According to LessWrong, psychological research suggests that narcissism doesn't manifest as a single fixed personality mode. Instead, people displaying narcissistic traits shift between two opposite behavioral strategies depending on their attachment style in relationships. Those with high attachment anxiety tend toward echoism—self-diminishing deference and excessive accommodation—while those with high avoidance lean toward sovereignism: control-seeking and dismissal of others. The determining factor isn't the person's core nature, but rather which emotional defense the specific situation activates. Situational context essentially switches between these opposing coping strategies.

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