The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Consumption and Consumer Studies

Narcissism

YOK-FONG PAAT

University of Texas at El Paso, USA

DOI: 10.1002/9781118989463.wbeccs179

The concept of narcissism encompasses excessive self-love, self-aggrandizing, and self-serving. While it has been studied as a bidirectional model that calls for two continua, in which one characterizes the grandiose sense of self while the other features vulnerable self-confidence, it is regarded as a social maladjustment that can put a person at risk for relational strain and self-destructive lifestyle. The consumption behaviors of narcissistic consumers parallel their extravagant personality in other aspects of their lives. Overall, their overemphasis on self-importance and craving the spotlight are detrimental to their financial welfare and general well-being.

Narcissism, which is frequently characterized by a personality disorder that connotes self-absorbed behaviors such as an excessive and inflated sense of self-centeredness, egocentrism, and self-admiration, was first introduced in Greek mythology. In ancient Greek folklore, Narcissus was a young man who fell in love with his self-image but died from obsession with his own beauty. While pathological narcissism is diagnosed based on the distinguishing criteria outlined in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (i.e., DSM-IV-TR), the modern operationalization of the narcissistic personality disorder often falls on the spectrum between an overly confident, grandiose narcissist ...