...New Narcissism 1. The phrase narcissism comes from the story of the man Narcissus, “a handsome young youth who falls hopelessly in love with his own reflection in a pool of water” (p. 2, l. 32). As the social critic Christopher Lacsh theorised, every generation reproduces its culture, the individual, in the form of personality. Today we are living in a world of New Narcissism. Not only are we narcissistic – we now have the social medias and Internet as remedies of self-promotion. Being an individual in a culture filled with love for celebrity, we find interest in some originally uninteresting things, such as which meals are included in a celebrity’s diet. It is therefore easier to deceive our minds in to thinking, that such insignificant bit of information about ourselves is in fact significant to the rest of the world. It is difficult to be yanked out of the hands of narcissism, as no one on the Internet bothers to inform one, that all of this information is of no matter. And maybe we enjoy watching and reading all of this triviality, because it reflects the reproduction of our culture and therefore also the individual. 2. The articles “Student narcissism on the rise” by Janice McDuffee and “Do Today’s Young People Really Think They Are So Extraordinary?” by Catherine West hold two mutually contradictory statements. As it appears from the title, the first article states, that the youths are products of increased self-enhancement and self-involvedness. The harm of this...
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...New Narcissism 1: Introduction of Narcissism In Greek mythology Narcissus was a hero from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. In the various stories he is exceptionally cruel, because he despises those who love him. As divine punishment he falls in love with a reflection in a pool, not realizing it was his own, and perishes there, not being able to leave the beauty of his own reflection. The term narcissism is closely linked to vanity, conceit and egotism and is a behavior where often young people think that the rest of the world is interested in them and their views. A professor Jean Twenge from San Diego University has done a survey about narcissistic young people. She has asked more than 16.000 students over a period of 24 years to rate the accuracy of some statements, and based on this she came to the conclusion that young people today are more narcissistic than ever before. This is being backed up by the surgeons Maurizio & Viel who during the 90´es experienced 250 men who in one year had made more than 700 surgical procedures. According to Maurizio the surgery did help their self-esteem. A social critic Christopher Lasch theorized that “every society reproduces its culture, in the individual, in the form of personality.” If personality is a mirror of the culture this explains why TV shows like X-Factor, American Idol and Paradise Hotel has become so popular among young people. In these shows hundreds of thousands audition to...
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...1) What is New Narcissism? In the text Me, Me, Me by Sarfranz Manzoor, we hear about a young 19-year-old teenage boy called Chris Crocker, who’s defending Britney Spears. He is crying and yelling at people to leave her alone. As if that wasn’t enough he puts the video on YouTube so that everyone can see it. What makes him think people care about his opinion? The answer is his big alter ego, and that is my definition on what new narcissism is. Another example would be The X-factor series. More than 150.00 people were ready to humiliate themselves just to achieve instant stardom. They were all convinced that they deserved success regardless of their lack of talent. The internet is strengthening our ego to the edge. The dating website Beautifulpeople.net only has members determined completely by looks, with existing members of the opposite sex voting on new applications. That for me just screams new narcissism. So does a recent study by psychologists at San Diego State University, concluding that young people are more narcissistic than ever before. Professor Jean Twenge found that two-thirds of the students scored above average on narcissism. 2) According to the text Student narcissism on the rise by Janice McDuffee, Today’s college students put themselves first. Lead author professor Jean Twenge of San Diego University calls the students “Generation Me”. She has made some studies, based on that she determined that students have become drastically more narcissistic. One reason...
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...New Narcissism 1. "New Narcissism" is a modern phenomenon, text 1 gives a very detailed description of the phenomenon. The author of text 1 presents Britney Spears as a self-destructive individual, who is a victim of the paradoxical development of our modern culture. But Britney isn’t the main focus point in this matter. It’s the Britney-obsessive Chris Crocker who draws his attention. Chris Crocker is known for crying like a mentally sick baby and howling: “leave Britney alone”, into a camera. He’s known for this particular quote, because he uploaded his video on the popular website, YouTube. The video has been watched more than 12 million times, by people from all over the world. But Chris didn't feel sorry for Britney, what so ever, he just wanted to obtain a lot of attention and become a celebrity. Chris got his 15 minutes of fame and a few days later Chris Crocker announced, he was in the process of making a new reality show on national television. This is a great example of new narcissism, Chris intentionally tries to get attention on Britney’s account, a very selfish and egocentric act and that is what new narcissism is all about. Narcissism is when you only think of yourself and your own needs exclusively. It’s when your self-esteem becomes a burden for others, it’s when you’re so self obsessed that you’re unable to see anything else but your own reflection. 2. Text 2 is written by Janice McDuffee, she begins her article by categorizing the college students as...
