Narcissistic
Personality Disorder

Alexis Stockling
04/29/2012

Abnormal psychology is a branch of psychology that deals with psychopathology and abnormal behavior. Narcissistic personality disorder is a part of psychology that struck my attention, I needed to know more. This personality disorder is a condition in which people have inflated senses of self-importance and an extreme concern with themselves. People with this disorder tend to have an overly sensitive personality and parenting problems may affect the development of this disorder. Yet, there are no known causes for this disorder. I am going to expound on the psycho-dynamic, cognitive-behavioral, and socio-cultural views of this disorder. A number of psycho-dynamic theorist believed that this disorder begins with cold, rejecting parents and developmental problems in childhood. These theorists also believed that this disorder can come from child abuse, and or, separation of parents through divorce or death. They believe that this disorder is characterized by a need for the admiration of others, with little empathy or understanding of other’s feelings. These people consistently overestimate their abilities and exaggerate their accomplishments. When overestimating and exaggerating their own issues, they tend to devalue or ridicule the accomplishments of others. Stating things like, “I do everything, and I never get the credit I deserve.” They are very self-absorbed. They also believed that these people defend themselves from feeling unsatisfied, rejected, unworthy, and cautious of the world. They do this by repeatedly telling themselves anything appealing to oneself, such as I’m beautiful, pretty, strong and independent. They convince themselves that they are totally self-sufficient without the need of warm relationships with their parents or anyone else for that matter. Narcissists in the eyes of psycho-dynamist say, these people are very choosy about their friends and affiliates. In fact, they believe that he or she is unique or "special" and should only associate with other people of the same or higher status. Cognitive-behavioral theorists view this disorder somewhat differently. They proposed that this disorder can come about when people are treated too positively early in life. For example, receiving rewards for even the most trivial accomplishment. They believe that these people view their sense of self-importance, is generally extravagant, and, like psycho-dynamist say, they demand attention and admiration. They often appear as arrogant, exploitative, and entitled people. This may start because he or she parents may be, “admired or desired,” they grow up wanting to obtain this self-worth. They have persistent fantasies about attaining triumph and power. However, despite their inflated sense of self, below their brittle facade lies low self-esteem and intense envy of those whom they regard as more desirable, worthy, or able. Yet, they are very cunning, and hide many of their symptoms from extended family members. Their children suffer, as they are emotionally absent, lie frequently, and embellish their physical weaknesses. For instance, “My kids always get great marks in school. (Keisha gets mostly Cs, and Sabrina flunked English and History again, because nobody ever helps them at home.)” Substance abuse is not uncommon, in these individuals; they feel as if nothing can hurt them. Narcissism could be a self-defeating behavior because of their aggressiveness, particularly in response to ego threats. Narcissists have been found to respond with anger, hostility, and aggression when people criticize them, even when it is not meant to be taken personal. This brings me into the next view of the, socio-culturist. Socio-culturist takes a different approach as they believe that this disorder can be brought about through society. Stating, “Era’s in Society,” which are family values and social ideals that sometimes break down producing generations of youth who are self-centered and materialistic. They also believe that persons from higher socioeconomic classes are more narcissistic than those from lower socioeconomic classes. These people are ambitious and become successful therefore can afford these high end lives. Socio economist also believed that persons from only-child families are more narcissistic than those from families with multiple children. They are not commonly taught things such as sharing, learning how to care for others so they become self-absorbed. Their excessive ambition and confidence may lead to high achievement; performance may be disrupted due to intolerance of criticism or defeat. Sometimes vocational functioning can be very low, reflecting an unwillingness to take a risk in competitive or other situations in which defeat is possible. Individuals with this disorder have special difficulties adjusting to growing old and losing their significant other. Younger persons are more narcissistic than older ones;

References
Bushman, B. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (1998). Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: Does self-love or self-hate lead to violence? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 219–229.
Comer, R.J. (2005) Narcissistic personality disorder. In R.J Comer, Abnormal Psychology sixth edition(pp. 413-414). New York: Worth Publishers.
Rhodewalt, F., Madrian, J. C., & Cheney, S. (1998). Narcissism, self-knowledge organization, and emotional reactivity: The effect of daily experiences on self-esteem and affect. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 75–87.
Vaknin, D. S. (V.). Narcissistic personality disorder treatment modalities and therapies. Retrieved from http://samvak.tripod.com/faq77.html