Psychology, Narcissism and Facebook

What is Narcissism? Narcissism is a trait or personality which shows vanity, arrogance and selfishness In social terms it can be used to distinct elitism between members The word ‘ Narcissism’ comes from the Greek youth named Narcissus who looked at his reflection for the first time after a prediction. Because of his constant attention and obsession of himself in the reflection, he was turned into a flower that bears his name.

Shallow Relationships Grandiose Feels entitled Self-Promotion Lack Empathy Attention Seeking Requires excessive admiration Arrogant Self Important Fretful Low-Self esteem? More Friends More Photos

Social Approach People are narcissistic to climb the ‘social ladder’ They consistently use trivial and persuasive language for their belief system Eventually they conquer and pose authority This is their preferred position to impose rules on others Is Facebook an easy target??

Behaviourist Perspective Operant Conditioning Feels ‘rewarded’ by friends who comment on their photos and statuses. This is the incentive to exploit themselves to gain more credit and attention in their social group.

Individual Differences Approach People are different in personality, gender, culture and age. More extroverted people may be inclined to self promote more than introverts Different Influences?

Psychodynamic Perspective This perspective suggests that narcissism represents a point in one of the developmental periods of childhood. The narcissist remains at a developmental stage in which the differentiation between the self and others is blurred. (Object relations, Kernberg) The individual becomes narcissistic because that is what the environment 'needed' him or her to be Others are thus perceived to exist only in relation to the narcissist's needs.

“We are objects to him, and to the extent that we are narcissistic, others are objects to us. He doesn't really see and hear and feel who we are and, to the extent that we are narcissistic, we do not really see and hear and feel the true presence of others. “ “They, we, are objects... I am not real. You are not real. You are an object to me. I am an object to you” (Johnson)