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...New Narcissism New Narcissism is the modern term for the phenomenon narcissism.The term “narcissism” was used for the first time in relation to psychiatry by Sigmund Freud to describe the phenomenon of “loving yourself”. The notion derived from the Greek mythology’s legend about Narcissus, a handsome young man searching for the love of his life. Narcissus found it when he saw his own face, reflected in the water. This word now has a wide range of meanings; from psychological symptoms, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait encompassing characteristics like arrogance, egoism, vanity and selfishness. Sarfaz Manzoor’s article “Me, Me, Me” tells us that psychologists’ recent studies conclude a disturbing increase of narcissistic behavior. Christopher Lasch claims in his work, The culture of Narcissism, that society reproduces its culture in the form of the individual’s personality. So, according to this theory New Narcissism is part of our culture. People set big goals as beauty, wealth and fame. Ordinary people can easily achieve their “beauty”, boost their self-esteem and confidence with plastic surgeries. Too much effort is put on the appearance and only for people’s own benefits. Fame, and thus wealth, can be achieved for example through the Internet. The Internet has a big impact on our narcissistic culture because everyone can get heard, and nobody can stop you from saying what you want. In the Internet’s virtual world, it’s possible to create, manipulate...
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...New Narcissism Section A 1: New Narcissism is a newer and a more modern version of the phenomenon narcissism. The number of narcissistic people is bigger then ever according to studies by psychologists. The phenomenon narcissism is a product of the story of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. So all in all narcissism means that people are falling in love with their own reflections, and think they are better then everyone. Sigmund Freud was the first person to introduce the word narcissism in relation to psychiatry. Soon afterwards the term was associated with tings like vanity, conceit and egotism. “ – in short, narcissists were the kind of men who, were they given the choice of taking one personal effect to a desert island, would choose a mirror.” The writer, Sarfraz Manzoor, of the article me me me is presenting narcissistic people as “attention-seeking, internet-enabled and celebrity-crazed ”. For instance he gives an example with a young guy called Chris Crocker who made a video-clip where he told the whole world to “leave Britney alone”, and afterwards he put it on YouTube. Chris Crocker is a product of the society we have today, because he’s seeking the attention. 2: Text 2 and 3 has totally different views on the youth and narcissism. Text 2 is presenting narcissism as a very dangerous thing, because young people are getting to high expectations compared to what they are able to do. The lead author professor Jean Twenge of San...
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...subject of ”New Narcissism” by giving a brief account of the phenomenon as it is described in text 1. The term “New Narcissism” springs from the story about Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection. The term “narcissism” as a mental condition was first recognized by Sigmund Freud. Today we use the term about a person who is vain and self-centered. Text 1 is written by Sarfraz Manzoor and is called “Me, Me, Me”. It describes “new narcissism” as a phenomenon mainly created by the media. The internet has made it possible for people all over the world to write blogs and have websites about them and their lives. If you only talk about yourself in the real world you can count on people to tell you to shut up. That will not happen in cyberspace, sure people can write a comment to your blog or website but you can simply just delete it and forget it. That’s a bit more difficult to do in the real world because there’s no “delete”. Sarfraz Manzoor uses Chris Crocker as an example of the phenomenon “new narcissism” and he’s a perfect example. The unknown Chris Crocker was on everyone’s lips after his Youtube-clip about Britney Spears. It was because of Britney Spears’ performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2007 Chris Crocker got famous. He was a big fan of Britney Spears and because of that he defended her. 2. Compare the views on narcissism presented in texts 2 and 3, and comment on how those views are substantiated. Text 2, “Students narcissism on the rise”...
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...New Narcissism A cultural phenomenon of our time 1. Introduce the subject of “New Narcissism” by giving a brief account of the phenomenon as it is described in text 1. Narcissism is the personality trait of selfishness. The first one ever to put a name on it was Sigmund Freud. He was inspired by the story about a handsome boy, Narcissus, who fell in love with his own mirror reflection. New narcissism is a modern version of the phenomenon narcissism, and today much of the youth are being narcissistic online on the internet. According to the article “Me, Me, Me” by Sarfraze Manzoor, new narcissism has come to life because society reproduces itself. People are more narcissistic than ever before and the number is increasing according to a study performed by psychologist. When Sigmund Freud put narcissism in relation to psychiatry, and made it recognized medical condition, it was a bad thing to be narcissistic, but the word narcissism does not seem that serious in our age. Nowadays people think of a narcissistic as a person, who is vain. The internet has a responsibility in the increasing amount of narcissism. The author gives an example of this, by telling the story about Chris Crocker, who became famous because of a video clip on the internet. In the clip he asks people to leave Britney Spears alone. He published the clip on the internet himself to get more attention. The article expresses that new narcissism is the offspring of today’s self-centred society, as the author...
