Narcissus

=Narcissus=

toc Read here about Narcissus, a mythical figure whose archetype is invoked to discuss people's tendency to project themselves onto the world. Some Narcissism is healthy, but too much is unhealthy. This idea is important to understanding scale: we have to be careful as to how we project our habits and expectations from our human scale into other, newer scales.

=Scalometer: The Mirror of Narcissus= The Mirror of Narcissus is a fine art print that renders the powers of ten in a sigmoid-like curve. The large numeral "1" in the center represents our familiar, human scale. As the powers of ten get sequentially larger and smaller they curl away from the linear center. The steadily increasing divergence represents how behavior also diverges at these immense scales. =Narcissus in Mythology= In Greek mythology Narcissus was a hunter who was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud, in that he disdained those who loved him. Nemesis saw this and attracted Narcissus to a pool where he saw his own reflection in the waters and fell in love with it, not realizing it was merely an image. Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus died.

The Original Myth Of Narcissus
Liriope, a naiad, became pregnant with the child of the river god Cephisus. When their child was born, Liriope named him Narcissus. When she asked the blind seer Tiresias if her son would live a long life. his answer was a qualified affirmative: Narcissus would live a long time if he never got to know himself.

Narcissus was so handsome everyone loved and desired him, but Narcissus was too proud to offer his love in return. He preferred to hunt and be alone. He was very proud of his looks and he was cold and cruel in his treatment of those who tried to befriend him The nymph Echo had been punished by Hera. Hera, wife of Zeus, had taken away her voice because Echo had assisted Zeus in his romantic liaisons with other nymphs. Echo could not speak, but could only repeat the words of others. Thus she could only and always "have the last word". Echo followed Narcissus until one day he heard her. Narcissus heard her but could not see her. “Is anyone here?” he asked. “Here,” she replied. “Come,” he said, and she replied the same word. “Why do you run away from me? “ he asked, only to get the same answer in return. “Here, let us meet,” he said, and she replied “Let us meet.” But when she came out of hiding, Narcissus scorned and taunted her and ran away, for he was cold-hearted. Devastated, Echo hid in the woods and in caves. But her love for Narcissus did not fade, and it made her body waste away. She turned from an unhappy nymph into the barest wisp of what she had been. Echo shriveled up until all that was left of her was her voice, what we now call by her name. Not all the would-be lovers of Narcissus were so passive. According to Conon, Aminias, a young man fell in love with Narcissus, who had already spurned his male suitors. Aminias was also spurned by Narcissus who gave the unfortunate young man a sword. Aminias killed himself at Narcissus’ doorstep praying to the Gods to give Narcissus a lesson for all the pain he had provoked. Rejected suitors asked the goddess Nemesis to make Narcissus fall in love with himself, but simultaneously to be incapable of accepting his own love. Nemesis obliged.

On a hot day Narcissus bent down to drink from a clear, silvery pool. As he drank, he saw a beautiful image in the pool. He had never before caught a glimpse of himself. Narcissus fell in love with his own reflection. He tried to kiss and embrace it -- encouraged because he saw the other raising his lips to meet Narcissus' own -- but couldn't. Narcissus could do nothing except keep trying. He never again left the pool, gazing into the eyes of his beloved and raging with frustration. He would beg his reflection to come out of the water to join him, always in vain. In time he realized he was in love with his own reflection. Since he knew he could never hold himself, he despaired and realized he couldn't live any longer. Like Echo, his love caused him to waste away until he too died. Even as he was ferried into Hades across the River Styx, he gazed over the side at his reflection.

Like Echo, he left something of himself behind: a yellow flower with white petals. When Narcissus' naiad sisters went out to bring him back for burial, the body was gone. In its place was a lovely yellow-centered white flower, the narcissus.

