The association between victims’ vulnerable and grandiose narcissism and grudge holding

ABSTRACT

Two nonexperimental studies were conducted to test how and why transgression victims’ narcissism influences their grudge holding, using undergraduate students and a community sample of adults, respectively. Study 1 tested the association between victims’ vulnerable narcissism and grudge holding, including emotional persistence, perceived longevity, and disdain toward the transgressor. It also tested the extent to which victims’ grandiose narcissism moderated the association. Study 2 was conducted to replicate Study 1 and test whether victims’ rumination about the transgression mediated the moderated association. Overall, those with higher degrees of grandiosity showed a positive relation between vulnerable narcissism and reported emotional persistence (Studies 1 and 2) and perceived longevity (Study 2). Finally, rumination explained the moderated relation (Study 2).

KEYWORDS:

• Grandiose narcissism
• grudge
• rumination
• vulnerable narcissism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data described in this article are openly available in the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/gza4w

Study 1 was preregistered on AsPredicted (Retro 5, #51934, https://aspredicted.org/blind.php?x=D87_YLH). Both studies were approved by our IRB, certificate e2018–031. The data for these studies were collected between 2018–2020.

Open scholarship

This article has earned the Center for Open Science badges for Open Data, Open Materials and Preregistered. The data and materials are openly accessible at https://osf.io/njdfm, https://osf.io/njdfm and https://aspredicted.org/blind.php?x=D87_YLH

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Jingyuan Li

Jingyuan Li, MSc, is a PhD candidate in social psychology at York University. Her research interests focus on the social motivations in interpersonal conflicts and conflict resolution.

C. Ward Struthers

C. Ward Struthers, PhD, is a professor of social psychology at York University in Toronto Canada. His primary research interest concerns the social motivation process following interpersonal transgressions.

Dmytro O. Rebrov

Dmytro O. Rebrov, Hons. B. A., completed his undergraduate psychology program at York University in 2020 and continues to work as a laboratory manager. His interests include personality and responses aimed at conflict resolution.

Ariel Shoikhedbrod

Ariel Shoikhedbrod, MA, is a PhD candidate in clinical psychology at York University. His research interests focus on understanding interpersonal and motivational dynamics in close relationships.

Joshua R. Guilfoyle

Joshua R. Guilfoyle, PhD, completed his PhD in social psychology and Diploma in quantitative methods at York University in 2020. His research interests focus on interpersonal transgressions, conflict resolution, and post-transgression responses.