PsychologicalReports, 2004,94,883-887. O Psychological Reports 2004 NARCISSISM VERSUS PRONENESS T O SHAME AND GUILT1 ORNELLA MONTEBAROCCI, PAOLA SURCINELLI, BRUNO BALDARO, ELENA TROMBINI, AND NICOLINO ROSS1 Department of Psychology University of Bologna Summary.-The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between the narcissistic personality trait, measured with the Narcissistic Personality Inventcry, and proneness to shame and guilt, measured with the Shame-Guilt Proneness Scale. Par- ticipants were 165 students (83 men, 82 women), aged 19-30 years. Pearson product- moment correlations, with computations comparing NPI Total score with each of the Shame-Guilt Proneness Scale subscales, were negative for scores on narcissism and shame and for those on narcissism and guilt. These data are consistent with previous findings, which suggest that the "overt" type narcissist is immune to feelings of guilt and may be characterised by a negation of the experience of shame. Wright, O'Leary, and Balkin (1989) differentiated between two types of narcissistic dysfunction: in one, individuals supposedly experience a con- sciously low self-esteem that is accompanied by greater shame; in the other, individuals experience a consciously high self-esteem while disavowing any experience of shame. Broucek (1991) identified an "unconflicted egoistical type" of narcissism which is "unabashedly self-aggrandizing and seemingly shameless'' and a "dissociative type" that displays low self-esteem and a "vul- nerability to frequent shame experiences." Wink (1991) similarly contrasted an "overt" narcissism, which describes an individual who is exhibitionist, aggressive, and disrespectful of others' needs, with a "covert" narcissism, which describes an individual who is inhibited, socially vulnerable, and sensi- tive to humiliating experiences. Currently, one of the main self-report scales of the narcissistic disorder is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988))which seems to measure the "unconflicted, egoistical" type or "overt" type of narcissism. Previous research has shown the presence of a negative correlation be- tween Narcissistic Personality Inventory scores and shame measures and an absence of correlation between Narcissistic Personality Inventory scores and guilt measures (Harder & Lewis, 1987; Hoblitzelle, 1987; Gramzow & Tang- ney, 1992), but the operational definitions of shame and guilt, two often overlapping constructs, still show many shortcomings. The purpose of this research is to examine the relation between narcis- 'Address correspondence to Bruno Baldaro, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy or e-mail (baldaro@psibo.unibo.it).