Ovid’s Version of the Myth of Narcissus
Based on a 1717 English Translation by John Dryden, Alexander Pope, and Others By Michael J. Cummings © 2008

Characters
Narcissus: Proud youth who rejects the attentions of maidens. Echo: Mountain nymph who falls in love with Narcissus. Rhamnusia: Goddess of vengeance, Nemesis. Liriope: Mother of Narcissus. She is a water nymph often referred to as a Nereid because she is one of the daughter of a sea god, Nereus. Cephisus: Father of Narcissus. He is a river god. Tiresias: Blind soothsayer. Jupiter: King of the gods. His Greek name is Zeus. Juno: Queen of the gods. Her Greek name is Hera. Dryads: Tree-dwelling nymphs who mourn the death of Narcissus. Naiads: Nymphs dwelling in lakes, rivers, and springs. They mourn the death of Narcissus.

Setting
The action is set in or near the ancient Greek city of Thespiae in the republic of Boeotia, north of Attica.

Synopsis And Quotes
One day the river god Cephisus impregnates the water nymph Liriope after forcing himself upon her. After she gives birth to a boy, called Narcissus, she asks the prophet Tiresias whether her child will have a long life. “If e’er he knows himself,” Tiresias answers, “he surely dies.”

Liriope does not understand this perplexing reply. Only the passage of time will reveal it to her. When Narcissus turns sixteen, he is so extraordinarily handsome that young maidens burn with desire for him. While hunting in the woods, he attracts the attention of the mountain nymph Echo, who was robbed of the ability to voice her thoughts after incurring the wrath of the queen of the gods, Juno. Here is what happened.

The king of the gods, Jupiter, had once persuaded Echo to distract Juno with idle conversation so that he could sneak away and meet with a paramour. At the appointed time, Echo jabbers on, depriving Juno of the opportunity to spy on Jupiter. Later, when Juno discovers what Echo was up to, she punishes her by rendering her incapable of speaking any words except the last two or three she has heard someone else say. These she must repeat. Consequently, she speaks only “with mimick [mimic] sounds, and accents not her own.”

Upon seeing Narcissus, she–like other maidens–cannot resist his charms and yearns to reveal to him her love. But, bearing the heavy burden of Juno’s curse, she can only repeat his last words in a voice that sounds like his. When words he speaks reverberate back to him, he calls out to meet with whoever is mimicking him. Heartened, Echo approaches him and, by throwing her arms around him, communicates her love. However, Narcissus, proud and vain, coldly rejects her. He will not deign to occupy his time with this lowly maid. Thereafter, she pines away for his love until nothing is left of her except the sound of her mimicking voice. “Her bones are petrify'd, her voice is found / In vaults, where still it doubles ev'ry sound."

Meanwhile, another love-struck admirer seeks his love, but proud Narcissus ignores the suit. Frustrated and angry, the suitor prays to the gods, “Oh may he love like me, and love like me in vain!" The goddess of vengeance, known by the names of Rhamnusia and Nemesis, hears the prayer and decides to answer it. The occasion for the retribution comes when Narcissus is out hunting again and, hot and tired, decides to rest next to a pristine fountain surrounded by pleasant verdure and high trees that provide cooling shade. When he bends over the fountain to quench his thirst, he sees in the water a wondrous face and immediately falls in love with it, unaware that he is looking at himself.

The well-turn'd neck and shoulders he descries, The spacious forehead, and the sparkling eyes; The hands that Bacchus might not scorn to show, And hair that round Apollo's head might flow; With all the purple youthfulness of face, That gently blushes in the wat'ry glass.

Narcissus kisses the reflection and tries to pull it out of the water, to no avail. Nevertheless, he remains at the fountain, forsaking sleep and food. He cries out in desperation:

"You trees," says he, "and thou surrounding grove, Who oft have been the kindly scenes of love, Tell me, if e'er within your shades did lye [lie] A youth so tortur'd, so perplex'd as I? I, who before me see the charming fair, Whilst there he stands, and yet he stands not there."

Narcissus then thinks the image must feel the same way he does, frustrated with longing for an embrace but unable to gain one. Finally, he realizes what is happening:

Ah wretched me! I now begin too late To find out all the long-perplex'd deceit; It is my self I love, my self I see.

Still, he cannot turn his eyes from the fountain. When he cries, his tears disturb the waters, and the reflection blurs and wrinkles. Narcissus rips off his garment and beats at his chest. His unrequited love is killing him.

As wax dissolves, as ice begins to run, And trickle into drops before the sun; So melts the youth, and languishes away, His beauty withers, and his limbs decay; And none of those attractive charms remain, To which the slighted Echo su'd in vain.

