Narcissism at first sight: a critical review of the association between facial features and narcissism

Whether facial information constitutes a valid cue for inferring personality remains a matter of academic debate. Contradictory findings suggest that the debate on the predictive validity of faces should shift from dichotomous conceptions to more detailed approaches, focusing on the specific conditions under which facial cues reveal personality traits. In this critical review, we examine the most striking findings on facial perception of narcissism, with the aim of analyzing the extent to which facial features can be considered valid cues for inferring narcissism. Our analysis suggests that, compared with other Dark Triad traits, narcissism is the most detectable trait. We address the possible psychological mechanisms underlying this association, as well as the role of methodological artifacts that could influence the obtained effects. We propose a dominance-based explanation for this association that could explain some of the existing controversies in the literature. We conclude that the association between facial features and narcissism should be interpreted with caution, given its important consequences.