Narcissism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Narcissism describes the trait of excessive self-love based on self-image or ego.

The term is derived from the Greek mythology of Narcissus. Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus pined away and changed into a flower that bears his name, the narcissus.

In psychology and psychiatry, excessive narcissism is recognized as a severe personality disorder. The terms narcissism, narcissistic, and narcissist are often used as pejoratives, denoting vanity, conceit, egotism or simple selfishness. Applied to a social group, it is sometimes used to denote elitism or an indifference to the plight of others.

Sigmund Freud believed that some narcissism is an essential part of all of us from birth and was the first to use the term in the reference to psychology.^[1] Andrew Morrison claims that, in adults, a reasonable amount of healthy narcissism allows the individual's perception of his needs to be balanced in relation to others.^[2]

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Healthy Narcissism 2.1 A required element within normal development 2.2 In relation to the pathological condition 3 Narcissistic personality disorder 4 The work of famous psychiatrists on understanding narcissism 4.1 Sigmund Freud 4.1.1 Primary narcissism 4.1.2 Secondary narcissism 4.1.3 Narcissism, relationships and self-worth 4.2 Karen Horney 4.3 Heinz Kohut 4.4 Otto Kernberg 5 Commonly used measures 5.1 Narcissistic Personality Inventory 5.2 The MCMI 6 Heritability of narcissism utilizing twin studies 7 Narcissism in evolutionary psychology 8 Other forms of narcissism 8.1 Acquired situational narcissism 8.2 Gender narcissism 8.3 Sexual narcissism 8.4 Medical narcissism 9 Christopher Lasch and The Culture of Narcissism 10 Examples of cultural narcissism 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

[edit] Etymology

The term narcissism means love of oneself and refers to the set of character traits concerned with self-admiration, self-centeredness and self-regard. The name was chosen by Sigmund Freud, from the Greek myth of Narcissus, who was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.

While virtually everyone can be claimed to possess some degree of narcissistic traits, certain forms of narcissism can be highly dysfunctional, and are classified as pathologies such as the narcissistic personality disorder and malignant narcissism. Psychopathy, as defined by the PCL-R, also contains a narcissistic factor.^[3]

[edit] Healthy Narcissism

Narcissism, in the generic sense, describes the character trait of self-love, based on self-image or ego. Narcissism is generally seen in a more negative manner, related to excessive levels of self-esteem and a devaluation of others, but this might be too narrow-minded. Healthy narcissism is formed through a structural truthfulness of the self, achievement of self and object constancy, synchronization between the self and the superego and a balance between libidinal and aggressive drives (the ability to receive gratification from others and the drive for impulse expression). Healthy narcissism forms a constant, realistic self-interest and mature goals and principles and an ability to form deep object relations.^[4] A feature related to healthy narcissism is the feeling of greatness. This is used to avoid the feeling of being small.

[edit] A required element within normal development

Healthy narcissism exists in all individuals. Sigmund Freud says that this is an original state from the individual from where to develop the love object. Freud argues that healthy narcissism is an essential part in normal development.^[5] The love of the parents for their child and their attitude towards their child could be seen as a revival and reproduction of their own narcissism according to Freud in On Narcissism: An Introduction.^[6] The child has an omnipotence of thought. The parents stimulate that feeling because in their child they see the things that they have never reached themselves. Compared to neutral observations, the parents tend to overvalue the qualities of their child. When parents act in an extreme opposite style and the child is rejected or inconsistently reinforced depending on the mood of the parent, the self-needs of the child are not met.

[edit] In relation to the pathological condition

Healthy narcissism has to do with a strong feeling of “own love” protecting the human being against illness. Eventually, however, the individual must love the other, “the object love to not become ill". The person becomes ill, as a result of a frustration, when he is unable to love the object.^[7] In pathological narcissism such as the narcissistic personality disorder and schizophrenia, the person’s libido has been withdrawn from objects in the world and produces megalomania. The clinical theorists Kernberg, Kohut and Millon all see pathological narcissism as a possible outcome in response to unempathetic and inconsistent early childhood interactions. They suggested that narcissists try to compensate in adult relationships.^[8] The pathological condition of narcissism is, as Sigmund Freud suggested, a magnified, extreme manifestation of healthy narcissism. With regard to the condition of healthy narcissism, it is suggested that this is correlated with good psychological health. Self-esteem works as a mediator between narcissism and psychological health. Therefore, because of their elevated self-esteem, deriving from self-perceptions of competence and likability, high narcissists are relatively free of worry and gloom.^[9] Other researchers suggested that healthy narcissism cannot be seen as ‘good’ or ‘bad’; however, it depends on the contexts and outcomes being measured. In certain social contexts such as initiating social relationships, and with certain outcome variables, such as feeling good about oneself, healthy narcissism can be helpful. In other contexts, such as maintaining long-term relationships and with other outcome variables, such as accurate self-knowledge, healthy narcissism can be unhelpful.^[10]

[edit] Narcissistic personality disorder

Although most individuals have some narcissistic traits, narcissism can also manifest in an extreme pathological form as Narcissistic Personality Disorder or NPD, wherein the patient overestimates his or her abilities and has an excessive need for admiration and affirmation.