Echo sees and pities him. When he cries, "Ah youth! belov'd in vain," Echo replies, “Ah youth! belov'd in vain." After he dies, nymphs prepare an urn to hold his ashes. However, when they look for it, they find a beautiful flower in its place.

=The History of Narcissus in Psychology=

The concept of excessive selfishness has been recognized throughout history. In ancient Greece the concept was understood as hubris. It is only in recent times that it has been defined in psychological terms. Today agency versus communion describes the dichotomy between status vs. love or solidarity or dominance vs. warmth or friendliness. Wiggins' conception of agency involves power, mastery, and assertion. The opposite of agency is passivity, which involves weakness, failure, and submission. Communion involves intimacy, union, and solidarity. The opposite of communion is dissociation, which involves remoteness, disaffiliation, and hostility.
 * In 1898 Havelock Ellis, an English sexologist, used the term "narcissus-like" in reference to excessive masturbation, whereby the person becomes his or her own sex object.
 * In 1899, Paul Näche was the first person to use the term "narcissism" in a study of sexual perversions.
 * Otto Rank in 1911 published the first psychoanalytical paper specifically concerned with narcissism, linking it to vanity and self-admiration.
 * Sigmund Freud published a paper exclusively devoted to narcissism in 1914 called On Narcissism: An Introduction.
 * In 1923, Martin Buber published an essay "Ich und Du" (I and Thou), in which he pointed out that our narcissism often leads us to relate to others as objects instead of as equals.
 * Since 2000, on psychological tests designed to detect narcissism, the scores of residents of the United States have continually increased. Psychologists have suggested a link to social networking.

About Echo
In Greek mythology, Ekho (Greek: Ἠχώ, Ēkhō; "Sound") was an Oread (a mountain nymph) who loved her own voice. Zeus loved consorting with beautiful nymphs and visited them on Earth often. Eventually, Zeus's wife, Hera, became suspicious, and came from Mt. Olympus in an attempt to catch Zeus with the nymphs.

History of Echo
Sometimes the young and beautiful nymph Echo would distract and amuse Zeuses wife Hera with long and entertaining stories while Zeus took advantage of the moment to ravish the other mountain nymphs. When Hera discovered the trickery she punished the talkative Echo by taking away her voice, except in foolish repetition of another's shouted words. Thus, all Echo could do was repeat the voice of another.

Echo fell in love with a vain youth named Narcissus, who was the son of the blue Nymph Liriope of Thespia. The river god Cephisus had once encircled Liriope with the windings of his streams, trapping her, and seduced the nymph. Concerned about her infant son's future, Liriope consulted the seer Teiresias. Teiresias told the nymph that Narcissus "would live to a ripe old age, as long as he never knew himself."

One day when Narcissus was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed the handsome youth through the woods longing to address him but unable to speak first. When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went, until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely youth. He pulled away from the nymph and vainly told her to leave him alone. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken, and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens pining away for the love she never knew, crying until all that was left was her voice. However, in other versions Echo cries until she is stone and an invisible Echo (probably her ghost/spirit) haunts the Earth.

The most popular version of the Echo/Narcissus story depicts that when Narcissus realises he is in love with his own reflection, he becomes utterly distraught and realising no way to fulfill his love, he takes his hunting knife and stabs himself through the heart. As the blood drops fell to the ground they spawned the first growth of the Daffodil, also known as the Narcissus flower (or plant). Echo was a beautiful and musical nymph who could sing and play many instruments. She lived in the woods and denied the love of any man or god. Pan, a lecherous god, fell in love with Echo, but she ran away from him. He became so angry when she refused him, he created such a "panic" causing a group of shepherds to kill her. Echo was torn to pieces and spread all over the Earth. The goddess of the earth, Gaia, received the pieces of Echo, whose voice remains repeating the last words of others. In some versions, Echo and Pan had two children: Iambe and Iynx.

