Is There a Youth Epidemic in Narcissism?

Kohn’s first reason is that praise is used to manipulate the children. Kohn says that praise is “sugar-coated control” (Kohn, 110, 2001) adults use to pressure their child into good behavior. Kohn’s second reason is that praising children creates “praise junkies” (Kohn, 111, 2001). He believes that the child will no longer perform an activity for the proper reasons, instead of doing a difficult task to be able to say that they could their motives altered to only desire the

In “Losing is Good for You,” Ashley Merryman argues that society should stop handing out trophies for participation and instead let your child loose sometimes. Merryman states, “today, participation trophies and prizes are almost a given, as children are constantly assured that they are winners.” She later goes on and says that children who are given so much praise will crack “at the first experience of difficulty.” In her opinion, she does not believe that every child should be given a trophy because it will affect how they handle a different task. She claims that children would be better off losing than winning, and she also think that children should not get a trophy for everything they compete in.

The personality of a person is what ultimately defines who they are. This is what 99% of us look for in a person actually knowing who they really are. A person may be fun, loving, caring, and charismatic and a million other traits, but there is none like being narcissistic. A narcissistic person is one who truly believes that the world revolves around them and them only. This is someone who has an excessive or erotic interest in themselves, he/she craves constant admiration and never want to recognize differences with external objects. This type of obsessive behavior is characterized as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). This is definitely something that can have an adverse effect on children and their mental health. Parents suffering from narcissistic personality disorder are not very capable of raising and providing a quality, solid foundation for their children while maintaining and ensuring the preservation of their child’s mentality.

The general argument made by Berdan in her work, “Participation Trophies Send A Dangerous Message,” is that participation awards commemorate individuals for everyone being a winner. More specifically, Berdan argues that distributing participation trophies to all participants diminishes the meaning of the first, second, or third place trophy. She writes, “When awards are handed out like candy to every child who participates, they diminish in value.” In this passage, Berdan is suggesting that rewarding children constantly with a trophy decreases the value of the trophy that the actual winners earned. Personally, I agree with Berdan because I agree with the concept that providing children with constant rewards sends a dangerous message later in life. On the other hand, writer Eric Priceman defends his opinion that these continuous awards are a necessary part of the education process for young children and will benefit them to strive for better. More specifically, Priceman argues that there is a difference between an award and a reward; he states that an award is given for achievement while a reward is given for accomplishment. He writes, “Just syntax maybe, but anyone that has ever achieved at the highest level has had to endure multiple levels of accomplishment first.” In this passage, Priceman is suggesting that people who have reached the highest levels of trophies and medals have also been encouraged along the way with things such as participation awards. He describes the action of distributing participation awards similarly to encouraging phrases that motivate an individual to strive for greatness. Despite his argument, I believe Priceman is wrong because rewarding children with a meaningless trophy or certificate provides no benefit for them in their future. More specifically, I

What is Narcissistic Personality Disorder? Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is a mental disorder where someone has an exaggerated sense of their own presence, a need for constant admiration from others and they also have a lack of empathy for anyone (Mayo Clinic). A couple questions I have include: How does social media effect society? How does social media have an effect on someone diagnosed with NPD, What are ways you can help someone with NPD, and what are some ways we can conclude that someone may have NPD on social networking sites? Social media is what’s hot right now and someone diagnosed with NPD will only get wrapped up in its web and will be negatively impacted by it. The main focus of my research to further my knowledge includes: The risk factors social media have on someone diagnosed with NPD, signs on social media of someone who may have NPD, and so on.

Is narcissism a growing epidemic in America? This question was featured in an article on the Psychology Today website (Baskin, S.). The article claims that narcissism in America is growing as fast as obesity and is quickly becoming an epidemic. Which begs the question, should we as a society be worried about narcissism? For those of us not familiar with Narcissistic Personality Disorder it is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV as a pervasive disorder characterized by self-centeredness, lack of empathy, and an exaggerated sense of self-importance. As with other personality disorders, it becomes a problem when these traits become a persistent pattern of behavior that negatively impacts different life

This personality disorder can be caused by how the child was raised and their own personal feelings. A person with a low self-esteem is the most common reason why narcissism begins (Thomas 1). If they feel uncomfortable or inferior in a situation a narcissist will immediately beef up their image and self-worth to make them feel superior again (Thomas 1). Narcissists become very defensive when people question their accomplishments or talents because they have to try and keep their ego and image safe (Thomas 1). Another aspect that contributes to narcissism is the way the parents raised the child. Permissive parenting encourages the child to rely completely on themselves, so they have to be independent (Thomas 1). With this type of parenting there usually are not any guidelines or rules for the kid to follow so they would eventually develop the

