The origins of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder a
The origins of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder a
The origins of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder a
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
THE ORIGINS OF NARCISSISM 47<br />
primary <strong>narcissism</strong>. This chapter will argue, on the basis <strong>of</strong> infancy<br />
research, that the concept <strong>of</strong> <strong>narcissism</strong> as a developmental stage, like<br />
related notions <strong>of</strong> normal autism <strong>and</strong> normal symbiosis, is now inadequate<br />
<strong>and</strong> should be discarded. But since primary <strong>narcissism</strong> is a<br />
crucial construct in psychoanalysis (S<strong>and</strong>ler, Person, & Fonagy, 199 l),<br />
the proposed elimination <strong>of</strong> this concept raises significant questions<br />
about many facets <strong>of</strong> psychoanalytic theory <strong>and</strong> most certainly about<br />
psychoanalytic perspectives on <strong>narcissistic</strong> <strong>personality</strong> <strong>disorder</strong>. As the<br />
term <strong>narcissistic</strong> <strong>personality</strong> <strong>disorder</strong> implies, primary <strong>narcissism</strong> is<br />
deeply implicated in psychoanalytic underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> this form <strong>of</strong> psychopathology.<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> the two most popular theories <strong>of</strong> <strong>narcissistic</strong><br />
<strong>disorder</strong> (Kernberg, 1975; Kohut, 1971) posits an objectless, undifferentiated<br />
phase at the beginning <strong>of</strong> development. Although the elimination<br />
<strong>of</strong> the concept <strong>of</strong> primary <strong>narcissism</strong> cannot be entertained<br />
lightly, this chapter will argue that psychoanalytic underst<strong>and</strong>ing <strong>of</strong><br />
<strong>narcissism</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>narcissistic</strong> <strong>personality</strong> disturbance is in fact improved<br />
when it no longer appeals to erroneous developmental theories <strong>and</strong><br />
uncontrolled case reports but instead to knowledge generated by psychological<br />
research, just as psychoanalytic object relations theory is<br />
improved when it is revised in accordance with the findings <strong>of</strong> developmental<br />
psychology <strong>and</strong> social cognition (Westen, 1989, 1990a,<br />
1990b, 1991).<br />
<strong>The</strong> basic purpose <strong>of</strong> this chapter, therefore, is to reformulate psychoanalytic<br />
theories <strong>of</strong> <strong>narcissism</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>narcissistic</strong> <strong>personality</strong> <strong>disorder</strong><br />
to make them consistent with current trends in developmental <strong>and</strong><br />
social psychology. To that end, the paper will first review Freud’s ideas<br />
concerning primary <strong>narcissism</strong> as a developmental concept. <strong>The</strong> perspectives<br />
<strong>of</strong> other psychoanalytic theorists will also be discussed. Despite<br />
the complexity <strong>of</strong> issues involved in the contemporary debate on<br />
<strong>narcissism</strong>, limited space permits only a schematic discussion <strong>of</strong> contributions<br />
after Freud. <strong>The</strong> writings <strong>of</strong> Freud <strong>and</strong> other psychoanalytic<br />
theorists on primary <strong>narcissism</strong> have, in any case, been discussed extensively<br />
elsewhere.2 After traditional psychoanalytic ideas are re-<br />
* See, for example, Balint (1968/1979); Bing, McLaughlin, <strong>and</strong> Marburg<br />
(1959); Grunberger (1971/1979); Kanzer (1964); Laplanche (1970/1976); Laplanche<br />
<strong>and</strong> Pontalis (1967/1973); Moore (1975); Pulver (1970); Rothstein<br />
(1984); S<strong>and</strong>ler et al. (1991); Smith (1985); Teicholz (1978).