http://cnsnews.com/news/article/barbara-boland/narcissism-part-presidential-job-description-professor-says


Narcissism Part of Presidential Job Description, Professor Says

*January 24, 2014 - 1:17 AM *
*------------------------------*

*By Barbara Boland <http://cnsnews.com/source/barbara-boland>*

*Subscribe to Barbara Boland <http://cnsnews.com/source/726455/feed>RSS*

[image: Poll Obama] <http://cnsnews.com/image/poll-obama>

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2009, file photo, President Barack Obama laughs
during his first prime time televised news conference in the East Room of
the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

(CNSNews.com) - Narcissism, an inflated positive view of oneself not
consistent with actual achievement, is on the rise in America, particularly
in positions of leadership or power, according to Dr. W. Keith Campbell,
author of "Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement."

"You see higher levels [of narcissism] on reality television and higher
levels in presidents, because I think that's almost part of the job
description now," Campbell, a professor of psychology at the University of
Georgia and the author of over one hundred scientific articles, told
CNSNews.com.

Campbell was one of the researchers on a study where historians measured
levels of narcissism in U.S. presidents, "The Double-Edged Sword of
Grandiose Narcissism: Implications for Successful and Unsuccessful
Leadership Among U.S.
Presidents<http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/10/08/0956797613491970.abstract>
."

"A lot of the way we develop political leadership now, it's almost a
celebrity process. So it's going to strengthen narcissism," Campbell said.
And in reality TV, "you don't need talent, but you need a lot of
notoriety," and that draws narcissists in.

Campbell pointed to the self-esteem movement and parenting techniques that
reward children for "being wonderful" as opposed to accomplishment, false
inflation of egos and grades with no correlation to educational attainment,
as a turning point that begat the explosion of narcissism in America.

*Narcissistic people think they're smarter, more important, and better
looking than everyone else - even though in reality they are average. They
may have a lot of friends who know them on a superficial level (like
Facebook), but they don't have empathy for others, and they spend a lot of
time trying to gain attention.* They look for ways that will make them look
good so they can gain attention and positive regard, Campbell said.

In a May 20, 2013 article titled, "The Me Me Me Generation," TIME magazine
reported, "The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly
three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that's
now 65 or older, according to the National Institutes of Health; 58% more
college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982.

Campbell's study, which ended with President George W. Bush, found that
levels of narcissism in presidents are also on the rise. It found the
highest level for Lyndon Johnson, followed by Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew
Jackson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon.

"There have been some massive egos in the White House," Campbell said.

Although one can find narcissists in leadership in business and in the
military, Campbell speculated that there are more narcissists in the White
House, because there is a much shorter vetting process.




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