Paper On Narcissism

Narcissism, as a psychological concept, is a relatively well-known phenomenon amongst the general populous — however, more often than not, it’s used as an insult against people who lack humility and tend to be conceited. Although this isn’t necessarily a misuse of the word, narcissism as disorder or personality trait has a profound depth to it; Individuals with this disorder can have a romanticised sense of self importance, a severe lack of empathy, and often are likely to exaggerate their achievements to the point of looking boastful and pretentious (American Psychiatric Association, 2012).

Recent developments in studying narcissism have been significant, however idea has a strong mythological prevalence; whether it be Narcissus’ demonstration of hubris, or the reiteration of excessive pride as a deadly sin in the Christian lore. Narcissism is also considered a legitimate socio/cultural issue as a part of the dark triad — having an existence as a personality trait amongst the general population (Van Der Linden, 2015).

Furthermore, it’s not exclusively a trait for the bold, narcissism can also be coveted by a facade of shyness and introversion (Wink, 1996). To account for this, subcategories of Narcissism have been constructed — notably, Grandiose Narcissism (high self-esteem, extraverted, overt, adapted, often oblivious — the commonly known form), and Vulnerable Narcissism (lower levels of self-esteem, internal and covert, pathological, hypersensitive, nuanced — the lesser known