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Narcissism and Cardiovascular Reactivity to Rejection Imagery 1
Author(s) -
Sommer Kristin L.,
Kirkland Kristen L.,
Newman Stacey R.,
Estrella Patricia,
Andreassi John L.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.2009.00473.x
Subject(s) - narcissism , covert , psychology , entitlement (fair division) , personality , ruminating , heart rate , social psychology , blood pressure , medicine , rumination , psychiatry , cognition , linguistics , philosophy , mathematics , mathematical economics
This study examined the interactive effects of imagined rejection and narcissism on cardiovascular reactivity (CVR). Participants completed measures of overt narcissism (Narcissistic Personality Inventory, NPI; Raskin & Hall, 1979), overt–covert narcissism (Margolis & Thomas, 1980), and trait self‐esteem. They then imagined 2 scenarios culminating in either interpersonal acceptance or rejection. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate (HR) were assessed before, during, and after the imagery. Overt–covert narcissism was positively associated with task increases in SBP and DBP and recovery elevation of HR following rejection, but not acceptance. Similar effects on SBP were found for the Entitlement/Exploitativeness dimension of the NPI. Lower self‐esteem predicted greater task increases in SBP, DBP, and HR across conditions. Implications for health are discussed.