What does a NPI-16 score mean?
If somebody has given you a NPI-16 score and not explained it, put it in below. This reads it against the instrument's own published table. You do not have to take anything.
The full published table
These ranges come from the instrument's own scoring documentation rather than from us. They describe groups of people, not individuals.
| Score | Interpretation | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – 4 | Low Narcissism (Egalitarian) | High humility. Views themselves as entirely equal to others. May actually suffer from low self-esteem or imposter syndrome, lacking the "healthy" ego needed for aggressive leadership. |
| 5 – 9 | Average / Normative | Healthy balance. Possesses enough self-confidence to handle life and advocate for themselves, but does not view themselves as inherently superior or entitled. |
| 10 – 16 | High Grandiose Narcissism | Extreme self-focus, entitlement, and grandiosity. Highly competitive and likely to aggressively seek leadership and spotlight. Very high risk of interpersonal conflict, toxic leadership, and ethical violations in corporate settings. |
Why a number on its own is not much use
A total tells you where a set of answers landed on a scale. It does not say which questions produced it, and two people reaching the same total can be having quite different weeks. A score driven by sleep and appetite is not the same as an identical score driven by hopelessness, and the difference changes what tends to help.
A score near the edge of a range is also less meaningful than the label makes it sound. Thresholds are drawn to be useful across a population, not to mark a real line between two states, so a point either way can change the word without changing the person.
If you would rather answer the questions
The NPI-16 is available here in full, free and without an account, and answering it gives you the breakdown a bare total cannot: take the NPI-16.