[edit] The work of famous psychiatrists on understanding narcissism

[edit] Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud introduced the concept of narcissism in his 1914 essay On Narcissism: An Introduction.^[11]

[edit] Primary narcissism

Freud suggested that exclusive self-love might not be as abnormal as previously thought and might even be a common component in the human psyche. He argued that narcissism "is the libidinal complement to the egoism of the instinct of self-preservation," or, more simply, the desire and energy that drives one’s instinct to survive. He referred to this as primary narcissism.

According to Freud, people are born without a sense of themselves as individuals, or ego. The ego develops during infancy and the early part of childhood, only when the outside world, usually in the form of parental controls and expectations, intrudes upon primary narcissism, teaching the individual about the nature and standards of his social environment from which he can form the ideal ego, an image of the perfect self towards which the ego should aspire.

Freud regarded all libidinous drives as fundamentally sexual and suggested that ego libido (libido directed inwards to the self) cannot always be clearly distinguished from object-libido (libido directed to persons or objects outside oneself).

An aspect frequently associated with primary narcissism appears in an earlier essay, 'Totem and Taboo,'^[12] in which Freud describes his observations of children and primitive people. What he observed was called "magical thinking," such as the belief that a person can impact reality by wishing or willpower. It demonstrates a belief in the self as powerful and able to change external realities, which Freud believed was part of normal human development.

[edit] Secondary narcissism

According to Freud, secondary narcissism is a pathological condition that occurs when the libido withdraws from objects outside the self. Freud further claimed that it is an extreme form of the narcissism that is part of all people.

[edit] Narcissism, relationships and self-worth

According to Freud, to care for someone is to convert ego-libido into object-libido by giving some self-love to another person, which leaves less ego-libido available for primary narcissism and protecting and nurturing the self. When that affection is returned so is the libido, thus restoring primary narcissism and self worth. Any failure to achieve, or disruption of, this balance causes psychological disturbances. In such a case, primary narcissism can be restored only by withdrawing object-libido (also called object-love) to replenish ego-libido.

According to Freud, as a child grows, and his ego develops, he is constantly giving of his self-love to people and objects, the first of which is usually his mother. This diminished self-love should be replenished by the affection and caring returned to him.

[edit] Karen Horney

Karen Horney saw narcissism quite differently from Freud, Heinz Kohut and other mainstream psychoanalytic theorists in that she did not posit a primary narcissism but saw the narcissistic personality as the product of a certain kind of early environment acting on a certain kind of temperament. For her, narcissistic needs and tendencies are not inherent in human nature.

Narcissism is different from Horney's other major defensive strategies or solutions in that it is not compensatory. Self-idealization is compensatory in her theory, but it differs from narcissism. All the defensive strategies involve self-idealization, but in the narcissistic solution it tends to be the product of indulgence rather than of deprivation. The narcissist's self-esteem is not strong, however, because it is not based on genuine accomplishments.^[13]

[edit] Heinz Kohut

Heinz Kohut explored further the implications of Sigmund Freud's perception of narcissism. He maintained that a child will tend to fantasize about having a grandiose self and ideal parents. He claimed that deep down, all people retain a belief in their own perfection and the perfection of anything of which they are a part. As a person matures, grandiosity gives way to self-esteem, and the idealization of the parent becomes the framework for core values. It is when psychological trauma disrupts this process that the most primitive and narcissistic version of the self remains unchanged. Kohut called this condition narcissistic personality disorder.

Kohut suggested narcissism as part of a stage in normal development, in which caregivers provide a strong and protective presence with which the child can identify that reinforces the child's growing sense of self by mirroring his good qualities. If the caregivers fail to provide adequately for their child, the child grows up with a brittle and flawed sense of self.^[14]

He also saw beyond the negative and pathological aspects of narcissism, believing it to be a component in the development of resilience, ideals and ambition once it has been transformed by life experiences or analysis.^[15]

[edit] Otto Kernberg

Otto Kernberg uses the term narcissism to refer to the role of self in the regulation of self-esteem.

He regarded normal, infantile narcissism to be dependent on the affirmation of others and the acquisition of desirable and appealing objects, which should later develop into healthy, mature self-esteem. This healthy narcissism depends upon an integrated sense of self that incorporates images of the internalized affirmation of those close to the person and is regulated by the super ego and ego ideal, internal mental structures that assure the person of his worth and that he deserves his own respect.

