Narcissism is linked to sexual competition through our evolutionary history. Although we often distinguish narcissists from others, everyone has some level of self-absorption. If narcissism is partly a product of our evolutionary history, what benefits did it offer our ancestors?
Most clinical narcissists are arrogant. They inflate their own importance and doing so is a fundamental trait of narcissistic personality disorder. The tendency to exaggerate our own importance is widespread and not considered a disorder.
Healthy Self-Absorption
Many individuals have a skewed view of their own abilities. They believe they are better drivers than most, more intelligent, and more attractive. This better-than-average effect is widespread and affects many people.
An interesting exception involves those who are clinically depressed. They evaluate their abilities as close to reality, or worse, less than they are. This shows that some degree of narcissism is healthy.
Another positive effect of narcissism is that people who have an exaggerated perception of their own skills are more likely to be successful. This phenomenon is clearly seen in academic success where narcissistic individuals often excel.
Aspirations to succeed are not only a result of individual biology. They are also shaped by upbringing, including the practices of elite schools that pride themselves on producing leaders.
Narcissism might be favored by natural selection if it boosts health and social success. Combining lines of evidence also suggests that narcissism makes people more attractive as mates.
Narcissism as a Reproductive Strategy
Narcissists are more attractive to the opposite sex but are not popular as friends. Women who are narcissistic likely spend more energy on their physical appearance. This means they present themselves well and appear sexually attractive.
Male narcissists are often popular as dates for various reasons. They spend a lot of energy on self-promotion and exaggerate their social success and appeal to women.
Male narcissists like to be seen in the company of physically attractive women, and this strategy works because it boosts their attractiveness to other women. Like females of other species, women are drawn to mates who seem appealing to other females.
One example of this is the phenomenon of attractive wives acquired by wealthy men to boost their profile and attract other women.
This suggests that narcissism is part of an evolved short-term mating strategy for men. In addition to being attractive to women and marketing themselves well to potential dates, narcissists often have a strong sense of entitlement which can result in them pressuring women into sexual activity.
Another piece of strong evidence is the way that narcissism peaks in youth when men are most active in seeking mates. This is also when men are most physically attractive to women, making short-term relationships more likely.
If narcissists are better at getting dates, they are also more likely to put themselves forward for leadership roles. Men who are socially dominant are also more appealing as dates.
Leadership as Reproductive Competition
Political power correlates with significantly increased reproductive opportunities. Examples include Ishmail the Bloodthirsty who craved sex as much as blood and left countless children to inherit his ruthless, yet evolutionarily successful, tendencies. Conquerors like Genghis Khan had their pick of beautiful women in conquered territories. Young women were often used by their families as a means to make peace.
Finding willing females would not have been an issue. Attractive young women are often drawn to power, and Monica Lewinsky is not the first attractive young woman to seek sexual contact with a much older and less physically appealing leader.
These ideas are not merely theories but have striking evidence from genetic lineage research. Geneticists concluded that Genghis Khan, who overran much of Asia, was the ancestor of 1% of the global male population based on Y-chromosome analysis, and he is not alone in leaders disproportionately contributing to the gene pool. Furthermore, 8% of men in 16 Asian populations were descendants of the ruler, suggesting he is an ancestor to roughly a sixth of these populations (if his representation in female descendants is similar to that in males). The ruler's prolific ways were clearly passed to his offspring. Other examples include the medieval O’Neill chieftain of northwest Ireland who is the ancestor of a fifth of men in the region.
The narcissism of powerful leaders is legendary. Examples of excessive preoccupation with building monuments to themselves range from the Egyptian Pharaohs to Louis XIV of France.
Narcissistic Leaders
Not all leaders are narcissists and not all narcissists are politically successful. Nevertheless, the natural selection of selfish tendencies explains some of the traits of narcissistic leaders.
One is their characteristic dishonesty. They are very willing to distort reality to make themselves appear more impressive, more successful, better, and smarter than everyone else. Conversely, they protect themselves from unwanted news by surrounding themselves with yes men and sycophants. Bearers of bad news are severely punished or expelled from the inner circle, whether it is the court of King Louis XIV or the cabinet of Donald Trump.
Naturally, this means poor treatment of loyal supporters whose past service counts for nothing.
In the court of a narcissistic leader, those who are not sincere flatterers quickly become enemies. In this way, they are treated especially as sexual rivals would be treated and become targets of disproportionate resentment akin to jealous rage.