Narcissism. Narcissism is a concept in psychoanalytic theory, introduced in Sigmund Freud's On Narcissism. The American Psychiatric Association has the classification narcissistic personality disorder in its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Narcissism is also considered a social or cultural problem. It is a factor in trait theory used in some self-report inventories of personality such as the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory. It is one of the three dark triadic personality traits (the others being psychopathy and Machiavellianism).
Except in the sense of primary narcissism or healthy self-love, narcissism is usually considered a problem in a person's or group's relationships with self and others. Narcissism is not the same as egocentrism. History[edit] The concept of excessive selfishness has been recognized throughout history. Traits and signs[edit] Life is a stage, and when the curtain falls upon an act, it is finished and forgotten.
Clinical and research aspects[edit] Codependency. Development and scope of concept[edit] Historically, the concept of codependence "comes directly out of Alcoholics Anonymous, part of a dawning realization that the problem was not solely the addict, but also the family and friends who constitute a network for the alcoholic. "[3] It was subsequently broadened to cover the way "that the codependent person is fixated on another person for approval, sustenance, and so on. "[3] As such, the concept overlaps with, but developed in the main independently from, the older psychoanalytic concept of the 'passive dependent personality' ... attaching himself to a stronger personality.
Some would retain the stricter, narrower dictionary definition of codependency, which requires one person to be physically or psychologically addicted, such as to heroin, and the second person to be psychologically dependent on that behavior.[5] Patterns and characteristics[edit] Narcissism[edit] Alan Rappoport identifies codependents of narcissists as "co-narcissists. Dependent personality disorder. Dependent personality disorder (DPD), formerly known as asthenic personality disorder, is a personality disorder that is characterized by a pervasive psychological dependence on other people. This personality disorder is a long-term (chronic) condition in which people depend on others to meet their emotional and physical needs, with only a minority achieving normal levels of independence.
The difference between a 'dependent personality' and a 'dependent personality disorder' is somewhat subjective, which makes diagnosis sensitive to cultural influences such as gender role expectations. Characteristics[edit] View of others[edit] Individuals with DPD see other people as much more capable to shoulder life's responsibilities, to navigate a complex world, and to deal with the competitions of life.[1] Other people appear powerful, competent, and capable of providing a sense of security and support to individuals with DPD. Self-image[edit] Relationships[edit] Comparison with other PDs[edit] General: Defence mechanisms. A defence mechanism is a coping technique that reduces anxiety arising from unacceptable or potentially harmful impulses.[1] Defence mechanisms are unconscious and are not to be confused with conscious coping strategies.[2] Sigmund Freud was one of the first proponents of this construct.[3] Healthy persons normally use different defences throughout life.
An ego defence mechanism becomes pathological only when its persistent use leads to maladaptive behaviour such that the physical or mental health of the individual is adversely affected. The purpose of ego defence mechanisms is to protect the mind/self/ego from anxiety and/or social sanctions and/or to provide a refuge from a situation with which one cannot currently cope.[9] One resource used to evaluate these mechanisms is the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40).[10][11] Structural model: Id, ego, and superego[edit] Freud believed that conflicts between these two structures resulted in conflicts associated with psychosexual stages. Experiential avoidance. Experiential avoidance (EA) has been broadly defined as attempts to avoid thoughts, feelings, memories, physical sensations, and other internal experiences—even when doing so creates harm in the long-run.[1] The process of EA is thought to be maintained through negative reinforcement—that is, short-term relief of discomfort is achieved through avoidance, thereby increasing the likelihood that the behavior will persist.
Importantly, the current conceptualization of EA suggests that it is not negative thoughts, emotions, and sensations that are problematic, but how one responds to them that can cause difficulties. In particular, a habitual and persistent unwillingness to experience uncomfortable thoughts and feelings (and the associated avoidance and inhibition of these experiences) is thought to be linked to a wide range of problems.[2] Background[edit] EA has been popularized by recent third-wave cognitive-behavioral theories such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Notes[edit] 6 TED Talks about incredible escapes. Hyeonseo Lee talks about life growing up in North Korea at TED2013. Photo: James Duncan Davidson North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. So it’s exceptionally rare to hear a first-hand account of life there — in English, no less. Hyeonseo Lee: My escape from North KoreaIn today’s brave talk, given at TED2013, Hyenseo Lee gives a riveting account of what it was like to grow up in North Korea.
“I thought my country was the best on the planet,” she says. Lee tells of seeing her first public execution at age 7, and witnessing the death and desperation around her during the terrible famine of the 1990s. It’s easy to think that, once the border is crossed, the worst is behind a North Korean refugee. To hear this powerful story, watch the talk. Sophal Ear: Escaping the Khmer Rouge TED Fellow Sophal Ear’s family is Cambodian, but he grew up in Vietnam. Self-monitoring. Historical context[edit] During the 1970s when the self-monitoring concept was introduced it became part of two larger ongoing debates.
Within personality research there was the tension between traits and situation; one could think of this as the nature versus nurture debate. Were people more inclined to behave consistent with innate personality traits or were they shaped by their environment? The self-monitoring construct offered a resolution to this debate because there was no need to argue that humans needed to fit entirely into the nature or nurture paradigm. High self-monitors were better predicted by their environment (situation/nurture) while low self-monitors were better predicted by their traits (traits/nature). Self-monitoring scale[edit] Mark Snyder originally developed a scale to measure whether people were high or low self monitors in 1974 as a 25-item measure.
High/Low self-monitors[edit] Self-Monitoring in Individualist/Collectivist cultures[edit] See also[edit] Notes[edit] Self-monitoring and Self-management for Autism. Brené Brown: The power of vulnerability. TechTV – Living An Extraordinary Life@MIT.