Narcissistic Illusions in Self-Evaluations of Intelligence and Attractiveness

ABSTRACT In this study we compared the ability of narcissism and self‐esteem to predict positive illusions in self‐evaluations of intelligence and physical attractiveness in a sample of 146 college students. Narcissism predicted both types of illusion for males and females; self‐esteem predicted intelligence self‐illusion for males. Both males and females overestimated their own intelligence, with males, but not females, also overestimating their attractiveness. Positive illusions for intelligence and attractiveness were correlated. Males showed greater positive illusions than females, with this effect at least partly attributable to observed gender differences in narcissism.