Narcissism has become a popular framework to explain behavior that appears dominant in workplaces and maladaptive or harmful in relationships. Many often inflate the frequency of narcissism. Prevalence has found to be anywhere between 0.5 – 5% of the population experiences symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD. But research finds there are a few types of narcissism.
Many explanations of narcissistic behavior have centered around explanations of compensation for emotional insecurity and low self-efficacy. Although some individuals with NPD may fit this insecurity explanation, others do not have difficulties with emotional security or self esteem.
Some just don’t give a $%^&. That is to say, research finds two main types of narcissism (aka NPD subtypes): grandiose and vulnerable. Those with vulnerable narcissism fit the emotional insecurity and low self-esteem picture. However, those with grandiose subtype of narcissism tend to not care about what others think and over-estimate their abilities. They tend to fantasize about power and to display interpersonal dominance.
Those with vulnerable narcissism are thought to engage in narcissistic behaviors in order to mask emotional insecurities or seek reassurance to counteract it. This premise is still tentative, however. It is still not understood why those with grandiose narcissism engage in such behaviors. However, it is suspected that such behaviors are highly reinforcing. They could even be pleasurable for them in reinforcing a grandiose sense of self.
Understanding why those with narcissism (and anyone else for that matter) do what they do can be difficult for many clients. This includes clients who experience difficulties with uncertainty or frequently ruminate. But grappling with being okay with how the behavior of other’s don’t make sense and might not fit a perfect explanation can often be a fruitful area for work with our clients.