=Psychological Aspects Of Narcissism==

List of Narcissistic Traits
Thomas in his 2010 book suggests that narcissists typically display most, sometimes all, of the following traits:
 * An obvious self-focus in interpersonal exchanges
 * Problems in sustaining satisfying relationships
 * A lack of psychological awareness (see insight in psychology and psychiatry, egosyntonic)
 * Difficulty with empathy
 * Problems distinguishing the self from others (see narcissism and boundaries)
 * Hypersensitivity to any sleights or imagined insults (see criticism and narcissists, narcissistic rage and narcissistic injury)
 * Vulnerability to shame rather than guilt
 * Haughty body langauge
 * Flattery towards people who admire and affirm him or her
 * Detesting those who do not admire him or her
 * Using other people without considering the cost to them of his or her doing so
 * Pretending to be more important than he or she is
 * Bragging (subtly but persistently) and exaggerating his or her achievements
 * Claiming to be an "expert" at most things
 * Inability to view the world from the perspective of other people
 * Denial of remorse and gratitude

Seven Deadly Sins Of Narcissism
Hotchkiss in his 2003 book identified what she called the seven deadly sins of narcissism:
 * Shamelessness: Shame is the feeling that lurks beneath all unhealthy narcissism, and the inability to process shame in healthy ways.
 * Magical thinking: Narcissists see themselves as perfect using distortion and illusion known as magical thinking. They also use projection to dump shame onto others.
 * Arrogance: A narcissist who is feeling deflated may reinflate by diminishing, debasing, or degrading somebody else.
 * Envy: A narcissist may secure a sense of superiority in the face of another person's ability by using contempt to minimize the other person.
 * Entitlement: Narcissists hold unreasonable expectations of particularly favorable treatment and automatic compliance because they consider themselves special. Failure to comply is considered an attack on their superiority, and the perpetrator is considered an "awkward" or "difficult" person. Defiance of their will is a narcissistic injury that can trigger narcissistic rage.
 * Exploitation: Can take many forms but always involves the exploitation of others without regard for their feelings or interests. Often the other is in a subservient position where resistance would be difficult or even impossible. Sometimes the subservience is not so much real as assumed.
 * Bad boundaries: Narcissists do not recognize that they have boundaries and that others are separate and are not extensions of themselves. Others either exist to meet their needs or may as well not exist at all. Those who provide narcissistic supply to the narcissist are treated as if they are part of the narcissist and are expected to live up to those expectations. In the mind of a narcissist there is no boundary between self and other.

Modern Consensus
Campbell and Foster in 2007 reviewed the literature on narcissism. They argue that narcissists possess the following "basic ingredients":
 * Positive: Narcissists think they are better than others.
 * Inflated: Narcissists' views tend to be contrary to reality. In measures that compare self-report to objective measures, narcissists' self-views tend to be greatly exaggerated.
 * Agentic rather than communic: Narcissists’ views tend to be most exaggerated in the agentic (self) domain, relative to the communion (other people) domain.
 * Special: Narcissists perceive themselves to be unique and special people.
 * Selfish: Research upon narcissists’ behaviour in resource dilemmas supports the case for narcissists as being selfish.
 * Oriented toward success: Narcissists are oriented towards success by being, for example, approach oriented.

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. "Millman says that what happens to celebrities is that they get so used to people looking at them that they stop looking back at other people." And this is perfectly normal human behavior. It is almost desirable attribute in collaborative environment, yet many fail to adhere to it.

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 lack of social norms, controls, and of people telling them how life really is, also makes these people believe they're invulnerable," so that the person with ASN may suffer from unstable relationships, substance abuse and erratic behaviour.

Vaknin suggests it is likely that ASN is merely an amplification of earlier narcissistic conduct, traits, style, and tendencies. Celebrities are, therefore, unlikely to "heal" once their fame or wealth or might are gone. Instead, their basic narcissism merely changes form.

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

Aggressive narcissism
This is Factor 1 in the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, which includes the following traits:
 * Glibness/superficial charm
 * Grandiose sense of self-worth
 * Pathological lying
 * Cunning/manipulative
 * Lack of remorse or guilt
 * Callous/lack of empathy
 * Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Inverted Narcissism Or Codependency
Also known as inverted narcissism or co-narcissism.

