Narcissistic Personality Disorder

The case that we will be looking at throughout this paper is that of ‘Joe’ (name changed to so that he/she may remain anonymous. Joe has what is diagnosed by clinicians as narcissistic personality disorder. According to the DSM – IV –TR, this is characterized by ‘a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration and lack of empathy, beginning by early adult and present in a variety of contexts.’ The DSM lists nine criteria and Joe must exhibit 5 or more of them to be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. The first one is Joe has a grandiose sense of self-importance. He is always assuring himself that his needs come before anyone else’s and that he should be recognized for all of his achievements, large or small, in his life. The second characteristic that Joe displays is being preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, and beauty. He believes that he is the most attractive male of all of his peers and strives to attract as many women as he can and to have a sexual relationship with all of them. He sees no flaws in himself and cannot begin to understand why every woman is not attracted to him. The third characteristic that Joe displays of narcissistic personality disorder is that he lives with a sense of entitlement. He believes that everyone should think the way that he does and the he has the answer to ever problem. The fourth characteristic seen in Joe is that he lacks empathy, showing now sense of understanding towards other’s sorrow. Lastly, Joe is

consistently arrogant and haughty to the point that his social behaviors are being affected negatively. Joe is seen as irritating by many of his social acquaintances due to his arrogant behavior and attitude.

When consid...

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...pbringing to find a root cause of the narcissistic behavior. Also the socio-cultural models tells us to consider the individual’s cultural background and societal views in which they were modeled on. Also, the biological model suggest that brain malfunction is at the heart of all abnormal behavior, while on the end of the spectrum, the humanistic behavior believes that we all have control of our own destiny and power over any abnormality.

Works Cited

Association, American Psychiatric. DSM-IV-TR. Arlingtion: American Psychiatric Association, 2000.

Comer, Ronald. "Models of Abnormality." comer, Ronald. Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers, 2011. 32-37.

Staff, Mayo Clinic. Narcissistic Personality Disorder. 4 November 2011. 25 February 2012 .