Narcissistic self-regulation process : A review and perspective

Narcissism is a key concept for understanding adolescents. However, even though multitudes of studies of narcissism have been conducted, the meaning of that concept has rarely been discussed. The present article reviews recent studies of normal narcissism, and tries to capture findings from the viewpoint of self-regulation. Main topics discussed include (1) ego threats for the narcissist as a control variable, and (2) similarities and differences between narcissism and similar constructs. A process model is proposed, made up of situations, objects of control, and choice of strategies, and the need for further research based on this model is discussed.