The Intertwined Evolution of Narcissism and Short-Term Mating: An Emerging Hypothesis

For many decades, researchers have linked narcissism to short-term mating. Yet, evolutionary theory-which most elegantly articulates the importance of mating-has been largely removed from views on the functions and origins of narcissism. Here, we have hypothesized that narcissism may have emerged when variation in mating strategies emerged, and we provide further empirical evidence to begin testing the hypothesis by others (Jonason et al., 2009) that narcissism may have evolved and persisted by way of short-term mating. Indeed, narcissism is associated with attractiveness and coercive tendencies, both of which would have pushed narcissistic traits through eras when short-term mating waned, around 1.5 million years ago, through eras when long-term dyadic relationships proliferated. Further, narcissism appears to peak at the specific developmental time point when short-term mating is most viable. Many key findings and theories from the narcissism literature could be reframed by our evolutionary perspective, but such a reframing will require direct tests, such as whether narcissistic tendencies are evoked in contexts where shortterm mating opportunities are presented. Further, it will be particularly informative to explore olfactory abilities, reproductive morphology, sex hormones, unadorned physical attractiveness, and other biological features that could provide some of the best tests of our hypothesis that shortterm mating shaped the evolution of narcissism. An evolutionary approach can complement the narcissism literature by articulating where narcissism comes from, by explaining why narcissists do what they do, and by providing means to generating testable hypotheses.