The failure of infantile narcissism to develop in this healthy adult form becomes a pathology.^[16]

[edit] Commonly used measures

[edit] Narcissistic Personality Inventory

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is the most widely used measure of narcissism in social psychological research. Although several versions of the NPI have been proposed in the literature, a forty-item forced-choice version (Raskin & Terry, 1988) is the one most commonly employed in current research. The NPI is based on the DSM-III clinical criteria for narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), although it was designed to measure these features in the general population. Thus, the NPI is often said to measure "normal" or "subclinical" (borderline) narcissism (i.e., in people who score very high on the NPI do not necessarily meet criteria for diagnosis with NPD).

[edit] The MCMI

The Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) is a widely used diagnostic test developed by Theodore Millon. The MCMI includes a scale for Narcissism. Auerbach JS ("Validation of two scales for narcissistic personality disorder", J Pers Assess. 1984 Dec;48(6):649-53. [1]) compared the NPI and MCMI and found them well correlated, r(146) = .55, p<.001. It should be noted that whereas the MCMI measures narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), the NPI measures narcissism as it occurs in the general population. In other words, the NPI measures "normal" narcissism; i.e., most people who score very high on the NPI do not have NPD. Indeed, the NPI does not capture any sort of narcissism taxon as would be expected if it measured NPD.^[17]

[edit] Heritability of narcissism utilizing twin studies

Livesley et al. (1993) published a paper entitled Genetic and environmental contributions to dimensions of personality disorder, which concluded, in agreement with other studies, that narcissism as measured by a standardized test was a common inherited trait. Additionally, in similar agreement with those other studies, it was found that there exists a continuum between normal and disordered personality.

The study subjects were 175 volunteer twin pairs (ninety identical, eighty-five fraternal) drawn from the general population. Each twin completed a questionnaire that assessed eighteen dimensions of personality disorder. The authors estimated the heritability of each dimension of personality by standard methods, thus providing estimates of the relative contributions of genetic and environmental causation.

Of the eighteen personality dimensions, narcissism was found to have the highest heritability (0.64), indicating that the concordance of this trait in the identical twins was significantly influenced by genetics. Of the other dimensions of personality, only four were found to have heritability coefficients of greater than 0.5: callousness, identity problems, oppositionality and social avoidance.

The study generally concluded that, in agreement with other studies, some personality factors have significantly high heritability coefficients, and there exists a continuum between normal and disordered personality.^[18]

[edit] Narcissism in evolutionary psychology

The concept of narcissism is used in evolutionary psychology in relation to the mechanisms of assortative mating, or the non-random choice of a partner for purposes of procreation. An article published in 2005 by Alvarez summarizes the work in this field.

Evidence for assortative mating among humans is well established^{[citation needed]}; humans mate assortatively regarding age, IQ, height, weight, nationality, educational and occupational level, physical and personality characters, and family relatedness. In the “self seeking like” hypothesis, individuals unconsciously look for a mirror image of themselves in others, seeking criteria of beauty or reproductive fitness in the context of self-reference.

The study of Alvarez indicated that facial resemblance between couples was a strong driving force among the mechanisms of assortative mating: human couples resemble each other significantly more than would be expected from random pair formation. Since facial characteristics are known to be inherited, the "self seeking like" mechanism may enhance reproduction between genetically similar mates, favoring the stabilization of genes supporting social behavior, with no kin relationship among them.^[19]

A study published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin suggests that when a group is without a leader, you can often count on a narcissist to take charge. Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups.^[20]

[edit] Other forms of narcissism

[edit] Acquired situational narcissism

Acquired situational narcissism (ASN) is a form of narcissism that develops in late adolescence or adulthood, brought on by wealth, fame and the other trappings of celebrity. It was coined by Robert B. Millman, professor of psychiatry at the Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University.

ASN differs from conventional narcissism in that it develops after childhood and is triggered and supported by the celebrity-obsessed society: fans, assistants and tabloid media all play into the idea that the person really is vastly more important than other people, triggering a narcissistic problem that might have been only a tendency, or latent, and helping it to become a full-blown personality disorder.

In its presentation and symptoms, it is indistinguishable from narcissistic personality disorder, differing only in its late onset and its support by large numbers of others. The person with ASN may suffer from unstable relationships, substance abuse and erratic behaviour.

A famous fictional character with ASN is Norma Desmond, the main character of Sunset Boulevard.

[edit] Gender narcissism

Gender narcissism is a relatively new concept, referred to by Dr. Gerald Schoenwolf^[21], with reference to both males and females.

