tagged w/ narcissism
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This is the transcript of a September interview that took place between journalist Wesley Ericson of “Why?” magazine and God. It is the only known interview with God that seems to exist.
Wesley: First and foremost I appreciate you taking the time out of your schedule to sit with me and allow us access for the magazine.
God: No problem.
Wesley: I think people are pretty anxious to hear some of your thoughts on more than a few subjects, so if you don’t mind I’m just gonna jump right in.
God: Please do.
Wesley: Why now? It seems that you could have done this interview at any time either past or future.
God: I am actually giving this interview beyond the confines of time. It’s a one off that will be experienced in past, present and future.
Wesley: So there is nothing special about this specific time in history?
God: No, not particularly. I mean, I’m sure it feels special to you.
Wesley: I’m comforted to know there is a future, there’s lots of speculation about the end. Can you clarify things for us?
God: I just read an article that was saying that people enjoy books and stories more when they know the end. That it allows them the freedom to enjoy the story without the anxiety of what will happen if they know ultimately where it’s going.
Wesley: So, you’ll tell us.
God: No. The article is wrong. The study happened to be performed on neurotic control freaks. In essence I would be feeding a negative neurotic behavior by letting people know the end. But you know how it ends.
Wesley: We die?
God: Of course it isn’t that simple. By dying you live forever.
Wesley: How does that work?
God: You are eternal. Life is eternal, but it isn’t permanent. It’s a regenerative process.
Wesley: You mean I die and am reborn?
God: You die and you are transferred into something else that lives. Thus you’re part of the eternal flow. Which reminds me, I don’t know why you’ve decided to be buried in boxes. The whole point is that your death creates life as it decays.
Wesley: We thought you wanted us whole.
God: Why would I want you at all? Where would I put you all?
Wesley: In the infinite space of heaven?
God: (Chuckling) Well, that’s one way to think.
Wesley: That’s wrong?
God: You are part of the delicate balance that is life. You can not be removed from it, nor should you want to be.
Wesley: No heaven when we die?
God: Sure. You get to be part of the cycle forever free of physical constraints and limitations. Is that not a heavenly thought?
Wesley: We’ve been promised riches and comfort and streets paved in gold and every desire fulfilled.
God: Really? That sounds pretty shallow.
Wesley: I guess it does.
God: There is no you when you die, anyway, so that shouldn’t be a concern.
Wesley: No soul?
God: You are only what you think yourself to be. It’s the ego that controls your sense of you. When you die so does your sense of individuality. You become a billion little individuals. When I came up with this premise I was really stoned so it’s hard for me now to explain. Plus your language doesn’t really have the words to express the idea properly.
Wesley: A billion individuals?
God: You lose YOUR sense of self, created by the ego. What you are is a group of particles that form your whole being. The way that you are an individual part of a larger group that also has its own identity. So, you can be operating without the knowledge of the group but you are still part of the group.
Wesley: So there are conscious parts of me that I don’t know are existing?
God: Of course. Every particle is conscious on its own.
Wesley: You must be aware that these explanations seem to fly in the face of religious groups that believe in you the most.
God: The most? Again, that is a function of an ill ego. This is the simplest way I can put it. Anything that serves to separate is wrong. The idea is connection not separation. If you do something the “most” that is separating yourself from others. It’s also pretty clearly rooted to some insecurity that usually has nothing to do with me.
Wesley: Would you say that religions serve no purpose?
God: Of course they serve a purpose. Everything serves a purpose. Just breathing serves purpose. A tree in the wind is serving a purpose. The purpose they are serving should be questioned maybe.
Wesley: Maybe this interview will change some behaviors.
God: I doubt it.
Wesley: What should we be doing? Is there a specific thing we should be doing? With this time.
God: Your purpose is just to die so that life can continue forever.
Wesley: I don’t think people will like that answer.
God: Some people will never be satisfied. That’s part of this condition.
Wesley: Condition?
God: Life.
Wesley: You mentioned earlier that you were stoned. Is that something that happens a lot? I think that will be a big surprise to our readers.
God: It’s something that I do in phases. I’ve had some phases where I can become pretty habitual and other times I won’t touch it for awhile.
