Narcissism distorts the fading affect bias in autobiographical memory

The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) occurs when the affect associated with personal events fades differentially across time: Positive affect fades slower than negative affect. Three studies examined whether the magnitude of the FAB is moderated by narcissism. Results from Study 1 (diary method, N = 26) sho...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ritchie, Timothy D. (Author), Walker, W. Richard (Author), Marsh, Shawnda (Author), Hart, Claire M. (Author), Skowronski, John J. (Author)
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2014-10-07.
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Summary:The Fading Affect Bias (FAB) occurs when the affect associated with personal events fades differentially across time: Positive affect fades slower than negative affect. Three studies examined whether the magnitude of the FAB is moderated by narcissism. Results from Study 1 (diary method, N = 26) showed that low narcissism participants evidenced a large FAB, but high narcissism participants evidenced a reversed FAB. Results from Study 2 (retrospective recall method, N = 110) showed that low narcissism participants evinced a large FAB, and that the FAB diminished or dissipated as narcissism increased. Results from Study 3 (retrospective recall method, N = 83) showed that high narcissists evinced a FAB when they recalled achievement-themed autobiographical events, but evinced a reversed FAB when they recalled communal-themed events. These findings occurred independently of event rehearsal frequency. Results are discussed in terms of the idea that emotion regulation efforts may be disrupted in narcissists.