The praise and encouragement the children receive will instill a sense of self-worth in them. When parents “prais[e] children for their effort, … [it] is… effective… motivating them” (Hammond). The praise can help children realize that their effort is valuable and that with the effort can come possible success. The motivation that their parents provide can be the foundation for self-motivation in the future, which creates more drive to continue with a challenging task. They will be given unconditional self-esteem which is essential in overcoming whatever failure they may encounter, whether it be in school or in social circumstances. Furthermore, the praise the children receive will not blind them from their faults and failures. Will children “who [have] received a trinket after losing a contest… [believe] that [they] … won” (Kohn)? Children have the ability of recognising their own defeat, and the defeat in itself will already put the child down, so a scolding parent will not help the child’s mindset. Instead, when children are encouraged after a defeat and are provided with a positive environment, they will recognise their loss and will become stronger because of it. If they realize that they are worth love and praise even if they make mistakes, they can grow and develop self-confidence

What is narcissism? There is no specific definition for it. In psychology, narcissism is a negative and bad character trait. Narcissists have an excessive pride and they obsess with self. In other words, they think they are better than others and only care about themselves. In fact, being confident can also be accused as narcissism. However, narcissism is more than self confidence. Nowadays, Generation Y is being claimed as narcissists and there are so many reason that the critics try to list it out to prove their claim. In my opinion, Generation Y is just adapt to the environment they are living right now. Accusing Millennials as narcissist is not accurate.

Descriptive praise also comments on what the child has done wrong. Although this may appear to decrease a child’s self-esteem and confidence, in reality it allows them to reflect upon their mistakes, pushing themselves further in order to be appreciated. Without recognition a child feels the need to work towards the incomplete task in order to receive praise, encouraging themselves eventually increasing self-confidence after being praised. Gradually children will become aware of the expectations that are expected of them, comprehending that they have the ability to achieve great heights when they are determined. This motivation allows children to approach situations in the future with a positive attitude as they will take on any task with the mindset to complete it to the best of their ability allowing for success. Certain words of encouragement such as “you're not complaining about the food” or “you tasted the peas. That was brave” can influence a child’s behavior positively. This form of communication is not only a way for parents to motivate them, but also a way for them to realize on their own the various expectations parents have for children; thus better understanding their view on situations. As children are constantly praised for the same things they feel the need to go above and beyond what is expected of them portraying to both themselves and parents that they are aware of expectations. Once children are aware of

Praise given needs to be uplifting and confidence boosting because the child will be more motivated to try harder and do better.In the article “Motivating children” by Leah Davis explains, “Provide a caring, supportive environment where children are respected and feel a sense of belonging”(Leah Davis). The author is trying to say that parents praise should make the child feel good about themselves. When a child feels encouraged then they will be motivated to do better. Praise needs to make a child want to do better and grow from mistakes. Other people think that the more praise the better. They think it is better to give more praise because it makes the parent feel good about them selve and the child will be motivated. In the paragraph Help Kids Feel Good About Themselves states, “Kids who feel good about themselves are less likely to be pressured into doing things they don’t want to do”(Diane Ryles). Kids need to feel good about themselves in order to do well and work hard. Children need to be motivated so when they get to the top they continue to work just as hard. Parents need to make themselves make sense so the child will understand. Another way of thinking about this is that kids need to be given a good mindset. Some people think that kids need to have a good mindset to improve at anything. When a child has a growth mindset they are more likely to

Just as children go through their egocentric phase, those that have NPD according the article “Narcissism and Well-Being: A Longitudinal Perspective” by Zuckerman & O 'Loughlin, (2009) states how they become “locked into that stage and never grows out of it”. When a child is allowed to feel overly important, that child will more than likely maintain their infantile mentality of “power [and] control”, thus “hindering Narcissistic characteristics. These children learn to scan and seek out those who can fulfill their narcissistic supply” that demands attention, recognition, and fulfillment.

This is one of the very rare kinds of personality disorders that can be traced within the contemporary society. Indeed Philip W. Long (2011) pegs the prevalence to 1% of the total population. He further notes that the disorder is more prevalent in males than in females.

However, despite the theoretical history hypothesizing a relationship between narcissistic personality and addictive disorders, empirical research supporting this relationship is limited and largely inconsistent. Adding to the lack of research defining the proposed association between narcissism

Here’s a question, how often do you check your social media profile’s notification? Based on a research conducted, it is revealed that, Facebook users around the world logged into their account approximately 42,000 years of human time each day (Gutierrez, 2013). An article written by The New York Times stated that the current generations are becoming narcissistic and it is believed that social media are among the plausible factors that promotes it (Quenqua, 2013). However, how true can this statement be? Many researches have proven that social media is not the main cause of narcissism. It has been demonstrated via the real role of social media, the co-relation between social pressure and narcissism, the failure to conclude acceptance of