Wesley: What are we talking about? Marijuana? Alcohol? What’s your preference?
God: It’s really anything that can alter my reality. I can become very obsessive at times and it seems to help me see things in a different light.
Wesley: I’m sorry. I’m a bit shocked by that. I assumed you would be all knowing and can see things in every reality.
God: I can. Through drugs.
Wesley: Can we then, too?
God: Sure.
Wesley: Why is it illegal?
God: You have to ask your leaders.
Wesley: But aren’t you the ultimate leader?
God: Those guys don’t listen to me. They have their agendas and I don’t quite match up with them.
Wesley: Can you be more specific? Especially because a lot of these guys come to power based on the fact that they believe in you.
God: I’m not going to throw stones. But as I said previously, anytime there is a division or separation you can assume that I have nothing to do with it nor endorse it.
Wesley: Then it seems to me that you aren’t in control here?
God: I just created it. But I created it as something that I am a part of, not in control of. I control my actions. I don’t want to control your actions. Then what would you be for?
Wesley: Can you tell us what you think of the current state of things?
God: (laughing) In general?
Wesley: There seems to be a lot of uncertainty and fear in the air. Should there be?
God: No.
Wesley: Can you elaborate?
God: All the fear is manufactured. The future is always uncertain. It should be for you. Because I created this there are certain laws that apply to everything. I didn’t necessarily mean to implement these laws but because everything is designed to die and regenerate so too are the ideas that you create. Economic systems, political systems, anything that comes to fruition is destined to eat itself and collapse so that a new thing can form. It keeps things interesting and in constant motion. And this fear seems to be from a lack of knowledge of these principles.
Wesley: Adapt or die?
God: Well, you’re gonna die.
Wesley: I mean…
God: I know what you mean. I was just kidding. Yes. There will never be anything that lasts forever. Not even me. I disappear when you do.
Wesley: Because without us you serve no function.
God: Exactly. I’m just part of it.This is the transcript of a September interview that took place between journalist... more
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Tampa, FL (PRWEB) November 07, 2011
http://www.springerlink.com/content/k86q25k2278188gw
A new study by Marcus Arvan, PhD appearing in the peer-reviewed research journal, Neuroethics, shows conservative value judgments on the death penalty, gay marriage, free markets, the right to go to war against UN resolutions, and detention of suspected terrorists without trial, to be related to three dark and anti-social personality traits: Machiavellianism (deception), narcissism (overinflated sense of self-worth), and psychopathy (absence of guilt or remorse). No significant relationships were found between these dark traits and liberal judgments on any moral issue.Tampa, FL (PRWEB) November 07, 2011... more
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Imagine a person who does what he wants, regardless of how it affects other people. He refuses to take responsibility for his own mistakes, and he believes he's unbeatable at anything he undertakes, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Sounds like a textbook narcissist, right? Well, these days, it also sounds a lot like the United States.
Narcissism is on the rise in the US. It's likely to get worse before it gets better, and the economic consequences will likely be severe. Americans today are happy to spend rather than sacrifice, leaving future generations with the bill instead of accepting higher taxes themselves. They choose to keep bathing in a sea of cheap credit rather than cracking down on the practices and institutions that led to the financial crisis. And all along, they insist that their economic system is the best even while neglecting future investments in the very things that make a productive society: education, infrastructure, and scientific research.
So how did this happen? In their book, The Narcissism Epidemic, Jean M Twenge and W Keith Campbell find the origins of self-obsession in the 1960s, when people began to cast off societal constraints and expectations in favour of exploring their own human potential. This movement did not begin with a purely narcissistic slant, yet by the 1970s it had morphed into self-admiration, self-expression, and self-absorption. In the 1980s those qualities gave way to self-centredness and self-indulgence, and it was all downhill from there.
Psychologists have been tracking narcissism through surveys of American college students since the late 1970s, and levels of it — often measured as a lack of empathy — have never been higher, according to Sara Konrath, an assistant professor at the University of Michigan's Research Centre for Group Dynamics. "If you look at the levers in society, almost all of them are pushing us towards narcissism," she says. These levers go beyond Twitter feeds and Facebook pages, which offer endless opportunities for self-admiration. They also include advertising that tells consumers "You're worth it" and reality TV shows that turn regular people against each other in a battle for celebrity.
