Perceived Grandiosity

What it measures

A seven-item scale assessing a perceiver's judgement that another individual displays narcissistic grandiosity—believing themselves superior, seeking the spotlight, and holding an inflated self-view. Adapted from the IPIP-NEO Modesty subscale (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and reframed for third-party perception. Used as a manipulation check for boastful word-of-mouth research.

Response format

7-point (scale anchors not explicitly reported)

Scale items

• Believes he/she is better than others.
• Thinks highly of him/herself.
• Has a high opinion of him/herself.
• Makes him/herself the center of attention.
• Dislikes talking about him/herself. (r)
• Considers him/herself an average person. (r)
• Seldom toots his/her own horn. (r)

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Items 5 ('Dislikes talking about him/herself'), 6 ('Considers him/herself an average person'), and 7 ('Seldom toots his/her own horn') are reverse-scored. Adapted from IPIP-NEO Modesty subscale for other-rating rather than self-rating. Items rephrased for grammatical accuracy. Used as manipulation check in WOM boasting studies.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Packard, G., Gershoff, A.D., & Wooten, D.B. (2016). When boastful word of mouth helps versus hurts social perceptions and persuasion. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(1), 26–43.

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