Codependency is a tendency to behave in overly passive or excessively caretaking ways that negatively impact one's relationships and quality of life. Narcissists are considered to be natural magnets for the codependent. Vaknin identifies codependents of narcissists as "inverted narcissists". Rappoport identifies codependents of narcissists as "co-narcissists".

Collective narcissism
Collective narcissism has been researched by Agnieszka Golec de Zavala and her collaborators. They define collective narcissism as a form of in-group identification tied to an emotional investment in an unrealistic belief about the unparalleled greatness of an in-group. They see collective narcissism as an individual difference variable. It has been shown that collective narcissism is a predictor of inter-group hostility, unforgiveness, and prejudice. Collective narcissists react with hostility in response to group based criticism. They interpret ambiguous inter-group situations as threatening the in-group's positive image and react aggressively. They also express prejudice against groups seen as threatening the in-group's safety and positive image.

Conversational Narcissism
Conversational narcissism is a term used by sociologist Charles Derber in his book, The Pursuit of Attention: Power and Ego in Everyday Life.

Derber observed that the social support system in America is relatively weak, and this leads people to compete mightily for attention. In social situations, they tend to steer the conversation away from others and toward themselves. "Conversational narcissism is the key manifestation of the dominant attention-getting psychology in America," he wrote. "It occurs in informal conversations among friends, family and coworkers. The profusion of popular literature about listening and the etiquette of managing those who talk constantly about themselves suggests its pervasiveness in everyday life."

What Derber describes as "conversational narcissism" often occurs subtly rather than overtly because it is prudent to avoid being judged an egotist.

Derber distinguishes the "shift-response" from the "support-response".

Corporate narcissism
Organizational psychologist Alan Downs wrote a book in 1997 describing corporate narcissism. He explores high-profile corporate leaders (such as Al Dunlap and Robert Allen) who, he suggests, literally have only one thing on their minds: profits. According to Downs, such narrow focus actually may yield positive short-term benefits, but ultimately it drags down individual employees as well as entire companies. Alternative thinking is proposed, and some firms now utilizing these options are examined. Downs' theories are relevant to those suggested by Victor Hill in his book, Corporate Narcissism in Accounting Firms Australia.

Cross-cultural Narcissism
Joan Lachkar describes the phenomenon of cross-cultural narcissism thus:

> The cross-cultural narcissist brings to his new country a certain amount of nationalistic pride, which he holds onto relentlessly. He refuses to adapt and will go to great lengths to maintain his sense of special identity. Cross-cultural narcissists often hook up with borderline women, who tend to idealize and be mesmerized by men from another culture.

Cultural narcissism
In The Culture of Narcissism, Christopher Lasch defines a narcissistic culture as one where 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.

Destructive Narcissism
Destructive narcissism describes someone who constantly exhibits numerous and intense characteristics usually associated with the pathological narcissist but having fewer characteristics than pathological narcissism.

Gender narcissism
Gerald Schoenewolf, writing for NARTH, extends the concept of narcissism as "excessive self-love" to questions of gender and sexual orientation. After undertaking a psychoanalytic study of a number of patients, Schoenewolf identifies "Gender Narcissists by Sexual Type", using categories which include "Homosexual", "Prostitute", and "Pedophile". A parallel categorization of "Gender Narcissists by Personality Type" includes the "Hysterical", "Depressive", and "Addictive". He ultimately argues, "The strife caused by militant feminism s the chief social pathology brought about by societal gender narcissism. In our culture, gender narcissism and other forms of cultural narcissism may be epidemic, and their mass rage may constitute our biggest agent of oppression."

Critics point out that Schoenewolf neglects to adequately consider collective, cultural, phallic and sexual narcissism in his work concerning the patriarchal social model, nor does his work grasp the import of these types of narcissism with reference to heterosexuality.

Group Narcissism
Group narcissism is described in a 1973 book entitled The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness by psychologist Erich Fromm.

