Study Dents Male Ego, Reveals Men are More Narcissist than Women

The word is out. Men are more self-obsessed than women. A new study shows that men more often than women, are narcissists.

According to UPI, the study relied on data obtained over 31 years through other studies, and involved more than 475,000 participants. It concluded that men consistently ranked higher when it comes to being narcissistic. Researchers categorized the data into three character or personality parameters, to differentiate between various aspects of narcissism.

"Narcissism is associated with various interpersonal dysfunctions, including an inability to maintain healthy long-term relationships, unethical behavior and aggression. At the same time, narcissism is shown to boost self-esteem, emotional stability and the tendency to emerge as a leader. By examining gender differences in narcissism, we may be able to explain gender disparities in these important outcomes," said lead author Emily Grijalva, of the School of Management at the University of Buffalo, in a news release.

Researchers found that men were most narcissistic when it comes to exploiting others. The second largest difference between men and women was seen in leadership and authority category.

"Compared with women, men exhibit more assertiveness and desire for power. But there was no difference in the exhibitionism aspect, meaning both genders are equally likely to display vanity or self-absorption," Grijlava said.

The study argues that narcissism could result from gender stereotypes ingrained over time besides lack of women in senior leadership roles.