Introduction: Narcissism in personality trait generally conceived of as excessive self-love. In Greek Mythology Narcissus was a man who fell in love with his reflection in a pool of water. The NPI was developed by Raskin and Hall (1979) for the measurement of narcissism as a personality trait in social psychological research. It is based on the definition of narcissistic personality disorder found in the DSM-III, but is not a diagnostic tool for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) and instead measures subclinical or normal expressions of narcissism. Mostly, it is supposed to measure "normal" or "subclinical" (borderline) narcissism (i.e., in people who score very high on the NPI do not necessarily meet all criteria for diagnosis with NPD). So, even someone who gets the highest possible score on the NPI does not necessarily have NPD.
Procedure: The test consists of forty pairs of
statements. For each pair you should select the one that you feel best reflects
your personality. It should take most people five to ten minutes to complete.
Participation: Your use of this assessment must be strictly for educational purposes. It cannot be taken as psychological advice of any kind. If you are interested in anything more than learning about narcissism and how it is assessed, do not take this test.
Instructions:
There are forty paired statements, for each choose which
one is closest to your feelings. Record your selection on a piece of paper.
1.
A. I have a natural talent for influencing people.
B. I am not good at influencing people.
2.
A. Modesty doesn't become me.
B. I am essentially a modest person.
3.
A. I would do almost anything on a dare.
B. I tend to be a fairly cautious person.
4.
A. When people compliment me I sometimes get embarrassed.
B. I know that I am good because everybody keeps telling
me so.
5.
A. The thought of ruling the world frightens the hell out
of me.
B. If I ruled the world it would be a better place.
6.
A. I can usually talk my way out of anything.
B. I try to accept the consequences of my behavior.
7.
A. I prefer to blend in with the crowd.
B. I like to be the center of attention.
8.
A. I will be a success.
B. I am not too concerned about success.
9.
A. I am no better or worse than most people.
B. I think I am a special person.
10.
A. I am not sure if I would make a good leader.
B. I see myself as a good leader.
11.
A. I am assertive.
B. I wish I were more assertive.
12.
A. I like to have authority over other people.
B. I don't mind following orders.
13.
A. I find it easy to manipulate people.
B. I don't like it when I find myself manipulating
people.
14.
A. I insist upon getting the respect that is due me.
B. I usually get the respect that I deserve.
15.
A. I don't particularly like to show off my body.
B. I like to show off my body.
16.
A. I can read people like a book.
B. People are sometimes hard to understand.
17.
A. If I feel competent I am willing to take
responsibility for making decisions.
B. I like to take responsibility for making decisions.
18.
A. I just want to be reasonably happy.
B. I want to amount to something in the eyes of the
world.
19.
A. My body is nothing special.
B. I like to look at my body.
20.
A. I try not to be a show off.
B. I will usually show off if I get the chance.
21.
A. I always know what I am doing.
B. Sometimes I am not sure of what I am doing.
22.
A. I sometimes depend on people to get things done.
B. I rarely depend on anyone else to get things done.
23.
A. Sometimes I tell good stories.
B. Everybody likes to hear my stories.
24.
A. I expect a great deal from other people.
B. I like to do things for other people.
25.
A. I will never be satisfied until I get all that I
deserve.
B. I take my satisfactions as they come.
26.
A. Compliments embarrass me.
B. I like to be complimented.
27.
A. I have a strong will to power.
B. Power for its own sake doesn't interest me.
28.
A. I don't care about new fads and fashions.
B. I like to start new fads and fashions.
29.
A. I like to look at myself in the mirror.
B. I am not particularly interested in looking at myself
in the mirror.
30.
A. I really like to be the center of attention.
B. It makes me uncomfortable to be the center of
attention.
31.
A. I can live my life in any way I want to.
B. People can't always live their lives in terms of what
they
want.
32.
A. Being an authority doesn't mean that much to me.
B. People always seem to recognize my authority.
33.
A. I would prefer to be a leader.
B. It makes little difference to me whether I am a leader
or not.
34.
A. I am going to be a great person.
B. I hope I am going to be successful.
35.
A. People sometimes believe what I tell them.
B. I can make anybody believe anything I want them to.
36.
A. I am a born leader.
B. Leadership is a quality that takes a long time to
develop.
37.
A. I wish somebody would someday write my biography.
B. I don't like people to pry into my life for any
reason.
38.
A. I get upset when people don't notice how I look when I
go out in public.
B. I don't mind blending into the crowd when I go out in
public.
39.
A. I am more capable than other people.
B. There is a lot that I can learn from other people.
40.
A. I am much like everybody else.
B. I am an extraordinary person.
Analysis:
To score:
* For each of the following where you answered A give
yourself one point:
1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 21, 24, 25, 27, 29,
30, 31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39
* For each of the following where you answered B give
yourself one point:
4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 28, 32,
35, 40
* Calculate the total score
Results:
The score you calculated should be between 0 and 40.
Below is a graph of the distribution of how others score on test. Higher scores
indicate greater levels of narcissism. Scores above 30 may be concerning.
Normal distribution:
