Narcissists can Feel Empathy? Study Reveals

Don't let a narcissist's ego get in the way. After all, these self-preoccupied individuals are capable of empathy, according to a recent study.

"Our results clearly show that if we encourage narcissists to consider the situation from their teammate or friend's point-of-view, they are likely to respond in a much more considerate and sympathetic way," said lead author, Dr. Erica Hepper from the University of Surrey, via a press release. "This is not only good for the people around them, but also for their own well being in the long-run as empathy helps to form and maintain close relationships.

Despite feelings of excessive self-importance, the team of researchers found that these egomaniacs carry the capability to feel empathy if they just learn how.

For the study, researchers created three different situations for participants to go through. In the first one, participants were asked to rate how much empathy they felt for someone of the same gender who recently experienced a relationship break-up, based on a scale of one to eight. Participants with narcissistic tendencies in this portion of the study did not exhibit any signs of empathy.

The second part of the study had 50 percent of the participants imagine how a woman who suffered from domestic violence might have felt. Researchers found that the team found that people high in narcissism were capable of feeling empathy when they were instructed to specifically take on the other person's point of view.

The third part of the study measured the participants' heartbeats as they listened to an audio blog about an individual who just went through a breakup. Signs of elevated heartbeat demonstrated signs of emphatic emotions. However, researchers found that narcissists had a lower heartbeat when compared to other non-narcissistic individuals. Participants were then asked to imagine the subject's perspective, which showed how the narcissists increased to similar levels of those with low narcissistic tendencies. 

"Our research provides a crucial breakthrough, as other studies suggest narcissism is increasing across cultures. If narcissists have the physical capacity to feel empathy, interventions could be designed to help them do so in their everyday lives, with benefits to themselves, their family, friends and colleagues and for society as a whole," said Dr. Hepper, via the release.

More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.