New study suggests narcissists have weaker cognitive abilities than they think

A new study from the University of Waterloo examines how narcissistic personality traits impact critical thinking. It’s a fascinating study that looks at the inner workings of the brain of someone who has narcissistic personality traits, and how the personality trait impacts their thought process. 

Shane Littrell is the lead author of the study and is a cognitive PhD student at the University of Waterloo, and I caught up with him to learn more about the study. The first thing he told me is that there are two types of narcissism… 

We often hear about how narcissism affects those around them, but Shane Littrel wanted to find out how narcissism affects people internally and their thought processes. He told me about how he conducted the study… 

As you just heard, people with narcissistic personality traits did poorly on these tests. So what does that mean in regards to critical and reflective thinking? 

Remember when Shane spoke about the two different kinds of narcissists? The grandiose and the vulnerable? Well, Shane said that there was a slight difference between the two when it comes to the outcome of critical and reflective thinking… 

Shane told me that what sets this study apart from other studies on narcissism is that it looks at a pattern of thoughts and not just the outward behaviour. 

Shane has a follow up study which will dig deeper into the thought processes of narcissists. It will look at whether or not narcissists are able to use effective logical reasoning. Pretty fascinating stuff!!

Guest: Claire Allen 

CKNW Contributor

A new study from the University of Waterloo examines how narcissistic personality traits impact critical thinking. It’s a fascinating study that looks at the inner workings of the brain of someone who has narcissistic personality traits, and how the personality trait impacts their thought process. 

Shane Littrell is the lead author of the study and is a cognitive PhD student at the University of Waterloo, and I caught up with him to learn more about the study. The first thing he told me is that there are two types of narcissism… 

We often hear about how narcissism affects those around them, but Shane Littrel wanted to find out how narcissism affects people internally and their thought processes. He told me about how he conducted the study… 

As you just heard, people with narcissistic personality traits did poorly on these tests. So what does that mean in regards to critical and reflective thinking? 

Remember when Shane spoke about the two different kinds of narcissists? The grandiose and the vulnerable? Well, Shane said that there was a slight difference between the two when it comes to the outcome of critical and reflective thinking… 

Shane told me that what sets this study apart from other studies on narcissism is that it looks at a pattern of thoughts and not just the outward behaviour. 

Shane has a follow up study which will dig deeper into the thought processes of narcissists. It will look at whether or not narcissists are able to use effective logical reasoning. Pretty fascinating stuff!!

Guest: Claire Allen 

CKNW Contributor