Believe it or not, odds are that you know quite a few narcissists, especially in this day and age of social media and selfie sticks. Heck, you might even be one of them.
But although those unrestrained Facebook timelines (e.g. photos of dinner) can become a bit tiresome, narcissism is much more complicated than that.
Severe narcissism is a personality disorder that can become a detriment to the individual and society. In fact, narcissists are more likely to be unfaithful in their relationships, cheat in competitions, become obsessive about their appearance, and have a tendency to be selfish and materialistic.
Needless to say, these aren’t qualities you’d like to see in your neighbors, business leaders, entertainers, politicians, or friends. Yet, in 2008, a team of researchers discovered that between 1979 and 2006, there was a 30 percent increase in narcissism rates among college students.
So, are you a narcissist?
Go ahead and take the Narcissistic Personality Inventory — developed by Robert Raskin and Howard Terry — to find out how you compare to the average person.