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Abstract
The current investigation examined whether individuals with high levels of narcissistic traits would exhibit varying degrees of aggression across different forms of ego-threatening situations, and whether narcissisism would covary with changes in negative affect, self-esteem, and anger. One hundred and thirty-three males participated in a competitive reaction-time task, during which, they were provided the opportunity to shock or refreain from shocking an ostensible participant. Participants were assigned to one of three feedback conditions (negative, positive, no feedback) and one of two essay conditions (professional quality, poor quality). Analyses revealed that individuals with higher levels of narcissistic triats demonstrate significantly greater levels of aggression in the no feedback condition when compared to the positive feedback condition. No significant differences were found across the aggression indices between negative feedback and positive feedback for those the high levels of narcissistic traits. No significant relationship was demonstrated between narcissism and changes and state-dependent measures.