Tianwei Du

All Publications

• Momentary assessment of the relations between narcissistic traits, interpersonal behaviors, and aggression. Journal of personality Du, T. V., Lane, S. P., Miller, J. D., Lynam, D. R. 2023

  Abstract

  This study explores the associations among narcissistic traits, interpersonal behaviors, and aggression using repeated, situation-based measurement. We examine narcissism's relations with aggression across three levels of its theorized hierarchy (level 1: narcissism; level 2: grandiose vs. vulnerable narcissism; level 3: antagonism, agentic extraversion, and narcissistic neuroticism).Using an experience-sampling approach, the current study examined the effects of narcissism and its finer-grained components on daily affective experiences and aggressive behaviors in the context of interpersonal interactions. Data were collected from 477 undergraduate students who were instructed to complete four prompts a day for ten consecutive days.Narcissism at the global construct level positively predicted multiple indices of episodic aggression (i.e., aggressive temper, aggressive urge, verbal aggression). At the dual-dimension level, grandiose narcissism specifically predicted aggression, and then at the trifurcated level, interpersonal antagonism predicted aggression by itself and in interaction with event-level negative affect. Negative affect consistently exhibited both within- and between-person effects on aggression.In real-life social interactions, narcissism dimensions differentially affect the way individuals experience social interactions and process negative affect, and thus in both research and clinical practice, narcissism is best assessed as a heterogeneous, multidimensional construct.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/jopy.12831

  View details for PubMedID 36942531

• The relation between narcissism and aggression: A meta-analysis. Journal of personality Du, T. V., Miller, J. D., Lynam, D. R. 2022; 90 (4): 574-594

  Abstract

  Narcissism is a complex, hierarchical construct that can be studied at the one, two, or three factor levels with different components within each level having their own unique nomological networks. The manner in which narcissism-both broadly and narrowly construed-is linked to aggression is important to understand given longstanding clinical and empirical observations of a link between the two and the critical implications of aggression.The current preregistered meta-analysis (k = 118) took a novel methodological approach in exploring the association between the three levels of narcissism (i.e., global construct level, dual-dimension level, trifurcated level) and three indices of aggression (i.e., general, proactive, reactive).Results revealed that the global construct of narcissism shows a moderate positive association with different indices of aggression. Vulnerable narcissism associated strongly and positively with reactive aggression and general aggression. At the trifurcated level, interpersonal antagonism associated positively with all indices of aggression, agentic extraversion associated negatively with all indices of aggression, and narcissistic neuroticism associates positively with general and reactive aggression.The study highlighted the importance of studying narcissism, and potentially other personality profiles, at a finer-grained level to better understand crucial psychological processes associated with the construct of interest.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/jopy.12684

  View details for PubMedID 34689345

• Differentiations in Interpersonal Functioning Across Narcissism Dimensions. Journal of personality disorders Du, T. V., Thomas, K. M., Miller, J. D., Lynam, D. R. 2022; 36 (4): 455-475

  Abstract

  Narcissism can be conceived hierarchically at three levels: as a global construct (Level 1), as two dimensions (Level 2; grandiosity and vulnerability), and as a trifurcated model with three underlying dimensions: interpersonal antagonism, narcissistic neuroticism, and agentic extraversion (Level 3). The aim of the study was to examine how narcissism dimensions across the three levels differ in their associations with various forms of interpersonal functioning. The authors assessed multiple domains of interpersonal functioning using data collected from 447 MTurk workers, 606 students, and 365 informants. Each narcissism dimension showed unique interpersonal profiles. The profile of interpersonal antagonism largely resembles grandiose and total narcissism in its interpersonal characteristics, narcissistic neuroticism largely resembles vulnerable narcissism, and agentic extraversion does not differ much from the traditional conceptualization of extraversion in its interpersonal qualities (e.g., high communion). Future studies may benefit from studying narcissism and how it relates to other psychological constructs using the trifurcated model.

  View details for DOI 10.1521/pedi.2022.36.4.455

  View details for PubMedID 35913765

• An Interpersonal Approach to Social Preference: Examining Patterns and Influences of Liking and Being Bothered by Interpersonal Behaviors of Others. Journal of personality disorders Du, T. V., Thomas, K. M., Lynam, D. R. 2021; 35 (5): 708-729

  Abstract

  Personality disorders are rooted in maladaptive interpersonal behaviors. Previously, researchers have assessed interpersonal behaviors using self-ratings of one's own behaviors and third-person ratings of dyadic interactions. Few studies have examined individuals' perceptions of others' interpersonal behaviors. Using a sample of 470 undergraduate students, the authors examined patterns of interpersonal perception as well as influences of these patterns on psychological functioning. Findings showed that people tend to like interpersonal behaviors that are similar to their own and become bothered by behaviors that are the opposite of their own. Such a pattern is particularly characteristic on the warmth dimension and is consistent across different levels of closeness of the relationship. The authors also found small but significant effects of interpersonal perception on personality and general psychological functioning, above and beyond effects of individuals' own interpersonal traits. Such findings highlight the importance of including perceptions of others in investigating interpersonal dynamics when understanding personality disorders.

  View details for DOI 10.1521/pedi.2021.35.5.708

  View details for PubMedID 34596422

• Mapping Big Five Personality Traits Within and Across Domains of Interpersonal Functioning. Assessment Du, T. V., Yardley, A. E., Thomas, K. M. 2021; 28 (5): 1358-1375

  Abstract

  The Big Five and the interpersonal circumplex are among the most extensively used structural frameworks in personality research. Of the five factors, extraversion and agreeableness are theorized to carry the most interpersonal context, however, all five factors are likely to have important interpersonal implications. In the present study, we evaluated the associations between domains of interpersonal functioning and the Big Five domains and facets using the bootstrapped structural summary method. Results suggested that all Big Five traits showed prototypical and specific interpersonal profiles, with variability observed across lower order facets and domains of interpersonal functioning. Several Big Five traits and facets not overtly related to interpersonal behavior nonetheless showed specific, prototypical associations to interpersonal profiles. Findings suggest that Big Five traits and facets are saturated with interpersonal content and even personality characteristics that are not explicitly interpersonal may still have specific interpersonal implications.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1073191120913952

  View details for PubMedID 32248694

• Development and Validation of the Super-Short Form of the Five Factor Machiavellianism Inventory (FFMI-SSF). Journal of personality assessment Du, T. V., Collison, K. L., Vize, C., Miller, J. D., Lynam, D. R. 2021; 103 (6): 732-739

  Abstract

  Previous findings have showed that existing measures of Machiavellianism often fail to distinguish Machiavellianism from another construct in the Dark Triad (i.e., psychopathy) and do not align with theoretical descriptions. To rectify this, a 52-item measure (i.e., FFMI) was developed to measure traits that are the most theoretically relevant to Machiavellianism using the Five-Factor model of personality. The aim of the current study is to develop a briefer version of the FFMI that can be used in situations in which efficiency is critical. Using data collected from three samples (total N = 1,945), we developed a 15-item measure of Machiavellianism (i.e., FFMI-SSF) that was shown to be similarly effective as the FFMI in capturing core personality traits relevant to Machiavellianism and distinguishing Machiavellianism from psychopathy and narcissism.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/00223891.2021.1878525

  View details for PubMedID 33528287