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...New Narcissism 1. Introduce the subject of ”New Narcissism” by giving a brief account of the phenomenon as it is described in text 1. The term “New Narcissism” springs from the story about Narcissus who fell in love with his own reflection. The term “narcissism” as a mental condition was first recognized by Sigmund Freud. Today we use the term about a person who is vain and self-centered. Text 1 is written by Sarfraz Manzoor and is called “Me, Me, Me”. It describes “new narcissism” as a phenomenon mainly created by the media. The internet has made it possible for people all over the world to write blogs and have websites about them and their lives. If you only talk about yourself in the real world you can count on people to tell you to shut up. That will not happen in cyberspace, sure people can write a comment to your blog or website but you can simply just delete it and forget it. That’s a bit more difficult to do in the real world because there’s no “delete”. Sarfraz Manzoor uses Chris Crocker as an example of the phenomenon “new narcissism” and he’s a perfect example. The unknown Chris Crocker was on everyone’s lips after his Youtube-clip about Britney Spears. It was because of Britney Spears’ performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2007 Chris Crocker got famous. He was a big fan of Britney Spears and because of that he defended her. 2. Compare the views on narcissism presented in texts 2 and 3, and comment on how those views are substantiated. Text 2, “Students...
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...Understanding Machiavellianism and Narcissism Roshan Priyadarshi (B14103) Vishwajeet Goel (B14121) Madhur Maheshwari Tanveer Ali (B14118) Ankur Gupta Section B Abstract This paper tries to explore the concept of Narcissism and Machiavellianism and the effect of these on a person’s personality as a whole. Narcissism, personality trait of egoism, conceit, or simple selfishness and Machiavellianism, employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct, if in excess seem to have a negative effect on a person’s behaviour. The characteristics of the person indulging in these traits are analysed through this research and also the effects of their presence in excess to . Machiavellianism and narcissism can be called to be some of the most important and governing constituents of one’s personality and thus governs the behaviour of people at their workplace or in their decision making to a great extent. Consequences of very high or very low Machiavellianism and narcissism can be grave and therefore effects of both these conditions are evaluated. Also methodologies to determine the level of Narcissism and Machiavellianism in an individual are discussed through this paper. Hopefully this research will provide insights to the positive and negative effects of Narcissism and Machiavellianism and assist the reader in avoiding or minimising the negative effects of these. Narcissism The term was coined by Freud after Narcissus who in Greek myth was a pathologically...
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...(2007) 2105–2115 www.elsevier.com/locate/paid Narcissism, vanity, personality and mating effort Vincent Egan *, Cara McCorkindale Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, Scotland, United Kingdom Received 10 November 2006; received in revised form 19 June 2007; accepted 27 June 2007 Available online 15 August 2007 Abstract The current study examined the relationship between narcissism and vanity, and the degree these are predicted by the ‘Big Five’ personality traits and mating effort (ME) using a sample of 103 females recruited from a large beauty salon. Narcissism correlated with vanity at 0.72 (P < 0.001), and was associated positively with extraversion (E), ME and the subscales of vanity; narcissism was associated negatively with neuroticism (N) and agreeableness (A). Vanity correlated positively with E, conscientiousness, both subscales of narcissism, and ME, and negatively with N and A. A composite narcissism–vanity score was produced using principal components analysis, and used along with scores from the NEO-FFI-R to predict mating effort. The narcissism–vanity composite, low A and E significantly and independently predicted mating effort (adjusted R2 = 0.28, F(9.96) = 7.74, P < 0.001). These results show that mating effort is additionally predicted by narcissism as well as self-reported personality. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Narcissism; Personality; Mating effort; Vanity; Self-enhancement;...
