Why being narcissist can boost grades in school

Did you think that being narcissistic or having an inflated sense of self-importance was not good? Not always, say researchers who claimed that narcissist adolescents may be mentally more tough and perform better at school.

Narcissists strongly believe that they are better than others and deserve rewards.

The findings suggested that the relationship between narcissism and mental toughness could be one of the personality mechanisms that increases sense of self worth which may translate to higher motivation in some contexts.

"Narcissism is considered as a socially malevolent trait and it is part of the Dark Triad of personality traits – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism," said Kostas Papageorgiou, from the Queen's University in Belfast.

"Being confident in your own abilities is one of the key signs of grandiose narcissism and is also at the core of mental toughness. If a person is mentally tough, they are likely to embrace challenges and see these as an opportunity for personal growth," Papageorgiou explained.

The study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, included data from 340 adolescent students, who took part in two assessment waves. The team measured their scores on certain aspects of subclinical narcissism.

The results indicated that, in some ways, narcissism might actually be a positive attribute.

"People who score high on subclinical narcissism may be at an advantage because their heightened sense of self-worth may mean they are more motivated, assertive, and successful in certain contexts," Papageorgiou explained.

He highlighted the importance of how society looks at narcissism and explains that emotions cannot be categorised as "good" or "bad".

"We perceive emotions or personality traits as being either bad or good but psychological traits are the products of evolution; they are neither bad nor good – they are adaptive or maladaptive," Papageorgiou noted.