It’s All About Me: How Narcissism Impedes Facial Recognition

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

Individuals high in Dark Triad traits (D3: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) are more likely to be involved with and witness crimes. As an individual difference, little research has examined the relationship between these traits and recognition memory. To fill this gap, we conducted three experiments. In E1, participants took the Short Dark Triad (SD3) survey followed by a memory recognition task consisting of faces and scenes. E2 mirrored E1 but replaced the scenes with houses to provide a more difficult stimulus. Results showed a significant facial recognition disadvantage for those high in narcissism, but not Machiavellianism or psychopathy. To distinguish between differences in face-specific or socially-relevant processing, E3 will present four conditions in which stimuli will be studied and tested either all upright, all inverted, upright-inverted, or inverted-upright. Findings will assist law enforcement who rely on individuals high in D3 for eyewitness, informant, or defendant testimony.

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