How much do narcissists really like themselves? Using the bogus pipeline procedure to better understand the self-esteem of narcissists

Narcissism is considered to be a pathological form of self-love but the extent to which narcissists actually like themselves is unclear. The present study utilized the bogus pipeline technique in order to examine how narcissists actually feel about themselves. Participants were 71 women who completed measures of narcissism and self-esteem before responding to a self-esteem measure under either bogus pipeline or control conditions. Women with high levels of narcissism reported lower levels of self-esteem in the bogus pipeline condition than the control condition. This suggests that women with high levels of narcissism may not actually feel as good about themselves as they often claim.

► The extent to which narcissists actually like themselves is unclear.
► The bogus pipeline technique was used to encourage greater honesty.
► Women reported their self-esteem under bogus pipeline or control conditions.
► Narcissistic women reported lower self-esteem in the bogus pipeline condition.
► Narcissistic women may not feel as good about themselves as they often claim.