Narcissists are drawn to a particular kind of news story, psychologists find

A new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality suggests that individuals high in antagonistic narcissism are more likely to gravitate toward antisocial news content while showing less interest in stories about prosocial behavior. This tendency appears to be related to lower levels of empathy and a greater need for intense stimulation, traits commonly linked with antagonistic forms of narcissism. The findings point to a psychological pattern in how narcissistic individuals consume social information.

Narcissistic individuals tend to display a grandiose view of themselves, a preoccupation with status, and low regard for others. Much prior research has explored how narcissists behave in interpersonal situations—as the central actors or “protagonists”—often revealing a pattern of manipulative or hostile behavior. But social life also includes observing others, such as through news and media.

This study focused on what narcissists prefer to observe, particularly in terms of prosocial (helping) versus antisocial (harming) behavior in others. Prior work had already shown that narcissists often respond more favorably to antisocial behavior in others and evaluate prosocial individuals more negatively. What remained unknown was whether this pattern began even earlier in the information-processing pipeline: in the initial act of choosing what to pay attention to.

The researchers proposed that narcissists, especially those high in antagonistic traits such as arrogance and aggression, may prefer antisocial news content that reflects their own worldview. Drawing on person-environment fit theory, they suggested that individuals are drawn to environments and information that align with their own traits and values. In this case, narcissistic individuals may experience a better fit with antisocial content and a poorer fit with prosocial material.

“Broadly, my research is motivated by an interest in how narcissistic individuals engage with the communal side of social life — aspects such as cooperation, morality, and kindness,” said study author Jiafang Chen of the University of Amsterdam.

“This angle has received much less attention compared to the traditional focus on power, achievement, and social status. I believe that examining the communal dimension offers fresh insights into how narcissists shape their social environments, especially since they often end up in leadership positions and serve as role models. A natural starting point is to examine how narcissistic individuals are drawn to different kinds of social information in daily life, which both reflects who they are and reinforces their behavioral patterns.”

The research involved two main studies and a set of pilot studies to design the news headline task. First, the team created and tested news headlines classified as antisocial, prosocial, or neutral. They made sure these headlines differed in perceived social impact but were equally interesting and exciting to read. This allowed them to isolate the effects of narcissistic traits on content preference without confounding factors like novelty or shock value.

For instance, antisocial headlines included: “Supervisor sexually harasses multiple interns” and “Mother and daughter throw stones at sleeping animals in a zoo.” Prosocial headlines featured examples like “Steep increase in blood donors” and “Passerby helps fallen blind person get up.” Neutral headlines included more observational or factual events, such as “First passengers try high-speed vacuum pods” or “250 million users active on Snapchat each day.”

In the first main study, 253 participants completed a narcissism questionnaire and then chose ten out of thirty news headlines they would like to read. The headlines were evenly distributed among the antisocial, prosocial, and neutral categories. The researchers found that people with higher levels of antagonistic narcissism were more likely to pick antisocial headlines and less likely to select prosocial ones, compared to those lower in antagonistic narcissism.

The second study replicated these findings in a separate sample of 294 participants. This time, the researchers also measured three possible underlying traits that could explain the narcissists’ choices: their social motives, their capacity for empathy, and their level of sensation seeking. The idea was that narcissists might choose antisocial information not simply because they enjoy it, but because it better fits with their internal traits.

The findings showed that narcissistic individuals were less empathetic and more likely to seek intense, novel experiences—both of which were linked to a stronger preference for antisocial content and a weaker interest in prosocial content. Importantly, these two traits (low empathy and high sensation seeking) statistically accounted for the relationship between narcissism and information preference.

Across both studies, the data provided consistent evidence that antagonistic narcissism is associated with a selective preference for antisocial social information. In the first study, this pattern was clear: narcissistic individuals picked more antisocial and fewer prosocial headlines. In the second study, the effect was driven more by their reduced interest in prosocial stories.

The researchers found that this selection pattern was not random or incidental. When they analyzed what explained these choices, two key psychological traits emerged. Narcissistic individuals tended to score lower in affective empathy—the ability to feel compassion for others—which predicted a dislike for prosocial stories and a relative openness to antisocial ones. They also scored higher in sensation seeking, which predicted a stronger interest in stories involving harm, rule-breaking, or social conflict.

Interestingly, social motives—whether participants were more self-focused or altruistic—did not significantly mediate the effect. The authors suggest that simply being focused on one’s own outcomes may not be enough to explain why narcissists are attracted to antisocial content. Instead, the emotional detachment and desire for stimulation seen in these individuals may be more relevant.

A follow-up meta-analysis combining data from both studies confirmed that antagonistic narcissism reliably predicted a preference for antisocial over prosocial information.

“The main takeaway from our findings is that narcissistic individuals are more drawn to antisocial information—stories about others’ misbehavior—while showing less interest in prosocial information, such as acts of kindness or cooperation,” Chen told PsyPost. “This preference can be explained by their low affective empathy and heightened sensation-seeking tendencies. Together, these findings suggest that narcissists’ selection of social information not only reflects who they are but also reinforces their characteristic ways of engaging with the social world.”

But there are some limitations to consider. While the studies employed a task that mirrored real-life media consumption, they relied on self-reported data and correlational designs. This makes it difficult to draw conclusions about causality. For instance, it is not clear whether choosing antisocial content leads narcissists to behave more antisocially themselves—or whether these behaviors are simply consistent across domains.

Another limitation is that the study focused only on one specific form of narcissism: the antagonistic subtype. Narcissism is a complex and multidimensional trait that also includes more agentic (status-seeking) and neurotic (insecure) forms. While the authors did briefly explore these other dimensions, they found that antagonistic narcissism had the strongest and most consistent association with antisocial information preference.

Future research could explore whether repeatedly consuming antisocial content reinforces narcissists’ existing tendencies or shapes their behaviors over time. It might also test whether increasing exposure to prosocial stories could nudge narcissistic individuals toward more cooperative or empathetic actions. Some evidence suggests that such “communal activation” can temporarily soften narcissistic traits.

The researchers also recommend further work on other psychological traits—such as schadenfreude or envy—that may explain why some individuals take pleasure in others’ misfortunes and seek out news reflecting those scenarios.

The study, “You are what you read: Antagonistic narcissism predicts increased preference for antisocial and reduced preference for prosocial information,” was authored by Jiafang Chen, Barbara Nevicka, Astrid C. Homan, and Gerben A. van Kleef.