(read it all at link)Imagine a person who does what he wants, regardless of how it affects other people. He... more
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I read an "award winning" blog (appropriately titled guttervomit) about the chances of finding a soul mate, called Finding Your Soul Mate: A Statistical Analysis. Apparently this math whiz thinks that by factoring out potential mates by gender, sexual orientation, language, life expectancy, and the number of people you can potentially meet, you can determine the odds of running into your soul mate. But this is only true if you are so narcissistic that you can only love yourself or someone exactly like you.
The definition of a soul mate is one who challenges you. One you makes you think twice. One who makes you question yourself and who makes you want to be a better person. Someone just like you who accepts everything about you as perfectly fine can never do that. So the first thing you have to do is get that definition straight. It is obtuse to think that merely matching people on characteristics qualifies them as potential soul mates, when the very opposite is more likely true. If matching characteristics were a true way to go, you would clone yourself, with possibly a gender change, and voila there you go. So what this guy's post leads me to believe is that he is telling people to go fuck them self.
A soul mate is not necessarily like you. They might not speak your language. They might not be in the age range you would expect. They might not be of any of the characteristics you would bother to go looking for, and this is probably the real reason why most people never find a soul mate. They aren’t looking for someone to challenge them. They are looking for a replica of themselves.
http://jonraymond.blogspot.com/2011/04/you-wont-find-your-soul-mate-while.htmlI read an "award winning" blog (appropriately titled guttervomit) about the... more
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Mashable reports that a recent survey shows that narcissistic people tend to use Facebook in a more "self-promotional" way--that is, posting attractive photos of themselves and referencing how intelligent they are in the 'About Me' section. What Newsfeed wants to know is if they really needed to conduct a study to determine this? (via Mashable)
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/08/29/study-shows-narcissists-like-facebook-the-most/#ixzz0yEOoRj1C
So glad I kept my New Year's Resolution to delete my account. Besides crawling with Feds and selling private data, its chock full of yuppies trapped in the matrix.Mashable reports that a recent survey shows that narcissistic people tend to use... more
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Posted on May 20, 2010
By Ruth Marcus
In understanding the foibles of politicians, I’ve always found it is a benefit to have spent large amounts of time with toddlers. Me! Me! Me! The narcissism of the toddler has its adult manifestation in the career politician: If self-absorption is not a job requirement, it is at least a helpful attribute in getting ahead in politics.
Is there a better explanation for soon-to-be-former Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter’s artless explanation that he switched parties solely to keep his seat than a preschooler’s sense of entitlement? It’s mine! Gimme! Anyone who’s watched a gaggle of politicians jockey to see who’ll speak first at a news conference understands that taking turns and sharing nicely come as poorly to elected officials as to 4-year-olds in a sandbox.
Specter is a fascinating study in political egocentrism, but the similarities between young children and politicians came most vividly to mind this week with the seemingly different foibles of Richard Blumenthal and Mark Souder.
Blumenthal, the attorney general of Connecticut and would-be senator, seems to have engaged in a bit of what the psychologists would describe as “magical thinking” about his service in Vietnam—oops, I mean Vietnam-era service. At various points, Blumenthal described how “we have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam.” He told a crowd cheering for troops that “when we returned, we saw nothing like this.” He noted that “I served during the Vietnam era,” adding, “I remember the taunts, the insults, sometimes even physical abuse.”
Certainly Blumenthal knew he had not been in Vietnam—and, yet, there is in his words something of the child’s capacity to imagine that saying something makes it so. Blumenthal has been a champion for veterans’ rights, not the most obvious focus for a state attorney general. Was there a small piece of him that began to think of himself as truly part of their band of brothers?
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As Joan Didion wrote in “The Year of Magical Thinking,” about her inability to acknowledge her husband’s death, “I was thinking as small children think, as if my thoughts or wishes had the power to reverse the narrative, change the outcome.” Pretend play and the concrete reality of the imaginary are the essence of childhood.
