Cultural Narcissism Essay Example for Free

Cultural Narcissism EssayIs then American culture breeding a golf-club of narcissists fueled by the self-esteem effort that commenced in the 1970s? Is the current state of constant mainstream media insurance coverage on overly exuberant celebrities flaunting their wealth, along with the ability of anyone to post their private lives on the internet for unrestricted viewing making narcissism the norm? Can narcissism as a personality unhealthiness be applied dimensionally to an entire culture in a amicable psychology context?This radical will explore theories on cultural narcissism, the roots of narcissism dating back to the 16th and seventeenth centuries when the first somebodyism movement emerged, and how in recent history focus has again shifted on the soulfulness with the dawn of the self-esteem movement of the 1970s, its resulting effect on current generations, and potential effect on coming(prenominal) generations in the form of cultural narcissism. Is American Cultu re Breeding a Society of Narcissists?There is an effrontery in cultural theory that the current cultural trend in America is fueling a self-loving society, but that according to psychoanalytic theory, narcissism can only be applied to an individual as a diagnosed personality disorder that develops during childhood (Morales, 1995). Therefore, can narcissism be applied to get the state of an entire culture in in a social psychology context? In the DSM-IV-TR, narcissism is defined as a personality disorder consisting of a pervasive pattern of grandiloquence (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy . . with at least five criteria that must be met in order to be diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder for example, having a grandiose sense of self-importance, a belief that one is special, possessing a sense of entitlement, a desire for success, power, brilliance, beauty or ideal love, and a desire to associate with only those who are of high-statu s in society (American Psychiatric Association, 2000, p. 294).However, the Narcissistic Personality inscription (NPI) test developed by social psychologists, is used for broad spectrum dimensional assessment of the general existence to measure narcissism in a social context and has been quite reliable in quantity narcissism in society (Foster amp Campbell, 2007). To understand theories in the development of individual narcissism, Sigmund Freud in his 1914 canvass On Narcissism an introduction (as cited in Crockatt, 2006, p. 5), proposes primary narcissism occurs in every child as a stage of development, thereby suggesting each and every person is prone to develop narcissism at that stage.Later, Heinz Kohut (1913 1981) proposed his own views on the etiology of narcissism and focused on development of the self in connector with the narcissistic self-object, and if a childs narcissistic wishes are not treated with empathy by the self-object, narcissistic problems ensue (as cited in Meronen, 1999). Historically it is conceivable, according to Trzesniewski, Donnellan, amp Robins (2008), that the root of cultural narcissism dates as distant back as the 17th century at which time the individualism movement in europium was born.Suggesting that the movement began earlier, Leeds (2004, p. 109), refers to essays written by Morris Croll (1921 amp 1927) who emphasized that during the 16th century a new movement shifted the focus to inner and individual life of men in contrast with the plausible and public forms of their social existence, and that this earlier movement essentially took away from societal structured religious practice and redirected focus toward individual, internal, and self-experiences.