Narcissism: A Self-Centered Personality

Narcissism is a self-centered personality type marked by a preoccupation with one's own demands, frequently at the expense of others. Self-centeredness is in everyone's nature. Narcissism exists on a scale from normal to unhealthy personality expression. There is a considerable distinction between people who are difficult or self-absorbed and those who have a pathological mental condition such as narcissistic personality disorder.

Characteristics

It depends on the situations and outcomes being assessed whether narcissism is "good" or "bad." Healthy narcissism can be beneficial in specific social circumstances, such as beginning social interactions and with certain outcome variables, such as feeling good about oneself. In other settings, such as long-term relationships and outcome factors like accurate self-knowledge, narcissism can be detrimental.

Narcissism has four aspects as a personality variable: leadership/authority, superiority/arrogance, self-absorption/self-admiration, and exploitativeness/entitlement.

Normal and healthy levels of narcissism

Narcissism is a necessary component of mature self-esteem and fundamental self-worth. Narcissistic behaviors, in essence, are a set of intrapersonal and interpersonal methods aimed at preserving one's self-esteem.

It has been proposed that healthy narcissism is associated with excellent mental health. Self-esteem acts as a bridge between narcissism and psychological well-being. As a result of their enhanced self-esteem, which stems from self-perceptions of competence and likability, high narcissists are largely free of anxiety and depression.

Destructive levels of narcissism

Narcissism is a natural personality feature in and of itself; nevertheless, excessive narcissistic conduct may be destructive and self-defeating. Destructive narcissism is defined by a "pervasive pattern of grandiosity," which includes emotions of entitlement and superiority, arrogant or haughty behavior, and a generalized lack of empathy and care for others. On a scale, destructive narcissism is more intense than healthy narcissism but not as bad as pathological narcissism.

Pathological levels of narcissism

The pathological degree of narcissistic behavior is quite high. As Freud indicated, the pathological form of narcissism is a magnified, exaggerated manifestation of healthy narcissism. The disease of narcissism, as defined by Freud, reveals itself in the inability to love others, a lack of empathy, emptiness, boredom, and an unrelenting urge to seek power, while rendering the individual inaccessible to others. Kernberg, Kohut, and Theodore Millon, all clinical theorists, considered pathological narcissism as a probable result of unemphatic and inconsistent early childhood relationships. They proposed that narcissists attempt to compensate in adult relationships. Karen Horney (1885–1952), a German psychotherapist, regarded the narcissistic personality as a temperament feature shaped by an early environment.