Likewise, politicians excel at trying on costumes, assuming identities (the angry populist, the slayer of pork), delivering lines written by others. Is it any wonder that the division between fantasy and reality starts to blur for some of them?
Ronald Reagan spun untrue stories about how he had photographed Nazi death camps. As a radio broadcaster, he once continued announcing a baseball game after the newswire relaying the plays went dead. Joe Biden, channeling Neil Kinnock, spoke about his (imaginary) coal-mining ancestors. Hillary Clinton vividly described being under (nonexistent) sniper fire in Bosnia.
Were those deliberate lies or some more mysterious mechanism of the unconscious brain? “Reagan is a romantic, not an impostor,” his aide Michael Deaver explained. “He saw this nightmare on film, not in person. That did not mean he saw it less.”
Souder, the Indiana Republican forced to resign his congressional seat after an extramarital affair with an aide, raises the question of why so many politicians stray, and here, too, politicians share similarities with children. Most of us learn, eventually, to survive without gold stars and frenzied parental clapping. There are not many occupations other than politics—acting comes to mind—that reward the need for constant adulation. Politicians crave the affirmation of the cameras, the crowds, the voters. The same neediness for ego gratification is, I think, part of what motivates their desire for new sexual partners as well.
Along with this goes another form of magical thinking—the false conviction that they will be able to get away with it. John Edwards denying that he was the father of Rielle Hunter’s baby reminded me of a 4-year-old, chocolate smeared across his face, denying that he had eaten the cookie. Similarly, Souder seemed to believe he could get away with having an affair with an aide—a part-time aide, he said, as if that matters—who served as his co-host on a video promoting abstinence. You really cannot make these things up.
This leads to an important difference between politicians and toddlers. Both can be entitled narcissists with a problem distinguishing fantasy from reality. But it takes a politician to simultaneously preach abstinence and play footsie. It takes a grown-up to be such a hypocrite.
Ruth Marcus’ e-mail address is marcusr(at symbol)washpost.com.
http://lemontreepre-school.com/preschoolers_around_table.jpgPosted on May 20, 2010
By Ruth Marcus
In understanding the foibles of... more
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Social networking sites seem to be generating more and more narcissism everyday. If people 'like' your status or comment a lot of your stuff, your self-esteem goes up. Don't deny it, you know you like it when someone retweets something you wrote.
But experts actually say that too much ego on the internet is bad in the long run.
Narcissism is defined by an over excessive love and admiration for oneself. So pretty much a highly egotistical internet junky. Your probably wondering "How exactly is it bad to feel confident after a complement on the internet?" Well there's a difference between confidence and ego.
Jean Twenge, psychologist at San Diego State University, found that almost 60% of college students agree that people use things like Facebook and Twitter for self-promotion and attention seeking. Twenge goes on to say "Narcissists have an inflated sense of self, so they're prone to take too many risks."
So, how do resist this selfish epidemic? Just know, not everyone is concerned with every little aspect of your life.Social networking sites seem to be generating more and more narcissism everyday. If... more
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With a growing awareness of mounting ecological, economic, political, and social problems, there exists many growing currents of response.
While many people are waking up and getting involved, many more are burning out. They've taken in too much depressing information about how the world is out of control, and they're just shutting down. How can we turn the tide? What's the secret to transforming apathy into resolve?With a growing awareness of mounting ecological, economic, political, and social... more
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US News and World Report ranked the top 100 high schools in the United States.
The highest rated school in the nation, was Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. The school offers courses in DNA science, neurology, and quantum physics.
That's pretty impressive. I'm sure all of these students will attend incredible universities. And for this, I feel so sorry for all of the graduate student instructors, who will teach their freshman sections.
Students who come from great high schools, end up being the cockiest. I know from personal experience. I went to an excellent humanities magnet school (though not good enough for this list.) We studied and embraced socialism, postmodernity, and the philosophy of aesthetics. We were thus, very well prepared to bullshit the hell out of first-year TAs.
I 'd throw around words like hegemony and poststucturalism, even though I didn't actually understand them. I'd talk about Foucault and Sartre, despite only reading several paragraphs of their writing. I was very good at convincing these instructors that I understood what I was talking about.
