People With Hidden Narcissistic Traits May Find It Harder to Forgive, Study Suggests
The research, titled “Associations between Implicit Antagonistic Narcissism and Forgiveness: Insights from a Clinical Sample,” adds to growing evidence that unconscious personality processes can significantly influence mental health and social functioning. Published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, the study suggests that people with deeply rooted antagonistic narcissistic traits may struggle to forgive others, even when they do not consciously view themselves as hostile or resentful.
The researchers found that hidden narcissistic tendencies were linked primarily to emotional withdrawal and reduced goodwill rather than open revenge. These unconscious patterns appeared to predict forgiveness more effectively than traditional self-report personality questionnaires.
Forgiveness and mental health
Forgiveness is widely regarded as an important factor in maintaining healthy relationships and supporting psychological well-being. Numerous studies have shown that people who are generally more forgiving tend to experience lower levels of anxiety, depression, chronic stress, and emotional distress.
Psychologists distinguish between forgiveness in response to a specific offense and forgiveness as a stable personality tendency. Individuals with a naturally forgiving disposition are generally better able to recover from interpersonal conflicts and maintain supportive social relationships over time.
The antagonistic side of narcissism
Modern psychology views narcissism as a collection of different personality traits rather than a single characteristic. Some aspects, such as confidence, leadership aspirations, or enjoying admiration, can even be adaptive in certain situations.
Other aspects fall under what researchers call antagonistic narcissism. These traits include entitlement, hostility, exploitation of others, and strong reactions to perceived insults or rejection.
People with pronounced antagonistic narcissistic traits often respond to interpersonal slights with anger, resentment, or a desire to assert superiority. In clinical settings, these tendencies may interfere with therapy by making it more difficult to resolve conflicts and let go of longstanding grievances.
The researchers note that such traits are not always accurately captured by standard personality questionnaires because individuals may either consciously minimize undesirable characteristics or genuinely lack awareness of them.
Why self-report questionnaires have limitations
Much of the previous research on narcissism and forgiveness has relied on self-report questionnaires, in which participants describe their own personality and behavior.
Although these measures are useful, they have important limitations, particularly when assessing socially undesirable traits such as hostility, manipulation, or resentment.
People may consciously present themselves in a more favorable light, or their self-perceptions may simply fail to reflect automatic emotional processes.
To overcome these limitations, psychologists increasingly rely on dual-process theories, which distinguish between deliberate, conscious thinking and fast, automatic mental associations that operate largely outside awareness.
How the study was conducted
Lead author Philipp Wülfing of University Medical Center Rostock and co-author Ramzi Fatfouta conducted the study using data from 102 women receiving treatment at a psychosomatic clinic in Germany.
The participants had a range of psychiatric diagnoses, with depression and anxiety disorders being particularly common.
To measure conscious personality traits, participants completed validated questionnaires assessing entitlement, rivalry, and general forgiveness tendencies.
They also responded to questions describing specific interpersonal offenses, indicating whether they would seek revenge, avoid the offender, or respond with forgiveness and goodwill.
Measuring unconscious narcissism
To examine unconscious personality processes, the researchers used the Implicit Association Test (IAT), a computerized psychological assessment that measures how quickly people associate different concepts.
One version of the task measured implicit antagonistic narcissism by examining how rapidly participants linked self-related words with narcissistic concepts. Faster responses indicated stronger unconscious associations between the self and antagonistic narcissistic traits.
A second Implicit Association Test assessed implicit forgiveness by measuring how quickly participants associated themselves with concepts related to forgiveness versus revenge.
These reaction-time measures provided insight into automatic psychological processes that participants might not consciously recognize or accurately report.
Hidden narcissism predicted lower forgiveness
The analyses showed a clear relationship between implicit antagonistic narcissism and forgiveness.
Women who demonstrated stronger unconscious narcissistic associations showed lower levels of automatic forgiveness. They also tended to describe themselves as less forgiving overall.
When considering specific interpersonal offenses, these women reported greater motivation to avoid the person who had hurt them and lower levels of benevolence or goodwill.
Rather than attempting reconciliation, they appeared more likely to distance themselves emotionally or physically from the offender.
Importantly, the implicit measure predicted forgiveness even after accounting for standard self-report assessments of narcissism. Most explicit measures showed only weak associations with forgiving attitudes.
Withdrawal rather than revenge
One exception emerged among the explicit personality measures.
Participants who reported higher levels of rivalry, one component of antagonistic narcissism, also expressed a stronger desire for revenge following interpersonal offenses.
However, the implicit narcissism measure was not associated with revenge.
Instead, unconscious narcissistic tendencies were primarily linked to emotional withdrawal, avoidance, and reduced warmth toward others rather than deliberate retaliation.
The researchers suggest that revenge may involve more conscious planning and strategic thinking, making it more closely related to explicit narcissistic traits. In contrast, automatic emotional reactions may be better reflected by avoidance and persistent resentment.
Study limitations
The researchers caution that the findings come from a relatively small clinical sample consisting entirely of women, limiting how broadly the results can be generalized.
Patterns of antagonistic narcissism and forgiveness may differ in men, in community populations, or across different cultures.
The cross-sectional design also prevents conclusions about cause and effect. It remains unclear whether unconscious narcissistic traits reduce forgiveness or whether repeated interpersonal conflicts gradually strengthen antagonistic tendencies.
Future longitudinal research will be needed to better understand how these personality processes develop over time.
The study also relied on psychological tests and questionnaires rather than direct observation of real-life relationships. Future research could combine laboratory measures with reports from partners or family members to examine how forgiveness unfolds during everyday conflicts.
Implications for therapy
Despite these limitations, the findings highlight the importance of looking beyond patients' conscious self-descriptions when addressing relationship difficulties.
Hidden antagonistic tendencies may quietly interfere with forgiveness even among individuals who sincerely believe they value reconciliation.
The researchers suggest that therapists may benefit from focusing more on automatic emotional responses, attachment patterns, and deeply rooted beliefs about trust, respect, and interpersonal safety.
By addressing these unconscious processes alongside conscious coping strategies, therapy may help patients reduce avoidance, process resentment more effectively, and develop more genuine forgiveness over time.
Article prepared by Dr. Alex Morgan.
