The Body Language Expert & Motivational Speaker

I have received a lot of emails about the Narcissism read of Obama. I have been reading about Narcissism a great deal. One of my favorite college classes at Florida State was Mythology and I remember very clearly the relish with which our very animated professor told the story of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection. Narcissists generally crave attention, are overconfident of their abilities, lack empathy and can show erratic behavior. I was reading a research study by  Drew Pinsky, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at USC. He is known as “Dr. Drew,” on the radio advice show Loveline for the last 20 years. He says that “They are also well-liked, especially on first meeting, are extroverted and perform well in public.”

 Pinsky and Young asked 200 guest celebrities on Loveline to anonymously complete the standard Narcissism Personality Inventory profile, which measures “authority,” “exhibitionism,” “superiority,” “entitlement,” “exploitativeness,”
“self-sufficiency,” and “vanity” as components of narcissism.

While an earlier study found a base test score of 15.3 for the adult population of the U.S., Pinsky and Young found a celebrity average NPI score of 17.84 in their survey, and a whopping 19.2 score for female celebrities, driven by notably higher results for “exhibitionism,” “superiority,” and “vanity.”

“The industry attracts and retains women who place a very strong emphasis on their physical appearance,” the authors conclude. And for reality TV personalities, who scored 19.45 on the NPI, Pinsky and Young say, “Reality television has provided an outlet for narcissistic individuals, many with limited abilities, to believe that they can succeed in the entertainment industry.”

Pile all that on top of the sense of “entitlement” and “exploitativeness” you may recognize the fabulously wealthy party girl heiress, Paris Hilton a veritable poster child for towering, gilded narcissism.

“Knowing that many celebrities have narcissistic tendencies may allow entertainment industry decision makers such as studio executives, producers, directors, agents, publicists and casting agents to work with them more effectively,” Young explained. “It may also provide greater insight into celebrity behavior for the general public.” I think it also may give us insight into the kind of person we may want to be our next president.