Since TAs don't expect much from freshmen, they reward them heavily for throwing around buzzwords.
As I learned more my head grew. I became overly confident with my intellect. I attribute my high school experience to my current levels of pretension, elitism, and narcissism.
So before you consider sending your kids to an excellent school like the International Academy of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan or KIPP Houston High School, think the about the effects this might have on your kids later in life.
Because as the bard once wrote:
"Nobody likes it when homeboys be gloating 'bout their high schools."US News and World Report ranked the top 100 high schools in the United States.
The... more
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Parents Choosing More Unusual Baby Names Now
Celebrities aren't the only ones giving their babies unusual names. Compared with decades ago, parents are choosing less common names for kids, which could suggest an emphasis on uniqueness and individualism, according to new research.
Essentially, today's kids (and later adults) will stand out from classmates. For instance, in the 1950s, the average first-grade class of 30 children would have had at least one boy named James (top name in 1950), while in 2013, six classes will be necessary to find only one Jacob, even though that was the most common boys' name in 2007.
The researchers suspect the uptick of unusual baby names could be a sign of a change in culture from one that applauded fitting in to today's emphasis on being unique and standing out. When taken too far, however, this individualism could also lead to narcissism, according to study researcher Jean Twenge, of San Diego State University.
More----
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20100224/sc_livescience/parentschoosingmoreunusualbabynamesnow
http://john.ellingsworth.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ellingsworth_names_1860_census.jpgParents Choosing More Unusual Baby Names Now
Celebrities aren't the only ones... more
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Nearly half of all the photographs Europeans take end up online, according to a survey, with Russians the keenest on taking snaps of themselves, just ahead of the Austrians.Nearly half of all the photographs Europeans take end up online, according to a... more
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This is a few months old, but I think it slipped under a lot of peoples' radar. Give it a quick read. This snippet resonated with me:
"Of course, it's natural for kids to try to assert their status over others, but it used to be the role of parents to rein in these impulses and teach their daughters that while playing princess is fun, no one enjoys being around someone who acts like a princess in real life. Now researchers are finding that parents are promoting attitudes of superiority in their daughters. Jean Twenge, associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University, tracks the rising egotism on college campuses in her new book, "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement." She has found that college-age women are developing narcissistic traits at four times the rate of college-age men. She attributes the startling discrepancy in part to parents who put their girls on a pedestal."
It seems like more and more behaviors are being reinforced these days without much thought going into the longer term repercussions. Has anyone read Twenge's book? Anyone else disagree with any of this?This is a few months old, but I think it slipped under a lot of peoples' radar.... more
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A short conversation caught on film about beauty, ego, and the flip-side of flattery. At http://stilettorevolt.com/?p=1027
(From the Sundance Channel's series "The Art of Seduction")A short conversation caught on film about beauty, ego, and the flip-side of flattery.... more
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Not since James Cameron's "I'm the King of the World" has a director gone on record proclaiming his own mastery, like a shot heard round the world.
But Lars Von Trier, in order to defend the heckle-ridden reception @ Cannes of his new film 'Antichrist,' proclaimed his own admiration of his talent as a fact.
Is he, indeed, the best film director in the world? Can he really be objective about that?
And btw, when will a woman director finally say something so crass and yet so deliciously self-loving?!?Not since James Cameron's "I'm the King of the World" has a... more
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A new book says we're in a narcissism epidemic. Why you're not so special.
Growing up, my literary heroines were those who, like me, struggled to be good: Jo from "Little Women," Harriet the spy, Laura Ingalls and Pippi Longstocking. A strong-willed (and loud) child, I craved examples of unruly knuckleheads tethered to a loving family that encouraged us to be our best selves despite our natural inclinations. Precocious but naive, I thought of myself as an ugly duckling—misunderstood in my youth but destined for a beauty and stature completely impossible for my loved ones to comprehend. I shudder to think what a monster I would have become in the modern child-rearing era. Gorged on a diet of grade inflation, constant praise and materialistic entitlement, I probably would have succumbed to a life of heedless self- indulgence.
