Health & Medicine
Are You a Narcissist? Study Reveals Level of Self-Obsession with a Single Question
Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Aug 06, 2014 02:38 PM EDT
Many things in life don't always come so easily. Yet could one simple question determine whether an individual carries narcissistic tendencies?
A team of researchers at Indiana University put together a group of more than 2,200 participants of all ages to go through a series of 11 experiments. Further examination showed that they could reliably identify narcissistic qualities based on this one simple question: "To what extend do you agree with this statement: ‘I am a narcissist.'" (With the word ‘narcissist meaning egotistical, self-focused and vain.) Participants were asked to rate themselves based on a scale of 1 ("not very true of me") to 7 ("very true of me").
To their surprise, research showed that many of the self-reported answers closely aligned with other validated measures used to study autism, including the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) that involves 40 questions.
Though narcissists may not see their narcissism as a negative quality, co-study author and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University, Brad Bushman, notes that this issue can be dangerous for the narcissist as well as society, overall.
"Overall, narcissism is problematic for both individuals and society. Those who think they are already great don't try to improve themselves," added Bushman, via Medial News Today. "And narcissism is bad for society because people who are only thinking of themselves and their own interests are less helpful to others."
Furthermore, the study authors also noted that this test is not a replacement for more thorough examination of narcissism or other mental disorders.
More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal PLOS ONE.
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First Posted: Aug 06, 2014 02:38 PM EDT
Many things in life don't always come so easily. Yet could one simple question determine whether an individual carries narcissistic tendencies?
A team of researchers at Indiana University put together a group of more than 2,200 participants of all ages to go through a series of 11 experiments. Further examination showed that they could reliably identify narcissistic qualities based on this one simple question: "To what extend do you agree with this statement: ‘I am a narcissist.'" (With the word ‘narcissist meaning egotistical, self-focused and vain.) Participants were asked to rate themselves based on a scale of 1 ("not very true of me") to 7 ("very true of me").
To their surprise, research showed that many of the self-reported answers closely aligned with other validated measures used to study autism, including the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) that involves 40 questions.
Though narcissists may not see their narcissism as a negative quality, co-study author and professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University, Brad Bushman, notes that this issue can be dangerous for the narcissist as well as society, overall.
"Overall, narcissism is problematic for both individuals and society. Those who think they are already great don't try to improve themselves," added Bushman, via Medial News Today. "And narcissism is bad for society because people who are only thinking of themselves and their own interests are less helpful to others."
Furthermore, the study authors also noted that this test is not a replacement for more thorough examination of narcissism or other mental disorders.
More information regarding the findings can be seen via the journal PLOS ONE.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone