Between empathy and ego: Are narcissists perceived as less emotionally intelligent?

Are narcissists perceived as less emotionally intelligent? So far, we know that grandiose narcissism correlates positively with trait emotional intelligence (EI) and negatively with ability EI, while vulnerable narcissism correlates negatively with trait EI. However, less is known about other-perceptions of EI. In our study, a sample of 163 adults completed standardized measures of narcissism, trait EI, and ability EI. Additionally, up to two close others (N rater = 296) provided other-ratings of EI. We found that individuals perceived as emotionally intelligent often did not necessarily perform well on ability-based EI tests. Other-perceptions aligned more closely to self-perceptions of trait EI. Vulnerable narcissism correlated negatively with other-rated overall EI and most subfactors, while grandiose narcissism only correlated negatively with other-rated emotionality and well-being. We replicated both, the negative relationships between grandiose narcissism and (ability) emotion management and between vulnerable narcissism and self-rated trait EI. Importantly, we found some evidence that grandiose narcissism predicted negative other-perceptions of emotionality even after controlling for ability EI and self-rated EI, suggesting that individuals with high grandiosity may be uniquely seen as lacking empathy and emotional understanding. Our findings might be helpful for informing strategies to mitigate the negative interpersonal effects of narcissistic traits.