Perhaps, one day, we will say that the recession saved us from a parenting ethos that churns out ego-addled spoiled brats. And though it is too soon to tell if our economic free fall will cure America of its sense of economic privilege, it has made it much harder to get the money together to give our kids six-figure sweet-16 parties and plastic surgery for graduation presents, all in the name of "self esteem." And that's a good thing, because as Jean Twenge and W. Keith Campbell point out in their excellent book "The Narcissism Epidemic," released last week, we've built up the confidence of our kids, but in that process, we've created a generation of hot-house flowers puffed with a disproportionate sense of self-worth (the definition of narcissism) and without the resiliency skills they need when Mommy and Daddy can't fix something.
Indeed, when Twenge addressed students at Southern Connecticut State University a couple weeks back, their generation's narcissism was taken as a given by her audience. The fact that nearly 10 percent of 20-somethings have already experienced symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, compared with just over 3 percent of the 65-and-over set? Not surprising. That 30 percent of college students agree with the statement: "If I show up to every class, I deserve at least a B"? Didn't get much of a rise either. When they're faced with the straight-out question—do you agree with this research, that you guys are the most narcissistic generation ever—there are uniform head nods and knowing grins to each other. "At the end of the day I love me and I don't think that's wrong," says Sharise Tucker, a 21-year-old senior at Southern Connecticut State, a self-professed narcissist. "I don't think it's a problem, having most people love themselves. I love me."A new book says we're in a narcissism epidemic. Why you're not so special.... more
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"Last week, a new study by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery revealed that Americans are receiving 11% fewer breast augmentations, 25.3% fewer liposuctions and 19% fewer eye tucks. Even relatively affordable and obtainable Botox injections had dropped from 2.7 million in 2007 to 2.4 million last year.
Ask glossy magazine editors and they’ll tell you that the celeb-obsessed these days are more into down-to-earth mommies such as Michelle Williams or Jennifer Garner, not hotties like Paris Hilton. And waning ratings for MTV’s “The City” indicate that patience is running out on dopey Whitney Port’s skin-deep brand of beauty.
“I’ve noticed a gentle reevaluation of what’s important to people,” says Dr. Drew Pinsky, whose latest book, “The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America,” hit shelves last week.
“They’re coming up with the right answer, which is that what’s important is the people we really care about, and spending time with them – not getting our lips bigger or helping our droopy eyelids.”""Last week, a new study by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery... more
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Dr Carol Craig has said that children who are over-praised run the risk of developing an "all about me" attitude.Dr Carol Craig has said that children who are over-praised run the risk of developing... more
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ClareW
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3 years ago
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Take a few moments to think about what sex means to you (sexual intercourse that is).
…and…STOP.
Now go ahead and rate each of the 14 words below in terms of how important they are to your concept of sex, that is, what sex means to you. A rating of 1 means it's not important at all and a 9 means it's extremely important. Of course, you can also use any number between 1 and 9. Don't worry if some of the words seem a little strange. Just go with your gut instinct.
1. Loyalty
2. Power
3. Love
4. Domination
5. Trust
6. Ego
7. Closeness
8. Influence
9. Honesty
10. Leading
11. Respect
12. Manipulation
13. Happiness
14. Daring
Now add up your scores. You should get two scores. One will be for the odd numbered words and one will be for the even numbered words. Let's call your score for the odd numbered words Communal Sexuality and your score for the even words Agentic Sexuality.
People who score high relative to other people in communal sexuality tend to view sex as an act that is mutually rewarding (i.e., both partners receive something positive from it) and relationship-enhancing. People who score high in agentic sexuality tend to view sex as personally rewarding and self-enhancing. To some degree, sex is more about "we" to people high in communal sexuality and more about "me" to people high in agentic sexuality.
To some degree, we suspect that narcissists view their sexual partners as objects that satisfy their needs for pleasure, status, and power. As you might imagine, this kind of attitude probably doesn’t bode well for long-term relationships. In fact, one thing we suspect, but have not tested, is that more frequent sexual activity might actually harm relationships involving narcissists.
Take a few moments to think about what sex means to you (sexual intercourse that is).... more
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