Hypocrisy

Those with NPD often claim, with great conviction, to have high moral standards -  but, in reality, moral rules apply to others but not to them. They seem able to intellectually understand their hypocrisy when acting in an ‘immoral’ way but they psychologically bat off their feelings of shame and guilt on to others so that they don’t have to deal with the discomfort. Victims are often taken in by this aspect of the narcissist’s false persona, and are shocked when they discover that these purported ‘morals’ were really just a smokescreen behind which to hide.