This book review by Anne Grant originally appeared in the Providence Journal on Sunday, May 3, 2009.
Two psychology professors offer evidence that self-absorption in our culture has reached epidemic proportions. Grandiose symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, first described in 1971, are becoming the norm for a growing number of Americans. Perhaps the book arrives just in time to help those tumbling from great heights to rethink their values.
The authors do not make partisan accusations. (Left-wingers might point to capitalism’s ubiquitous commercials, right-wingers might blame civil rights movements.) They refute the myth that self-impressed people have a competitive edge. Research shows that long-term corporate health is more likely to follow a humble, steady CEO than the smartest guys at Enron, who cooked their books, convinced others of their genius, and created a wasteland.
Over three decades, the self-esteem movement has produced more failure than success in our schools, with chilling tragedies. Twenge and Campbell pile up proof this is a problem, from the cruel profanity of cyber chit-chat to crazed killers announcing their giftedness before shooting their way to immortality. None of it is pretty.
They trace the voracious appetite for articles on self-esteem in academic journals since the 1960s: Only recently have researchers seemed to notice the growing worm of narcissism that has done great damage, often with psychologists’ help.
I hope this book will open the door to more systemic analysis. For example, here and abroad, professional associations of psychologists have criticized their own colleagues who feed the epidemic in custody courts rampant with narcissism — bombastic judges, strutting lawyers, batterers demanding their children with help from psychological “experts” handsomely paid to sway opinions.
Perhaps psychologists can offer some critique of their profession when it encourages the wounded to indulge their fantasies and flaunt their power with no regard for the damage they cause.
Maybe psychology cannot treat this epidemic. The authors’ slender remedies seem hopelessly mired in homo sapiens, as if humanity were indeed the center of the universe. Self-examination, new parenting models, and a few promising school programs will not turn the tide of entitlement.
Swimming in a sewer, we lose our sense of awe. When I finished the book, I wanted to plunge into some stunning documentary with naturalist David Attenborough, full of facts, astounding photography, mesmerizing music, produced by humans, yes, but happily not those engrossed in contemplating themselves. When the social sciences discover that we are merely one small part of a truly awesome cosmos, they may find the humility that brings respite from this tsunami of self-indulgence.
