Transcript
The Importance of Others – Self Reflection
Moeez Hassan
St. Joan of Arc Secondary School
What is narcissism according to what we have read/watched?
According to Keith Campbell, narcissism is explained as an excessive interest in oneself or their appearance. A narcissist values themselves very highly while having no regard for others. Statistically, from the 1980s to the present day, narcissistic personality traits among college students have rose just as fast as obesity rates. It is also proven by his studies, that younger men tend to have the greatest results of narcissism. During the interview Campbell states, simply refusing to eat dinner with family can lead to a social phenomenon of a narcissistic personality as the person only thinks ahead for themselves. Steve Paikin confirms that narcissism is another way of neglecting the equal sharing of personal experience throughout life. Keith Campbell also explains that narcissism is on the rise. He gives an example of children and the education system, where kids are given trophies for participating rather than an achieving something. This creates a specialty in the kids mind despite their actual achievements, further creating a personality of thinking they are “special”.
What is the difference between self-esteem and narcissism?
Campbell states that often narcissism is directly referred to as high self-esteem, which is not the case. He explains that those who are narcissistic cannot self-reflect. When engaging in a conversation they often describe themselves better than others. “I’m better looking than you, I’m smarter than you, I’m more creative”. These quotes are an example of how narcissistic behavior sounds like. Narcissists feel superior to others but don’t necessarily like themselves. In fact, narcissists’ feelings about themselves are entirely based on others’ opinions of them. Contrarily a person with good self-esteem would reflect about themselves by comparing themselves to a greater population and would take morality as a factor. Keith Campbell call this a “well rounded self-reflection”. Self esteem is not about being superior or better than others but is a way of self-reflecting and understanding one’s capability.
Why are narcissistic tendencies so dangerous?
Narcissistic tendencies are dangerous because of the way a narcissist interact with others. Keith Campbell refers to this aspect of danger through the question, are narcissist capable of having a real meaningful relationship?” to which he answers no. He explains that they have issues starting a relationship and empathy. Their personal need of self gets in the way and their display superiority leads to dangerous behavioral tendencies. Past studies show that behavioral issues could be hereditary leading in to next generations which could be dangerous as it would increase the rate of narcissism. Narcissist tendencies are also dangerous due to their constant way of devaluing others and finding ways in which they can benefit themselves. This leads to immoral behaviors and the wrongful judgement of others in order to benefits one’s self.
What does it have to do with conscience?
Narcissism has a great effect on a person’s conscience, as Keith explains that they cannot empathize for others. Narcissistic behavior changes the way a person thinks, as their values and morals are shaped around themselves. Their conscience is reformed to benefit the person themselves and prioritize all action to succeed superiorly and independently. This affects the persons social skills and their social development which has a major effect on how they interact and form relationship with others. Thus, the reformed conscience of a narcissist constantly find ways to benefit themselves in order to fulfil their narcists tendencies through actions that may be immoral but right to the person.
Personal Board of Director’s – how important are these “others” help you search for “the good”?
The personal board of directors or these “others” play an important role in my understanding, inquiry, and practice of the good. Through effectively interacting with these individuals and throughout my personal, professional, and emotional life experiences, I have learnt the important of good values such as honesty, trustworthiness, positive speech, patience, politeness, loyalty, or kindness. Other conflicting experiences also provide me with the opportunities to go through conflicts, problematic behavior, and chaos in order to understand the importance of well-being. These experiences cause me to self-reflect upon my own behavior, my wrongs and rights, and also how I impact others in my life.
Board of Directors:
Siblings (Motivational)
My brother and my two sisters are an important part of my macrosystem of development as I interact with them every day. They encourage me towards practicing good behavior and mentor me throughout my social, academic, and emotional experiences.
Friends (Social influence)
My friends are a great positive influence as they allow me to effectively communicate and develop social skills that would allow me to interact with other individuals in my personal and professional life experiences. They also allow me to become more confident about myself through helping me form a self-identity. I also believe that good friends have a significant impact on an individual’s morals and their appropriate behavior.
Teachers (Academic influence)
My teachers are my mentors who support me throughout my educational growth. They provide me with the appropriate knowledge that will be beneficial for me for making important career decisions. They also provide me with learning opportunities that support my mental, physical, and academic growth.
Volunteer supervisor (Career development motivation)
My volunteer supervisor provides me with direct experience in the professional field of childcare development, which has allowed me to respect individuals who directly deal with children or are parents. This experience has also led me to actively communicate while making use of positive statements. I have learned the incredible use of problem solving and conflict resolution.
Workplace manager (Skills development)
My workplace manager highly strengthens my communicative, organizational, and team building skills through exposing me to the different aspects of a workplace environment. I have learnt how to regulate emotions, deal with inquiries, become productive, and collaborate with other individuals in a busy environment. I have strengthened my professional skills that would benefit me further in my career aspirations.
Workplace coworkers (Self-identity formation)
My workplace coworkers consistently provide me with experiences that allow me to learn about the variation in human personalities and determine strategies to better communicate with other individuals. Through collaborating with my coworkers, I have also strengthened my team building skills and this has allowed me to form a positive identity of myself.
Parents (Chairperson)
Parents have been a vital part of my social, physical, mental, and emotional development throughout my life. I have placed my parents as the chairperson because they influence me significantly everyday throughout my productive interaction with them. They motivate me to become a better person and support me in different aspects of my life. They have allowed me to learn more about myself through allowing me to independently explore the world around me and make use of opportunities that would help me grow. They are the most important figures in my life, who have taught me the importance of values and good morals in leading a successful and peaceful life. They helped me in differentiating between good and bad and provided me with direct experiences to practice and relate to good behavior.
