An Essay on Science and

Narcissism
How do high-ego personalities drive research
in life sciences?

Bruno Lemaitre

Copyright 2015 by Bruno Lemaitre

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or
transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or
other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of
the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and
certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
The author is grateful for literary permissions to reproduce those items below
subject to copyright. Every eort has been made to trace the copyright holders
and the author apologises for any unintentional omission. We would be pleased to
hear from any not acknowledged here and undertake to make all reasonable eorts
to include the appropriate acknowledgement in any subsequent editions.
Copyright Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, Chicago
University Press, Wiley, Yale University press, Springer, Gerhard Frhlich, Peter
Godfrey-Smith, Elsevier, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Spiegel Online.
All illustrations copyright 2015 Tom Reed
Photos were chosen to illustrate facets of narcissism but are not intended to portray
the subjects as narcissists themselves.
ISBN: 978-2-8399-1841-1
Manufactured in France by Copy Mdia

Cover image: Professor Maurice Carraz, head of the Immunology Department at

the Institut Pasteur, Lyon, is seen here with his team in the 1960s. The powerful
position of the professor, clearly visible in his black suit, is reinforced by his
entourage composed of sixteen, predominantly female, collaborators in white coats.
It is dicult to resist the temptation to project the social dominance relationships
observed in primate society onto academic life. The cover is adapted from Figure 13.
Bibliothque Municipale de Lyon, Fonds Georges Vermard (1968).
.

To Nouhad, Joseph, Cline, Eugne and Olivier

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

xi

Introduction

An Introduction to the Narcissistic Personality in

the Scientic Context

1 An Introduction to Laboratory Life

2 An Introduction to Narcissism
Typological denitions of narcissism . . . .
A dimensional denition of narcissism . . .
A motive-based perspective on personalities
A few more insights to complete the picture
Narcissism and situation of power . . . . .
The vulnerable narcissist . . . . . . . . . .
Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . .

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3 Detecting Narcissism in Science with Real-Life Examples

Niels Jerne, the great seducer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Jacques Monod and his hard-core message on science objectivity . . .
Walter Gehring and his absorbent personality . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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4 Detecting Narcissism in Science with Fictional Examples

The grand mandarin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The American operator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The visionary scientist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Concluding remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5 The Love Life of Narcissistic Scientists

68
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II How Narcissism Aects Scientic Practice

6 Of Personality and Science
Are there personality traits associated with scientic inquiry?
Narcissism and the assessment of a scientic statement . . . .
Narcissists and their N-drives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Narcissism and fascination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Narcissistic strategies for achieving fame in science . . . . . .
Impact of N-drive on recognition . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7 Network, Maa and the Pipeline of Recruitment

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Networks and narcissism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Leadership in science and narcissism: A pipeline of recruitment . . . . 122
Inuence of the N-drive on gender equality in science . . . . . . . . . 125
8 Misconduct and Low Communal Investment
Narcissists often accommodate reality to their own interests . . . . . .
Conict of interest and narcissism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Narcissism and the tragedy of the commons . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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9 The Dilemma of the Meticulous Scientist

139
The importance of meticulous scientists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
10 Is Self-Analysis Possible for the Narcissistic Scientist?

145

III The Developmental and Evolutionary Roots

of Narcissism
11 The Developmental Roots of Narcissism
The developmental roots of narcissism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Narcissism in the academic world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The birth of a genius: Alexander Grothendieck . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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12 Can Evolutionary Psychology Decode Narcissism?

165
Narcissism and social dominance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Narcissism and short-term mating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Integrating dominance, short-term mating and narcissism . . . . . . . 190
Why are humans so diverse in term of personalities? . . . . . . . . . . 196
13 Social Dominance Hierarchy in the Laboratory
199
Narcissism and the Matthew eect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Can we move away from our biological heritage? . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

IV The Impact of the Rise in Narcissism on Society

and Science
14 On the Rise of Narcissism in Western Society
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
General consequences of a rise in narcissism . . . . . . .
The narcissism epidemic: Campbell and Twenges message
The narcissism epidemic: Personal views . . . . . . . . .

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15 Narcissism and Issues in Contemporary Life Sciences

A crisis in life sciences? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Getting rid of the bad aspects of narcissism . . . . .
Recognizing narcissistic traits in a scientic context .
Better control in science practice . . . . . . . . . . .
Recovering a true understanding of science . . . . .
Acknowledge the role of the community . . . . . . .
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Final remarks
249
On the rise of narcissism in our society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Narcissism in science: Is it good or bad? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Michael Polanyis message on value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254
A message to young scientists

259

References

261