A behaviour pattern organised around image, control, and managing how others see the person.
Used here to describe observable behaviour, not a clinical diagnosis. The distinguishing feature from an avoidant pattern is direction: harm serves an audience or an advantage rather than the person's own discomfort.
What it looks like
Warmth that switches on and off with who is in the room.
Your account of a shared event is rewritten in front of other people.
Apologies that appear when there is something to lose.
What it isn't
Ordinary self-interest, or someone simply being confident.
A diagnosis — this describes behaviour you can point at, nothing more.
One thing to do with this
Compare private behaviour with public behaviour over a month. The gap is the signal.
Where this shows up in the field guide
These sections of the green flags field guide cover the behaviours behind narcissistic pattern.