In that first article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-23-health-poll-favorable_N.htm
They emphasize the entitlement aspect of narcissism. In the DSM-IV, entitlement is only a minor diagnostic element, far superseded by grandiosity, fantasies of success, specialness, lack of empathy, etc. Below are the 6 questions from "The Mirror Effect" intended to estimate a person's NPI: 5. A. The thought of ruling the world frightens the hell out of me. B. If I ruled the world it would be a better place. 14. A. I insist upon getting the respect that is due me. B. I usually get the respect that I deserve. 18. A. I just want to be reasonably happy. B. I want to amount to something in the eyes of the world. 24. A. I expect a great deal from other people. B. I like to do things for other people. 25. A. I will never be satisfied until I get all that I deserve. B. I take my satisfactions as they come. 27. A. I have a strong will to power. B. Power for its own sake doesn't interest me. What intrigues me are the dichotomies set up by those questions. Then, in a newer article from yesterday, they talk about the differences between a poll conducted before the health care bill was passed and after it was passed. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-03-23-health-poll-favorable_N.htm "In the new USA TODAY survey and one taken a month ago, the biggest shift toward support of the bill was among low-income Americans, minorities and those under 40. That has created a yawning age divide: A solid majority of seniors oppose the bill; a solid majority of those younger than 40 favor it." So, clearly there's some correlation between age and a positive view of the bill. Based on the (perhaps false) dichotomies of the above questions, the question these two articles raise is whether the correlation is caused by self-interest, perhaps a growing sense of entitlement in younger people, or by altruism, perhaps a growing sense of the commons. I suppose I would tend to think we're looking at a duality. The sense of entitlement is, somehow, the same as the sense of the commons, the obligation to share a social burden. Again, this leads me to speculate that this increase in that particular narcissistic trait (entitlement/commons) might be correlated with hyper-connectivity. -- glen e. p. ropella, 971-222-9095, http://agent-based-modeling.com ============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
