I'll get there because I'm great, or am I? Narcissistic vulnerability moderates the narcissistic grandiosity - goal persistence relationship

•Narcissistic vulnerability moderates the effect of grandiosity on goal-drive persistence.•In the absence of vulnerability, grandiosity is unrelated to goal-drive persistence.•The moderating effect of narcissistic vulnerability was independent of self-esteem and socially desirable responding.

Across three studies, we examined the moderating effect of narcissistic vulnerability on the relationship between narcissistic grandiosity and persistence. In Study 1 (n = 338), narcissistic grandiosity predicted greater goal-drive persistence, but only when individuals also possessed a degree of narcissistic vulnerability. In Study 2 (n = 199), we replicated these effects and demonstrated that they were independent of socially desirable responding. In Study 3 (n = 372), narcissistic vulnerability moderated the grandiosity - persistence relationship to predict persistence for personally relevant goals and hypothetical goals. Notably, the moderating effect of vulnerability was independent of the effects of self-esteem. These results provide the first evidence that narcissistic grandiosity predicts persistence only in the presence of self-doubt regarding superiority. The results demonstrate the importance of considering the interplay between the two components of narcissism.