Re: Narcissism Epidemic Spreads Among College Students
Posted by
Douglas Roberts-2 on
URL: http://friam.383.s1.nabble.com/Narcissism-Epidemic-Spreads-Among-College-Students-tp4787290p4791374.html
The problem with questions like the 40 on the
NPI test is that the intelligent test-taker will immediately perceive the intended goal of the exam and be capable of influencing the results at will. Since most of the questions represent two extreme endpoints of a given social response, the appropriate answer in many cases is "NA", allowing the respondent to answer as his inclinations dictate. IMO, only a rather average or sub-average intellect would allow himself to get caught out by such a transparent guise.
Of course, we are talking about narcissists here. On FRIAM...
--Doug
On Wed, Mar 24, 2010 at 8:27 AM, glen e. p. ropella
<[hidden email]> wrote:
In that first article:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-23-health-poll-favorable_N.htm
They emphasize the entitlement aspect of narcissism. In the DSM-IV,
entitlement is only a minor diagnostic element, far superseded by
grandiosity, fantasies of success, specialness, lack of empathy, etc.
Below are the 6 questions from "The Mirror Effect" intended to estimate
a person's NPI:
5. A. The thought of ruling the world frightens the hell out of me.
B. If I ruled the world it would be a better place.
14. A. I insist upon getting the respect that is due me.
B. I usually get the respect that I deserve.
18. A. I just want to be reasonably happy.
B. I want to amount to something in the eyes of the world.
24. A. I expect a great deal from other people.
B. I like to do things for other people.
25. A. I will never be satisfied until I get all that I deserve.
B. I take my satisfactions as they come.
27. A. I have a strong will to power.
B. Power for its own sake doesn't interest me.
What intrigues me are the dichotomies set up by those questions.
Then, in a newer article from yesterday, they talk about the differences
between a poll conducted before the health care bill was passed and
after it was passed.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-23-health-poll-favorable_N.htm
"In the new USA TODAY survey and one taken a month ago, the biggest
shift toward support of the bill was among low-income Americans,
minorities and those under 40. That has created a yawning age divide: A
solid majority of seniors oppose the bill; a solid majority of those
younger than 40 favor it."
So, clearly there's some correlation between age and a positive view of
the bill. Based on the (perhaps false) dichotomies of the above
questions, the question these two articles raise is whether the
correlation is caused by self-interest, perhaps a growing sense of
entitlement in younger people, or by altruism, perhaps a growing sense
of the commons.
I suppose I would tend to think we're looking at a duality. The sense
of entitlement is, somehow, the same as the sense of the commons, the
obligation to share a social burden.
Again, this leads me to speculate that this increase in that particular
narcissistic trait (entitlement/commons) might be correlated with
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