The concept builds on Freud's theories of penis envy and the castration complex. Chiefly that an over-emphasis or over-perception of gender and gender difference in childhood can lead to either a devaluation or an over-valuation of one's gender in later life.

Dr. Schoenwolf in particular suggests that the emergence of the feminist personality, with gonadal-centric views, and female gender narcissism are synonymous.

[edit] Sexual narcissism

Sexual narcissism has been described as an egocentric pattern of sexual behavior that involves both low self-esteem and an inflated sense of sexual ability and sexual entitlement. In addition, sexual narcissism is the erotic preoccupation with oneself as a superb lover through a desire to merge sexually with a mirror image of oneself. Sexual narcissism, coined by David Farley Hurlbert,^[22] is an intimacy dysfunction in which sexual exploits are pursued, generally in the form of extramarital affairs, to overcompensate for low self-esteem and an inability to experience true intimacy. This behavioral pattern is believed to be more common in men than in women and has been tied to domestic violence in men^[23] and sexual coercion in couples.^[24] Hurlbert argues that sex is a natural biological given and therefore cannot be deemed as an addiction. He and his colleagues assert that any sex addiction is nothing more than a misnomer for what is actually sexual narcissism or sexual compulsivity.^[25]

[edit] Medical narcissism

Medical narcissism is a term coined by John Banja in his book "Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism".^[26][27]

Banja defines "medical narcissism" as the need of health professionals to preserve their self esteem leading to the compromise of error disclosure to patients.

In the book he explores the psychological, ethical and legal effects of medical errors and the extent to which a need to constantly assert their competence can cause otherwise capable, and even exceptional, professionals to fall into narcissistic traps.

He claims that: "...most health professionals (in fact, most professionals of any ilk) work on cultivating a self that exudes authority, control, knowledge, competence and respectability. It’s the narcissist in us all—we dread appearing stupid or incompetent."

[edit] Christopher Lasch and The Culture of Narcissism

In The Culture of Narcissism,^[28], Christopher Lasch defines a narcissistic culture as one in which every activity and relationship is defined by the hedonistic need to acquire the symbols of wealth, this becoming the only expression of rigid, yet covert, social hierarchies. It is a culture where liberalism only exists insofar as it serves a consumer society, and even art, sex and religion lose their liberating power.

In such a society of constant competition, there can be no allies, and little transparency. The threats to acquisitions of social symbols are so numerous, varied and frequently incomprehensible, that defensiveness, as well as competitiveness, becomes a way of life. Any real sense of community is undermined -- or even destroyed -- to be replaced by virtual equivalents that strive, unsuccessfully, to synthesize a sense of community.

Contrary to Lasch, Bernard Stiegler argues in his book, Acting Out, that consumer capitalism is in fact destructive of what he calls primordial narcissism, without which it is not possible to extend love to others.^[29]

[edit] Examples of cultural narcissism

Dandyism, the New Romantics fashion movement^[30], and metrosexuality^[31] are considered to be example cultural manifestations of narcissism.

Various books and films have been written on the subject of narcissism such as The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (who was a self-confessed narcissist), White Oleander, Sunset Boulevard and Paradise Lost by John Milton. In the film To Die For, Nicole Kidman's character wants to appear on television at all costs, even if this involves murdering her husband. A psychiatric assessment of her character noted that she "was seen as a prototypical narcissistic person by the raters: on average, she satisfied 8 of 9 criteria for narcissistic personality disorder... had she been evaluated for personality disorders, she would receive a diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder."^[32]

Rock musician Kurt Cobain wrote, "I must be one of those narcissists who only appreciate things when they're gone"^[33] and the lyric "I love myself better than you / I know it's wrong so what should I do?"^[34]

[edit] See also

• Narcissistic personality disorder
• Malignant narcissism
• Narcissistic rage
• Narcissism of small differences
• Megalomania
• Hubris
• Superiority complex
• Egotism
• Jointness (psychodynamics)
• Vanity
• Selfishness
• Dorian Gray syndrome
• Narcissus (mythology)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Look up narcissism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Do narcissists really hate themselves deep down inside?
• Lasch on Culture of Narcissism Dolores James
• Narcissism Jeremy Holmes
• The new narcissism, Nicholas Carr
• A Field Guide To Narcissism, Carl Vogel - feature writer for Psychology Today magazine
• Distinctions between Self-Esteem and Narcissism: Implications for Practice, Lilian G. Katz
• The Impact of Narcissism on Leadership and Sustainability, Bruce Gregory Ph.D.
• A routine diagnosis investigated, Dr Frans Gieles, 2002
• Narcissism can be as much a hindrance as a help to relationships, Kim Carlyle
• Voicelessness: Narcissism - on being raised by narcissists, Richard Grossman, Ph.D.
• Pathological Narcissism Causes, symptoms and treatment