Psychopathy and Narcissism

In this chapter I review the descriptive, theoretical, and empirical overlap between psychopathy and narcissism. I demonstrate that the degree to which the two constructs overlap depends heavily on the variants of narcissism (narcissistic personality disorder, grandiose) and psychopathy (Factors 1 and 2) being assessed as well as on the specific assessment instrument used. I use correlational profiles with the five domains and 30 facets of the Five Factor Model to make sense of the divergences. I close with several conclusions, remaining questions, and a recommendation that the broad constructs of psychopathy and narcissism be exchanged for the more elemental traits found in models of general personality functioning.