions of entitlement, grandiosity, and vulnerability. No participants in these studies reported meeting diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, but the authors emphasize that their findings may nonetheless be of clinical significance.

Unfortunately, with so few studies available, the authors also had to rely on some studies that were less than ideal in their methods, such as not reporting response rates to participation compared to initial recruitment. However, the total number of participants was reasonably large (over 2,700 adults), and the authors controlled for other sources of bias, making the results nonetheless valuable.

Are Narcissists Less Able to Wait for Rewards?

Now that you understand the questions used to measure Narcissistic Personality Disorder and translate them into quantitative terms, it is time to consider whether the evidence supports the association between narcissism (and its dimensions) and the inability to wait for rewards. After subjecting the data to their careful analysis, the authors concluded that there was indeed a “small to moderate positive association between Narcissistic Personality Disorder and measures of characteristic narcissism” (p. 216).

The association between narcissistic personality disorder and NPD was strongest in what is called “Criterion B” for NPD in the DSM-5, suggesting that people who are high in the grandiose, attention-seeking component of narcissism are the ones you would expect to be most demanding of immediate action. The authors also noted that entitlement was a factor in the equation. Because they feel they “deserve” whatever they want when they want it, individuals high in this component of narcissism will seek their rewards, no matter the outcome. Coleman and others argue that this desire to seek short-term rewards regardless of the associated costs can pose a significant threat to the overall physical and mental health of individuals high in narcissism. The costs of this single-minded focus on getting what they want can include increased alcohol consumption, risky sex, poorly thought-out financial decisions, excessive gambling, and even “ignoring public health and safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic” (p. 217).

How to Reduce Narcissistic Personality Disorder in People High in Narcissism

Amid these potentially life-threatening outcomes, is there any hope for grandiose and arrogant narcissists? As the University of Vermont authors note, interventions that reduce narcissistic personality disorder could help people high in narcissism increase their levels of patience.

One such intervention involves what’s known as “episodic future thinking.” In this method, as defined by Christine Atans and Danielle O’Neill of the University of Washington (2001), you “pretest” a future event, forcing yourself to think about what you might need to do to bring about that event. As the authors suggest from a first-person perspective, “imagining my upcoming vacation might require me to consider factors such as how much money I will spend, how much work I will have to get done before I go, etc. (i.e., constraints)” (p. 533).

Projecting yourself into a future situation that you hope will come true, or perhaps one that you hope will not come true (such as illness), can help you structure your thinking so that you weigh the rewards and costs more evenly. Since the concept was introduced, researchers using the approach in clinical settings have seen benefits for some risky behaviors, such as alcohol use (e.g., Pauly & Golo, 2017).

This intervention may be just what you need to manage the constant demands for instant gratification from the narcissists in your life who won’t stop harassing you. Going back to the example of your help-seeking friend, expanding their window of time might be as simple as telling them that, yes, in three days, their wishes will come true. Help them see a future where everything will be resolved, and they may feel better able to accept the delay between now and then.

You might also benefit from a little practice in casual future thinking. There are always outcomes that we wish would happen sooner rather than later, as well as outcomes that we wish would be avoided. You may find it difficult to engage in health-promoting behaviors that take time and effort, but by seeing how they directly track desired outcomes, you can gain the motivation you need to keep striving for that long-term reward.