Thesis
PERCEPTIONS OF NARCISSISM AND PSYCHOPATHY IN TEAM SPORTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PERCEIVED TEAM COHESIVENESS, NEGATIVE SOCIAL EXCHANGES, AND INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS
Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
2026
Abstract
This study examined how psychopathy and narcissism relate to interpersonal perceptions within professional team sport environments. Specifically, perceptions of psychopathic (i.e., antagonism, remorselessness, stress immunity) and narcissistic (i.e., admiration, rivalry) tendencies, as well as other related variables (i.e., leadership, social influence, competitiveness, aggression, manipulativeness, likability), were of interest. The study utilized the Social Relations Model to investigate the relations of self-reported psychopathy and narcissism with the perceptions of teammates among elite athletes on professional handball teams in Israel. The final sample consisted of seven men’s teams and three women’s teams, each composed of 9 to 14 professional athletes (M = 11.5), resulting in a total of 115 participants. The results of this study indicated that self-reported psychopathy and narcissism predicted higher teammate ratings on psychopathy- and narcissism-related traits. In addition, higher self-reported narcissism was associated with perceiving teammates as higher in narcissism-related traits and as less likable. Higher perceptions of team cohesion were associated with more positive teammate ratings (e.g., greater likability) and lower perceptions of psychopathy- and narcissism-related traits. In contrast, more perceived negative social exchanges predicted more negative teammate ratings, including greater perceptions of psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies. There were no significant correlations between perceptions of psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies and internalizing problems. Higher self-reported narcissism was associated with some athletic performance metrics in this sample. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the potential advantages and disadvantages of narcissism and psychopathy in team sport contexts.
Metrics
1 Record Views
Details
- Title
- PERCEPTIONS OF NARCISSISM AND PSYCHOPATHY IN TEAM SPORTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PERCEIVED TEAM COHESIVENESS, NEGATIVE SOCIAL EXCHANGES, AND INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS
- Creators
- Shir Levy
- Contributors
- Christopher CB Barry (Advisor)David DM Marcus (Committee Member)Walter WS Scott (Committee Member)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- Department of Psychology
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Science (MS), Washington State University
- Number of pages
- 64
- Identifiers
- 99901357898601842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis