Problem Of Narcissism Research Articles

Through the Looking Glass: The Queer Narcissism of Selfies

A number of scholars have recently argued that the selfie needs to be understood outside of the discourse of narcissism. Rather than leaving this discourse behind, this article focuses on the “hype” of selfies as narcissistic in order to identify and ultimately trouble the political unconscious of this diagnosis, and to ask, what is the problem of narcissism such that it can serve as a means of devaluing, and what kind of politics might we find in the behaviors, proclivities, or attributes identified as narcissistic? The article argues that the problem of narcissism is less an exaggerated focus on the self than it is a failure of responsibility for oneself, and/or an insufficient concern for the well-being of others to whom the narcissist ought to be responsible. Drawing from the antisocial thesis in queer theory, the article argues that this normative investment in responsible subjectivity is motivated, rather ironically, by a desire to annihilate difference. As a “solution” to this desire, the article offers queer theorist Leo Bersani’s notion of “impersonal narcissism,” which it understands in relation to the queerness of the myth from which narcissism takes its name. In short, the article does not aim to evaluate empirically attributions of selfie narcissism—whether to confirm or falsify—but rather to problematize the diagnosis of narcissism as rooted in a normative project that works to produce responsible subjects, and to suggest that this project is compromised by a queer indifference to difference, as critics fear.

Peculiarities of psychotherapeutic work with narcissically organized individuals

The article presents the features of psychotherapeutic work with narcissistic problems, which relevant for modern society. There are two interrelated reasons which are connected with the growth of interest in the problem of narcissism: the first one –social transformations, the formation of narcissistic culture; and these condone – an increase in cases of clients with narcissistic personality organization. The growth of narcissistic pathology is associated with social changes in modern society. The consumption society, which is relevant for the present, provokes a person to the unbridled striving for success and perfectionism. This is a favorable condition for the strain of narcissistic mechanisms of personality. Different approaches to the understanding of narcissism in the frame work of psychoanalytic thinking are considered. G. Rosenfeld first developed the theory of pathological narcissism. According to his ideas, the narcissistic personality, due to it is "omnipotence", introduces a "good" partial object (in the terminology tradition of the school of object relations) and, in an omnipotent manner, as cribs itself to this object. In narcissistic object relations omnipotence I play key role. O. Kernberg understands narcissism in terms of structural peculiarities of the psyche. He classifies narcissism in a wide range from norm to pathology. H. Kohut believed that narcissism is an integral part of normal mental development of man. Understanding narcissism from the stand point of H. Kohut is reflected in the idea that the content of the problem of narcissism lies not in the extent to which one or another person is narcissistic, but in how it regulates its narcissism. Features of psychotherapeutic contact with narcissically organized individuals are described. Some strategies of psychotherapy for narcissistic clients are given.

Preventing and combating administrative narcissism

PurposeThe paper seeks to examine the problem of destructive narcissism as an aspect of the emotional dimension of educational administration. Positions of power and influence provide motive and opportunity for the damaging character of this personality disorder to negatively affect the work life of colleagues and sabotage organizational effectiveness, ranging in degree from mild annoyance to extreme disabling.Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents a model of narcissism composed of the typical profile and organisational expression in educational settings, drawing on narcissism theory. This includes the narcissist's illegitimate sense of entitlement, inappropriate need for admiration and attention, lack of empathy, and projection of negative traits onto others that affect the politics and culture of schools and universities, including social interaction and work styles, that produces an objectified use of people.FindingsFour aspects of graduate professional programs are examined for the effects of destructive narcissistic pattern – student recruitment, curriculum, narcissistic professors, and research activities – and strategies recommended for dealing with this problem.Originality/valueThe problem of narcissism in educational administration and leadership professional programmes is not addressed in the field.

Changing Identities in Paul Auster's <i>Moon Palace</i>

Advances in psychological knowledge have often been made in fiction long before psychological research made equivalent discoveries. Suffice it here to mention the Oedipus complex and the problem of narcissism, which were known in stories a couple of thousand years before the creation of the field of psychology. Paul Auster’s Moon Palace from 1989 deals with psychological material that was just beginning to be the focus of psychological studies in the early 90s, and that is still largely uninvestigated by professionals. As with almost all of Paul Auster’s work, the main concern of Moon Palace is identity. The novel tells the story of a few years in the life of Marco Stanly Fogg, when he passes from late adolescence into early adulthood and goes through an identity crisis. Marco’s story is then put in perspective by the stories of two other men, Effing and Solomon Barber that are told at quite great length. Taken together, these stories show that external events can lead to dramatic changes in a person, changes that concern the core of his or her being, namely the identity. The stories of these three generations of men show many identity changes, and the question the novel poses is why these occur. Are they results of internal changes in the characters themselves, or are they caused by external events, situations, or other people? In its turn, this treatment of identity change turns into a philosophical inquiry into the forces that guide our lives, where the fundamental terms are “control,” “fate” and “chance.” This article is part of my PhD project on Auster and identity development. My purpose with the article is to test my assumption that modern developmental psychology can help open up and explain important aspects of certain of Paul Auster’s novels. In the following I will analyze part of the development of Marco Fogg, who is the main character of Moon Palace.

The Problem of Narcissism in Psychoanalytic Organizations: The Insularity of Power

The author reviews a facet of the history of psychoanalytic institutes from the perspective of Freud's defensive idealisations and grandiosity against narcissistic vulnerabilities that contributed to organizational difficulties. The idealizations and grandiosity were expressed in a rigid, repetitive preoccupation with protecting psychoanalysis through use of secrecy, insularity, control of power, and intolerance of diverse opinions of others. Eventually, insulating power became institutionalized, and it has interfered with a more consonant expression of the humane processes of psychoanalysis in the activities of psychoanalytic organizations. Over the past 20 years, however, several events have allowed analysts to use their increased knowledge of narcissism to tolerate their narcissistic vulnerabilities so they could use this understanding in their practice, in their psychoanalytic organizations, and in their lives. One effect of this development is that psychoanalytic organizations are undergoing constructive changes.

Irrational beliefs and the problem of narcissism

Subscales from the Irrational Beliefs Test were correlated with factors from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Irrationalities were directly related to the ‘maladaptive’ Exploitativeness/ Entitlement factor of the NPI and inversely tied to the apparently more ‘adaptive’ Leadership/Authority, Superiority/Arrogance, and Self-Absorption/Self-Admiration dimensions. These Exploitativeness/ Entitlement data supported assumptions that irrational beliefs can promote maladjustment, but evidence of an ‘adaptive’ form of narcissism uncovered a number of conceptual challenges.

More respect for the neurotic process: Comments on the problem of narcissism in severe psychopathology, especially the addictions

In dealing with and writing about psychopathology and psychodynamics, there has been in the past 20 years an increasing shift towards stressing their closeness to the psychoses and emphasizing the archaic nature of the inner processes. With that there has developed a special regard for a “defect psychology.” This change has had momentous implications for the attitude towards patients and the treatment approach. The discussions about such changes center on the concept of narcissism. The paper advocates, in contradiction to these moves, the continued use of the model of conflict theory and, hence, a consistent focus on the defenses in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis, with all that this specifically entails for the treatment and understanding of the addictions, as illustrated by four case vignettes.