Admiration of oneself Phoebe Abraham

This article was published in the ATP Today magazine

Phoebe Abraham Lower Sixth

Narcissism is, by definition ‘excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one’s physical appearance’. I’m sure you’ve met someone in your life who you consider to be quite narcissistic and carry these traits and also wondered why they behave the way they do. Narcissism comes from an ancient Greek myth about a character, Narcissus, who caught a glimpse of himself in a river and fell in love with his reflection. Unable to tear himself away from his own reflection, he drowned; this myth captures the basic idea of narcissism and selfinvolvement.

This trait is also studied by psychologists. The psychological definition of narcissism is ‘selfishness, involving a sense of entitlement, a lack of empathy and a need for admiration, as characterising a personality type’. In other words, narcissists think they’re better looking, smarter, more important than other people, believing they deserve special treatment.

Psychologists recognise two forms of narcissism as a personality trait: Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism. Firstly, Grandiose Narcissism is the most familiar kind, recognised by extroversion, dominance, and attention seeking. Grandiose Narcissists pursue attention and power, sometimes as politicians, celebrities, or cultural leaders. Of course, not everyone who pursues these positions of power are narcissistic. Many do it for very positive reasons, like helping make people’s lives better, such as Gandhi or Mother Teresa (it would be difficult to argue that either were narcissists!). But narcissistic individuals seek power for the status and attention, only participating in something just for the personal benefits that go with it.

Vulnerable Narcissists can be quiet and reserved. They have a strong sense of entitlement but are easily threatened or slighted. In either case, the negative effects of narcissism show up over the long term. Narcissists tend to act selfishly, so narcissistic leaders may make risky or unethical decisions, and narcissistic partners may be dishonest or unfaithful. When their view of themselves is challenged, they can become resentful and act out aggressively towards others.

On a more extreme level, this type of behaviour is labelled as a psychological disorder called Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). It affects 1-2% of the population, in which only adults may be diagnosed with this disorder, most commonly found in men. Although young people and children can be very selfcentred this might just be a normal part of development. Most children who show traits of narcissism at a young age will generally grow out of it.

The American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual describes several traits associated with NPD. These include a grandiose view of oneself (an unrealistic sense of superiority), problems with empathy, a sense of entitlement, and a need for admiration or attention. Narcissism is a true personality disorder that, because of these traits, can take over people’s lives and cause significant long-term problems and issues in both personal and work related. For example, someone with this disorder, instead of genuinely caring for their family, would only use them as a source of attention or admiration, putting a massive strain on the relationships they make. In work a narcissist would tell someone who is trying to give constructive feedback that they are wrong, rejecting help. Studies show two causes of narcissism; one being genetics in which evidence indicates that an individual is more likely to develop NPD if the disorder runs in the medical history of their family. For example, the research of The Genetic Epidemiology of Personality Disorders (2010) suggested that specific genes and genetic interactions contribute to the formation of NPD, and to the development of a narcissistic personality.

The second environmental and social factors also significantly influence the development of a narcissistic personality. For some it may be due to an impaired emotional attachment to the primary caregivers, usually the parents. Either overindulgent and permissive parenting or insensitive and over-controlling parenting are contributing factors towards the development of NPD in a child. Gabbard’s Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders (2014) study determined these as some of the factors that encourage the development of NPD: excessive admiration that is never balanced with realistic criticism of the child, overindulgence and overvaluation by parents, family, and peers, being praised by adults for perceived exceptional physical appearance or abilities and learning the behaviours of psychological manipulation from parents or peers. Research reported in “Modernity and Narcissistic Personality Disorders” (2014) suggests that cultural elements also influence the development of NPD, because narcissistic personality traits more commonly occur in modern societies than in traditional societies.

So now you know that narcissism isn’t just someone acting rude or nasty, but a personality disorder, recognised by psychologists. We know there are different types of narcissism and there is evidence to suggest the causes of this disorder, but there is still so much more to learn and discover about why some people carry this trait and others do not.

[N]arcissistic partners may be dishonest or unfaithful.