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."
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.
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:
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Codependency (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. Rappoport
identifies codependents of narcissists as "co-narcissists".
Collective or group narcissism
Collective narcissism (or group narcissism) is a type of narcissism where an
individual has an inflated self-love of his or her own ingroup, where an
“ingroup” is a group in which an individual is personally involved. While the
classic definition of narcissism focuses on the individual, collective
narcissism asserts that one can have a similar excessively high opinion of a
group, and that a group can function as a narcissistic entity. Collective
narcissism is related to ethnocentrism; however, ethnocentrism primarily focuses
on self-centeredness at an ethnic or cultural level, while collective
narcissism is extended to any type of ingroup beyond just cultures and ethnicities.
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
Gender narcissism is a relatively new concept, referred to by Dr. Gerald
Schoenwolf, with reference to both males and females.
The concept builds on Freud's theories of penis envy
and the castration anxiety. Chiefly that an
over-emphasis or over-perception of gender and gender
difference in childhood can lead to either a devaluation or an over-valuation
of one's gender in later life.
Dr. Schoenwolf in particular suggests that the emergence of the feminist
personality, with gonadal-centric views, and female gender narcissism are
synonymous.
Malignant narcissism
Main article: 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.[33][34]
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.
According to Otto Fenichel, 'Phallic characters are persons whose
behavior is reckless, resolute and self-assured - traits, however, that have a
reactive character: they reflect a fixation at the phallic level, with
overvaluation of the penis and confusion of the penis with the whole body'.
Fenichel stressed that 'an intense vanity and sensitiveness reveals that these narcissistic
patients still have their narcissistic needs...for which they overcompensate'.
Others would add that 'the phallic character conceives of sexual
behaviour as a display of potency, in contrast to the genital character, who
conceives of it as participation in a relationship'.
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.
Spiritual narcissism
Spiritual narcissism 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.
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