Narcissism (psychology)

Narcissism is a term first used in relation to human psychology by Sigmund Freud. It was derived from the figure of Narcissus in Greek mythology (right) who was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. It is a character trait concerned with self regard. Everyone has some degree of narcissism. However, narcissism can also manifest, in an extreme form, as a severe personality disorder such as NPD.

Psychiatric thought

Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) introduced the concept of narcissism in his 1914 essay On Narcissism: An Introduction,Freud, Sigmund, On Narcissism: An Introduction, 1914.

The formation of narcissism

= Primary narcissism

In his essay, 'On Narcissism: An Introduction', Freud suggested that exclusive self-love might not be as abnormal as previously thought, and might even be a common component in the human psych. He argued that narcissism "is the libidinal complement to the egoism of the instinct of self-preservation", or, more simply, the desire and energy that drives our instinct to survive. He called this: Primary Narcissism.

According to Freud we are not born with a sense of ourselves as individuals, or ego. The ego only develops during infancy and the early part of childhood, as the outside world, usually in the form of parental controls and expectations, intrudes upon primary narcissism, teaching the individual about the nature and standards of his social environment from which he can form the ideal ego, an image of the perfect self towards which the ego should aspire.

Freud regarded all libidinous drives as fundamentally sexual and suggested that ego libido (libido directed inwards to the self) cannot always be clearly distinguished from object-libido (libido directed to persons or objects outside of ourselves).

An aspect frequently associated with Primary Narcissism appears in an earlier essay, 'Totem and Taboo' Freud, Sigmund, Totem and Taboo, 1913. where he describes his observations of children and primitive people, which he called "magical thinking". An example of magical thinking would be believing that you can have an effect on reality by wishing or willpower. This demonstrates a belief in the self as powerful and able to change external realities, which Freud believed was part of normal human development.

= Secondary narcissism

Secondary narcissism is a pathological condition which occurs when the libido withdraws from objects outside of the self. Freud claimed that it is an extreme form of the narcissism that is part of all of us.

Narcissism, relationships and self worth

According to Freud, to care for someone is to convert ego-libido into object-libido by giving some self-love to another person, which leaves less ego-libido available for primary narcissism and protecting and nurturing the self. When that affection is returned so is the libido, thus restoring primary narcissism and self worth. Any failure to achieve, or disruption of, this balance causes psychological disturbances. In such a case primary narcissism can only be restored by withdrawing object-libido (also called, object-love), to replenish ego-libido.

As a child grows, and his ego develops, he is constantly giving of his self-love to people and objects, the first of which is usually his mother. This diminished self-love should be replenished by the affection and caring returned to him.

Kohut

Heinz Kohut (1913 - 1981) is best known for his development of Self Psychology, a school of thought within psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theory.

Kohut explored further the implications of Freud's perception of narcissism.

He said that a child will tend to fantasise about having a grandiose self and ideal parents. He claimed that deep down we all retain a belief in our own perfection, and the perfection of anything we are part of, as we mature, grandiosity gives way to self-esteem, and the idealisation of the parent become the framework for core values. It is when trauma disrupts this process that the most primitive and narcissistic version of the self remains unchanged. Kohut called this condition Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

He suggested narcissism as part of a stage in normal development, in which caregivers provide a strong and protective presence for the child to identify with ,that reinforces the child's growing sense of self by mirroring his good qualities. If the caregivers fail to provide this adequately, the child grows up with a brittle and flawed sense of self.Kohut, Heinz, The Analysis of the Self, 1971

He also saw beyond the negative and pathological aspects of narcissism, believing it to be a component in the development of resilience, ideals and ambition once it has been transformed by life experiences or analysis.Kohut, Heinz, Forms and Transformations of Narcissism, 1966

Horney

Horney (1885-1952), began to develop her own theory of psychoanalysis in the late 1930s. Though acknowledging Freud as the founder of all psychoanalytic thought, she was critical of Freud, believing that personality was shaped mainly by social, cultural and environmental factors. She felt that Freud was wrong to assume that the relationships, attitudes and feelings common in his culture and times, were largely driven by biological factors and could be applied universally.Paris, Bernard J, Personality and Personal Growth, edited by Robert Frager and James Fadiman, 1998

Horney believed that narcissism was not primary but rather reactive. Horney's theory dictates that narcissism and other personality traits such as aggression are necessary, in moderation, to achieve one's ultimate goal; Self-actualization. Horney argued that anxiety is a primary reaction to the very dependence of the child on adults for his survival.

