Humanity is chasing the narcissist, but the narcissist is faster.
A new study of narcissistic people suggests that although they become more compassionate as they age, their inflated sense of self-importance never completely disappears, psychology experts say. BBC News.
“Obviously, some people may change more dramatically, but in general, you wouldn’t expect someone you knew as a highly narcissistic person to have completely changed when you meet them again after some years,” Dr Ulrich Orth of the University of Bern in Switzerland told the outlet.
Orth’s recent study of more than 37,000 people found that people who were narcissistic as children continued to behave that way into adulthood, even though they learned to compensate for their innate lack of empathy.
Narcissism is a very common personality trait that refers to an extremely self-centered nature. While experts agree that everyone exhibits narcissistic traits from time to time, those with the highest self-esteem may be diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). People with NPD operate from a fundamental belief that they are inherently superior to others. This can manifest as overt arrogance, selfishness, and delusions of grandeur. They then use emotional manipulation and exploitation to gain the admiration they crave.
“These consequences affect not only their own well-being, but also the well-being of those they interact with – their partners, children, friends, colleagues and employees,” Orth explained.
Issued this month Published in the psychology journal “Psychological Bulletin”The study looked at 51 previous studies with participants ranging in age from 8 to 77 years old, aiming to understand whether wisdom and maturity have a positive impact on narcissists across the lifespan.
For the study, the researchers outlined three types of narcissists: agentic (superiority), hostile (envy), and neurotic (shame).
In general, narcissism scores declined as participants got older. But despite growing up, those who were more narcissistic than average as children remained above average as adults.
“This holds true over very long periods of time, suggesting that narcissism is a stable personality trait,” Orth said in a separate statement. American Psychological Association.
Understanding how narcissists mature is crucial in identifying interventions to reduce their capacity to do harm.
“These findings are important given that high levels of narcissism affect people’s lives in many different ways,” Orth continued, “not only the narcissist’s own life, but likely the lives of their family and friends as well.”
