Are You a Narcissist? Just Ask: Researchers

Narcissists readily agree they are self obsessed, according to a new research.

Narcissism and too much self-involvement is often looked at as a person's weakness and hesitation to indulge in social and personal relations. But, experts at the Ohio State University say narcissists don't view this personality trait as their negative point and openly accept their uncanny love for themselves. The researchers suggest asking a person if he is narcissist is the best way to find out.

Their trial involved 2,200 people of age groups who were handed out questionnaires having various interpretation of narcissism like vanity, exhibitionism, authority, exploitativeness, superiority and self-sufficiency. The subjects also answered direct questions like ' To what extent do you agree to the statement: I am a narcissist' and give self-ratings on the scale of one to seven.

The participants completed the survey within 13 minutes and answered the question on their self-reported level of narcissism in just 20 seconds.

"People who are narcissists are almost proud of the fact," Brad Bushman, co-author and professor of communication and psychology at the Ohio State University, reports the Health Day News.

 "You can ask them directly because they don't see narcissism as a negative quality they believe they are superior to other people and are fine with saying that publicly," he adds.

The authors believe these results help in gauging dangers and negativity narcissists are inflicting on themselves and their close ones by being too much self-occupied. This method can be used to instill philanthropic and charitable behavior in them.

"Overall, narcissism is problematic for both individuals and society. Those who think they are already great don't try to improve themselves. And narcissism is bad for society because people who are only thinking of themselves and their own interests are less helpful to others," said Bushman.

More information is available online in the journal PLoS ONE.