Simply put; defenses such as narcissism are developed to compensate for the intolerable and gradual realisation that adults are merely human. Thus, a person can become capricious, unfair, unpredictable, and very non-dependable. According to Horney, these defenses provide a sense of security; a "buffer" around reality protecting the psyche from general harm.

Karen Horney's concept of narcissism is used in a trait theory of personality called "NPA personality theory".

Kernberg

Kernberg regards the division between Object Libido (energy directed at people) and Narcissistic Libido (energy directed at the self) as artificial. Whether the child develops a normal or a pathological form of narcissism depends on the relations between the representations of the self (the image of the self that the child forms in his or her mind) and the representations of objects (the images of other people that the child forms in his or her mind). It is also dependent on the relationship between the representations of the self and real objects. The development of pathological narcissism is also determined by instinctual conflicts related both to the libido and to aggression.

Kernberg's concept of Self is closely related to Freud's concept of Ego. The Self is dependent upon the unconscious, which exerts a constant influence on all mental functions. Pathological narcissism, therefore, reflects a libidinal investment in a pathologically structured Self and not in a normal, integrative structure of the Self. The narcissist suffers from a Self, which is devalued or fixated on aggression.

All object relations of such a pathological Self are detached from the real objects (because they often cause hurt and narcissistic injury) and involve dissociation, repression, or projection onto other objects. Narcissism is not merely a fixation on an early developmental stage. It is not confined to the failure to develop intra-psychic structures. It is an active, libidinal investment in a deformed structure of the Self.

References

Books on Narcissism

Alford, C. Fred. Narcissism: Socrates, the Frankfurt School and Psychoanalytic Theory, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0300040644
Fairbairn, W. R. D. An Object Relations Theory of the Personality, New York, Basic Books, 1954 ISBN 0465051634
Freud, S. Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. 7, London, Hogarth Press, 1964. ISBN 0465097081
Golomb, Elan. Trapped in the Mirror : Adult Children of Narcissists in Their Struggle for Self, Quill, 1995. ISBN 0688140718
Greenberg, Jay R. and Mitchell, Stephen A. Object Relations in Psychoanalytic Theory, Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1983. ISBN 0674629752
Grunberger, Bela. Narcissism: Psychoanalytic Essays, New York, International Universities Press, 1979. ISBN 0823634914
Guntrip, Harry. Personality Structure and Human Interaction, New York, International Universities Press, 1961. ISBN 0823641201
Horowitz, M.J. (1975). "Sliding Meanings: A defense against threat in narcissistic personalities". International Journal of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy 4, 167.
Jacobson, Edith. The Self and the Object World, New York, International Universities Press, 1964. ISBN 0823660605
Kernberg, O. Borderline Conditions and Pathological Narcissism, New York, Jason Aronson, 1975. ISBN 0876681771
Klein, Melanie. The Writings of Melanie Klein, Ed. Roger Money-Kyrle, 4 vols., New York, Free Press, 1964-75. ISBN 0029184606
Lowen, Alexander. Narcissism : Denial of the True Self, Touchstone Books, 1997. ISBN 0743255437
Ronningstam, Elsa F. (ed.). Disorders of Narcissism: Diagnostic, Clinical, and Empirical Implications, American Psychiatric Press, 1998. ISBN 0765702592
Rothstein, Arnold. The Narcissistic Pursuit of Reflection, 2nd revised ed., New York, International Universities Press, 1984.
Stern, Daniel. The Interpersonal World of the Infant: A View from Psychoanalysis and Developmental Psychology, New York, Basic Books, 1985. ISBN 0465095895
Zweig, Paul. The Heresy of Self-Love: A Study of Subversive Individualism, New York, Basic Books, 1968. ISBN 0691013713

External links

Human behavior

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Narcissism (psychology)