Malignant narcissism
Malignant narcissism, a term first coined in a book by Erich Fromm in 1964, is a syndrome consisting of a cross breed of the narcissistic personality disorder, the antisocial personality disorder, as well as paranoid traits. The malignant narcissist differs from narcissistic personality disorder in that the malignant narcissist derives higher levels of psychological gratification from accomplishments over time (thus worsening the disorder). Because the malignant narcissist becomes more involved in this psychological gratification, in the context of the right conditions, they are apt to develop the antisocial, the paranoid, and the schizoid personality disorders. The term malignant is added to the term narcissist to indicate that individuals with this disorder have a powerful form of narcissism that has made them ill in the forms of paranoid and anti-social traits.

Medical Narcissism
Medical narcissism is a term coined by John Banja in his book, Medical Errors and Medical Narcissism. 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.

Phallic narcissism
Wilhelm Reich first identified the phallic narcissistic personality type, with excessively inflated self-image. The individual is elitist, a "social climber", admiration seeking, self-promoting, bragging and empowered by social success.

Primordial Narcissism
Psychiatrist Ernst Simmel first defined primordial narcissism in 1944. Simmel's fundamental thesis is that the most primitive stage of libidinal development is not the oral, but the gastro-intestinal one. Mouth and anus are merely to be considered as the terminal parts of this organic zone. Simmel terms the psychological condition of prenatal existence "primordial narcissism". It is the vegetative stage of the pre-ego, identical with the id. At this stage there is complete instinctual repose, manifested in unconsciousness. Satiation of the gastro-intestinal zone, the representative of the instinct of self-preservation, can bring back this complete instinctual repose, which, under pathological conditions, can become the aim of the instinct.

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.

In other words he is referring to the natural state of an infant as a fetus and in the first few days of its life, before it has learned that other people exist besides itself, and therefore cannot possibly be aware that they are human beings with feelings, rather than having anything to do with actual narcissism.

Sexual Narcissism
Sexual narcissism has been described as an egocentric pattern of sexual behavior that involves 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 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 and sexual coercion in couples. Hurlbert argues that sex is a natural biological given and therefore cannot be deemed as an addiction. He and his colleagues assert that any sexual addiction is nothing more than a misnomer for what is actually sexual narcissism or sexual compulsivity.

Social Internet Narcissism
Jean Twenge wrote about the narcissism inherent in Internet social site use, cited by Morozov in his book "The Net Delusion", p. 187. I quote:

Psychologists have also noticed a correlation between the use of social networking and narcissism. A 2009 national poll of 1,068 U.S. college students conducted by researchers at San Diego State University (SDSU) found that 57 percent of them believe that their generation uses social networking sites for self-promotion, narcissism, and attention seeking, while almost 40 percent agreed with the statement that “being self-promoting, narcissistic, overconfident, and attention-seeking is helpful for succeeding in a competitive world.” Jean Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at SDSU who conducted the study and also author of The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement, believes that the very structure of social networking sites “rewards the skills of the narcissist, such as self-promotion, selecting flattering photographs of oneself, and having the most friends.” There’s nothing wrong with self-promotion per se, but it seems quite unlikely that such narcissistic campaigners would be able to develop true feelings of empathy or be prepared to make sacrifices that political life, especially political life in authoritarian states, requires.

Spiritual Narcissism
Spiritual narcissism, more often called spiritual materialism, describes mistakes spiritual seekers commit that turn the pursuit of spirituality into an ego-building and confusion-creating endeavor. This is based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress.

Organizational Narcissism
Lubit in 2002 Lubit, R. (2002). The long-term organizational impact of destructively narcissistic managers. Academy of Management Executive, 16(1), 127-138.


 * Characteristic || Healthy Narcissism || Destructive Narcissism ||
 * Self-confidence || High outward self-confidence in line with reality ||
 * An unrealistic sense of superiority ("Grandiose") ||
 * Desire for power, wealth and admiration || May enjoy power || Pursues power at all costs, lacks normal inhibitions in its pursuit ||
 * Relationships || Real concern for others and their ideas; does not exploit or devalue others || Concerns limited to expressing socially appropriate response when convenient; devalues and exploits others without remorse ||
 * Ability to follow a consistent path || Has values; follows through on plans || Lacks values; easily bored; often changes course ||
 * Foundation || Healthy childhood with support for self-esteem and appropriate limits on behaviour towards others ||
 * Traumatic childhood undercutting true sense of self-esteem and/or learning that he/she doesn't need to be considerate of others ||

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