Narcissism is known to be related to romantic success in short-term contexts (dating, early stage relationships) but also to problems in long-term committed relationships. We propose that these diverging romantic outcomes of narcissism can be explained by differential associations with agentic versus antagonistic dimensions of grandiose narcissism: Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry. Both dimensions serve the central narcissistic goal of gaining and maintaining a grandiose self-view, but do so by different processes: Admiration is characterized by the tendency to promote the positivity of one's self-view by seeking social admiration (assertive self-enhancement). Rivalry is characterized by the tendency to protect oneself from a negative self-view by derogating others (antagonistic self-protection). Across 7 studies (total N = 3,560) using diverse measures and methodological approaches (self-, peer, and partner reports, as well as interpersonal perception measures in video-based studies, face-to-face laboratory encounters, and online surveys), we show that the short-term romantic appeal associated with narcissism is primarily attributable to the dimension of Admiration, whereas the long-term romantic problems associated with narcissism are primarily attributable to the dimension of Rivalry. These results highlight the utility of a 2-dimensional reconceptualization of grandiose narcissism for explaining its heterogeneous romantic outcomes. The findings further underscore the idea that different facets of personality traits might impact different aspects of romantic relationship quality, depending on the stage of the relationship. Such a more nuanced view increases the predictive validity of personality traits in social relationship research. (PsycINFO Database Record
We provide a first systematic investigation of the most prominent hypotheses about the impact of mate value on interpersonal attraction in real-life early-stage romantic encounters.Using Response Surface Analysis, we simultaneously examined how (a) people's perception of their own mate value, (b) their perception of a potential partner's mate value, and (c) the interplay between the two mate values impact initial romantic attraction and selection as well as subsequent interpersonal outcomes after selection. Data came from the "Date me forScience" speed-dating study (n = 398), in which participants who mutually selected each other at the speed-dating event were followed up with 3 assessments in the 6 weeks after the event to assess subsequent outcomes. Participants' romantic attraction, likelihood of selecting, and subsequent interpersonal outcomes with a dating partner almost exclusively depended on their perception of their dating partner's mate value: the higher, the better. There was no evidence for the popular matching hypothesis, which states that people feel attracted to and select dating partners whom they perceive to have a mate value similar to their own.Implications of these findings for theory and research on the impact of mate value on romantic attraction and selection are discussed. Word count: 198Keywords: human mate selection, similarity, assortative mating, courtship, longitudinal speed-dating study Running head: MATE VALUE AND REAL-LIFE ROMANTIC ENCOUNTERS 3 Mate value-i.e., an individual's overall value to potential partners in the mating market-is a central construct in many theories on human mate selection and romantic relationship functioning (e.g., Buss, Goetz, Duntley, Asao, & Conroy-Beam, 2017; Eastwick, 2016; Eastwick & Hunt, 2014; Fisher, Cox, Bennett, & Gavric, 2008;Miller & Todd, 1998;Penke, Todd, Lenton, & Fasolo, 2008;Sela, Mogilski, Shackelford, Zeigler-Hill, & Fink, in press; Starratt, Weekes-Shackelford, & Shackelford, 2017). One of the most crucial questions about mate value is how it influences romantic attraction and partner choice. Two competing theoretical assumptions about this influence dominate the field: the idea that individuals feel attracted to and select potential partners who are similar to themselves in mate value versus the idea that individuals feel attracted to and select potential partners with a high mate value (e.g., Olderbak, Malter, Wolf, Jones, & Figueredo, 2017;Penke et al., 2008; Taylor, Fiore, Mendelsohn, & Cheshire, 2011; Van Straaten, Engels, Finkenauer, & Holland, 2009; see also Ellis & Kelley, 1999). Prior empirical examinations of these hypotheses have predominantly focused on specific aspects of mate value (especially physical attractiveness; e.g., Berscheid, Dion, Walster, & Walster, 1971; Curran & Lippold, 1975;Montoya, 2008; Van Straaten et al., 2009; Walster, Aronson, Abrahams, & Rottman, 1966), but only a few studies so far have investigated global mate value-and these few studies revealed mixed evidence regarding the two hypo...
We investigated whether positive partner illusions (i.e., perceiving a romantic partner more positively then she/he actually is) and their beneficial interpersonal consequences already occur in initial romantic encounters. In a real-life speed-dating context, 398 heterosexual singles (aged: 18-28) indicated their perceptions of their dating partners directly after each speed-date. We obtained 2 kinds of reality benchmarks to compare these partner perceptions against: dating partners’ self-perceptions and consensus ratings about the dating partners. With 3 follow-ups in the 6 weeks following the speed-dating, we assessed interpersonal consequences between daters. Response surface analyses revealed no evidence of positive illusions or of beneficial interpersonal consequences of positive illusions in initial romantic encounters. These findings (a) suggest that positive illusions start to emerge at later stages of romantic acquaintance and (b) inform research on the psychological processes underlying positive illusions. We furthermore provide methodological recommendations for future longitudinal research investigating the time of onset of positive illusions and the formation of romantic relationships in general.
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