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Narcissism Scale

According to personality psychologists, there are four main groups into which dark personality traits fall. Narcissism is one of them.

Mark Travers, Ph.D.

By Mark Travers, Ph.D.

February 5, 2024

Mark Travers, Ph.D., is the lead psychologist at Awake Therapy, responsible for new client intake and placement. Mark received his B.A. in psychology, magna cum laude, from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado Boulder. His academic research has been published in leading psychology journals and has been featured in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other popular publications. He is a regular contributor for Forbes and Psychology Today, where he writes about psycho-educational topics such as happiness, relationships, personality, and life meaning. Click here to schedule an initial consultation with Mark or another member of the Awake Therapy team. Or, you can drop him a note here.

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Narcissism, characterized by an inflated self-image and sense of entitlement, is one of the four personality traits within the Dark Tetrad framework.

Narcissism involves a hunger for appreciation. Narcissistic individuals come off as charming and desire to be the center of attention, and they exhibit a considerable lack of concern for others' feelings.

Research led by the influential personality psychologist Delroy Paulhus provides a convenient way to measure dark tetrad tendencies in the form of the Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) scale. The "special identity" dimension of the SD4 scale helps measure narcissism in both clinical and sub-clinical populations.

You can take this test here. Please follow all of the steps to receive your results.

References: Paulhus, D. L., Buckels, E. E., Trapnell, P. D., & Jones, D. N. (2021). Screening for dark personalities: The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 37(3), 208–222.

Step 1: Rate the following statements based on how much you agree with them on a scale of strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1. People see me as a natural leader.

2. I have a unique talent for persuading people.

3. Group activities tend to be dull without me.

4. I know that I am special because people keep telling me so.

5. I have some exceptional qualities.

6. I'm likely to become a future star in some area.

7. I like to show off every now and then.

0 of 0 questions answered

Step 2: Enter your age, gender, region, and first name so we can provide you with a detailed report that compares your test scores with people similar to you.

What is your age?

What is your gender?

What region of the world do you live in?

What is your first name?

Step 3: Check to make sure you've provided answers to all of the statements/questions above. Once you've done that, click the button below to send your responses to Awake Therapy's Lead Psychologist, Mark Travers, Ph.D. He will provide you with an overview of how you scored relative to others (all answers are anonymized and confidential to protect users' privacy). He can also answer any follow-up questions you may have.