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...In January 2008 a British journalist, Sarfraz Manzoor, wrote an article with the title “Me, Me, Me” that appeared in the magazine “Esquire”. He gives his opinion on how the phenomenon “New Narcissism” has its influences on today’s society through the Internet. And he leaves us with the impression that there is a reason to be worried about today's youth being more narcissistic than ever before. Narcissism is not new for us. New Narcissism is a modern version of the phenomenon narcissism. And it has been known since ancient Greece with the Greek myth about Narcissus that fell in love with his own reflection in the water. The man that got narcissism recognized as a medical condition was Sigmund Freud (l. 53). But in our age, the word, narcissism, does not seem that serious and is mostly defined as a phenomenon. This New Narcissism has come to life because society reproduces itself (l. 59). And growing numbers of people are more narcissistic according to a study performed by psychologists. Sarfraz Manzoor, who has written this article, describes that New Narcissism is the offspring of today’s society. He makes an example by including a person named Chris Crocker. Crocker became famous because he put a video on the Internet where he defended the celebrity Britney Spears. There can be two reasons for his behaviour. Is he doing this to tell people that they shall back off and because he is fond of her? Or is he doing this to get attention? But it does not seem as if Britney is the...
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...Ryan Plunkett Ray Setters AMS 250 7 March 2013 The Culture of Narcissism Paper For over the past 30 years there has been a prevailing idea that American society has changed drastically. While it is undeniable that every person is different and there are always plenty of exceptions to the norm, in many ways our modern society has become very similar to what Christopher Lasch predicted in The Culture of Narcissism. Unfortunately, it would be safe to say that some modern people are in a state that is extremely pre-occupied with the self. The idea of narcissism came from psychology and is mostly attributed to Sigmund Freud. It was considered to be an extreme preoccupation with the self that distorted ones relationship to reality. This resulted in an inability to make a clear distinction between themselves as the subject and what existed outside them. They were so focused on themselves that they lost awareness of the real beyond them. Because the narcissist does not recognize the separate existence of 'the other' they tend to use reality as a mirror to reflect messages back to the self. The other is there to impress, to be admired by, and to get pity from. The Narcissist is so identified with his/her needs that the other person is simply there to be available for them. In his book The Culture of Narcissism Christopher Larsch describes the Narcissistic personality, “the Narcissist can function in the everyday world - and is often very charming. However, his devaluation...
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...Discussion Board #1: Narcissism Discussion Board #1: Narcissism In many aspects of our lives we feel the need to be appreciated for the things that we do (Fisher 2012). Some of us desire this feeling so much that we become consumed by it. Greek mythology tells us of a story regarding Narcissus, who was so vain that it caused him to fall in love with his self or his image. From this story we derive the personality characteristic known as narcissism. According to Robins & Judge (2009, p.112) “narcissism describes a person who has a grandiose sense of self-importance, requires excessive admiration, has a sense of entitlement, and is arrogant.” This personality attribute may have impacts on an individual’s life in many different ways, but when it comes to the workplace there are certain negatively defined impressions. It is not abnormal for an individual to desire for their efforts to accomplish something and if not we may even feel that we have failed (Fisher 2012). “Narcissists overestimate their own accomplishments and seem pretentious; although self-enhancement bias is common, narcissism is characterized by extreme levels of this bias” (Byrne & O’Brien 2014, p.244). These behaviors, especially when found in a leader, can prove to be most damaging to their underlings or even their peers. There is the tendency for narcissists to be exploitive, selfish and even feel as though the existence of others is merely for their benefit (Robins & Judge 2009, p.112). As expected...
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...NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER EXPLORING NARCISSISM WILLIE RUTH HILL HOLMES COMMUNITY COLLEGE NARCISSISTIC PERSONALITY DISORDER What is Narcissism? According to the Mayo Clinic (2014), narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. But behind this mask of ultraconfidence lies a fragile self-esteem that’s vulnerable to the slightest criticism. In an article in Medical News Today (2014), narcissistic personality disorder, also known as NPD is defined as a personality disorder in which the individual has a distorted self- image, unstable and intense emotions, is overly preoccupied with vanity, prestige, power and person adequacy and has an exaggerated sense of superiority. Narcissism can affect how you perform at work, how successful you are in relationships and also affect your financial affairs. If someone with a narcissistic personality is not praised as they think they should be, they may become unhappy or dissatisfied with themselves. Because of their reactions to certain words or situations this causes others to feel that being around them is very undesirable. They may feel that a narcissistic person is conceited and think that they are better than anyone else, so maintaining a friendship may become difficult. Also in the article written by the Mayo Clinic (2014) a narcissistic person may have secret feelings of...
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