Posted:03/28/07

College students and self-obsession
Study shows students are more narcissistic than ever before

Andrew Dennett | contributing writer
adennett@smcvt.edu

At one time, college campuses were a main venue for social activism. But today’s college students have become more self-absorbed than ever before, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at San Diego State University. The results of this study have led to questions about the causes of this generation’s narcissism and how this trend will affect society.

Looking out for number one

According to the recent San Diego State University study, students are more narcissistic than ever. One component of this trend is increased self-centered behavior and attention to vanity. (Andrew Dennett, photo)

The study, conducted between 1982 and 2006, involved 16,000 college students from across the United States. Students took a Narcissistic Personality Inventory, a common personality test, according to a Feb. 27 San Diego State University press release. The survey included such questions as “I think I am a special person,” “I like to be the center of attention” and “if I ruled the world, it would be a better place,” according to the press release.

The study reported a thirty percent increase in the average 2006 scores on the survey from the 1982 scores, according to the press release.

“Far from being civically oriented, young people born after 1982 are the most narcissistic generation in recent history,” Jean Twenge, lead author of the study, wrote in the press release.

In the press release, Twenge describes narcissism as a lack of empathy or concern for others and a preference for self-enhancement. Other characteristics include excessive vanity and a sense of entitlement, according to the press release.

I’m okay, you’re okay

David Landers, professor of psychology at St. Michaels, says he sees some narcissistic tendencies among students here.

“[The students] are raised with a sense of entitlement,” he says. “They are raised to feel special.”

One contributing factor to this trend is the response of parents to the events of Sept. 11, 2001, Landers says.

“They wanted to gather their children around and protect them,” he says. “But the reality is that kids can’t be the center of everything.”

Another factor that may contribute to the increase in narcissism scale scores is what some psychologists have called the “self-esteem movement” that started in schools in the 1980s, Jeffrey Adams, St. Michael's psychology professor, says.

“The Humanistic movement in psychology proposed that if people are having self-esteem problems, it’s because significant people in their lives are setting standards for who they should be in order to be loved,” Adams says. “The Humanists believed that too many students were not receiving enough unconditional affection.”

Sophomore Jesse Riemenschneider says she signs into her Facebook account once or twice a day. (Andrew Dennett, photo)

A skewed interpretation of the Humanistic view resulted in some schools giving unconditional feedback – rewarding students with high grades regardless of the quality of their work, Adams says. Some schools eliminated grading systems entirely to preserve self-esteem, he says.

“What the authors of the San Diego article are saying is that in some education systems you find a movement toward ‘everyone performs equally well,’” Adams says.

On the individual interpretation of this trend, one positive is that it can lead to happier people in society, Adams says. But narcissism can also lead to problems in interpersonal relationships, Adams says.

“People who are narcissistic can get along if they share similar values, but problems occur when they disagree,” Adams says. “They have difficulty compromising.”

Landers says narcissism can lead to problems in the workplace, because self-absorbed people have difficulty working as part of a team. Adams agrees, citing the increased competitiveness of people with narcissistic tendencies.

The San Diego State University survey is pointing out that at the college level there has been a movement toward individualism at the expense of the greater good, Adams says.

“Since narcissism involves an inability to empathize, one interpretation of the study is that a lack of empathy is winning out,” he says.

Self-image and the Internet

In the San Diego State University press release, Twenge is quoted as saying that new technology is contributing to the movement toward narcissism. Adams and Landers say they agree, citing the popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace.

“Facebook and Myspace make it a lot easier to get public attention now than it used to be,” Adams says. “They provide an outlet for [people] to represent these feelings of self-absorption.”

Facebook and Myspace give people the opportunity to present a controlled image of themselves, Adams says.

“The problem is that it’s static, devoid of the checks and balances that are part of interacting face-to-face,” Adams says. “It gives the opportunity to exaggerate.”

In constructing a self-image, people emphasize certain aspects of themselves to appeal to a certain audience, Adams says. But Landers says this becomes a problem when people outside the intended audience view the posted information.

“The sad thing is students don’t comprehend the seriousness of putting everything out there,” Landers says. “Students don’t understand that pictures can go anywhere in the world."

Sophomore Jesse Riemenschneider says she signs into her Facebook account once or twice a day.

“I usually go on for ten minutes a day, unless I’m trying to avoid homework,” she says.

Riemenschneider says she uses Facebook to communicate with people from St. Michael’s she already knows, and to keep in touch with friends from home. She says it is possible to create a false image of oneself, but that it would depend on how one uses the site.

“If you’re using [Facebook] to keep up with friends you won’t do that,” she says.

Facebook doesn’t make people self-absorbed,Riemenschneider says, but features such as status messages can be used by people to beg for attention.

Sophomore Ashlynn Sylvain says she does not have a Facebook account because it creates a false sense of community.

“I think that it doesn’t foster community at all,” she says. “It’s just a means for people to put up pictures and make fake friends.”

Social networking sites have made some friendships shallower, Sylvain says.

“The Internet community has depersonalized the friend-making process,” she says.

Sylvain agrees that Facebook emphasizes the creation of a certain self-image for others to see.

“It makes people more self-conscious,” she says.

Adams says one interpretation of the San Diego study is that there is an increase in narcissistic tendencies, which raises questions about what our society values most.

“One of the continuing issues that you find, a historically hot topic, is concern for the self versus concern for the other,” Adams says. “Is our personal goal looking out for number one, or is the good of the whole more important than the good of one?”