Are you a narcissist? Turns out, one question could reveal the tendency to think the world revolves ...

1. Just one question can identify a narcissist
Are you a narcissist? Turns out, one question could reveal the tendency to think the world revolves
around you.
People who have an inflated sense of self will readily admit they are narcissists if they're asked just
one straightforward question, a new study suggests.
"Narcissists aren't afraid to tell you they're narcissists," said study co-author Brad Bushman, a
communications and psychology professor at The Ohio State University. "They're not embarrassed
about it at all." [7 Personality Traits That Are Bad for You]
Nation of egotists
People with a classic narcissistic personality tend to have an overinflated sense of self, an
exhibitionist streak, a sense of entitlement and little empathy for others. People in Western countries
rate higher on narcissistic traits than do those in Eastern nations, and millennials people born
between the early 1980s and early 2000s are more likely to be self-centered than previous
generations, at least in the United States, Bushman said.
"The self-esteem movement, I think, is a big part of that," Bushman said. "Also, I think social media
provides a venue for people to project themselves to very large audiences."
Being egotistical can have its uses, at least in the short term. For instance, overconfidence can help
people land a job or attract a partner, and some studies suggest that narcissists make good leaders.
But in general, narcissists aren't doing anybody any favors with their overinflated sense of self,
Bushman said.
For the arrogant and self-absorbed, "if you already think you're great, then you're not going to try to
improve yourself," Bushman said. And because narcissists show less empathy, they aren't going to
be good for the people in their lives, he added.
No shame
Typically, researchers studying narcissistic traits rely on a 40-question survey in which respondents
choose from one or two options. For instance, some of the options included the following:
"I prefer to blend in with the crowd" (non-narcissistic response) versus "I like to be the center of
attention" (narcissistic response), or "The thought of ruling the world frightens me" versus "If I ruled
the world, it would be a better place" (narcissistic response).
In the new study, which is detailed Aug. 5 in the journal PLOS ONE, researchers looked at 11
published studies of 2,200 people who were quizzed with the more extensive survey.
The team found that the answer to one question was strongly correlated with their overall score on
the longer test: "To what extent do you agree with the statement, 'I am a narcissist'? (Note: The

2. word "narcissist" means egotistical, self-focused and vain.)."
Participants had the option of rating their agreement on a scale of 1 (not very true of me) to 7 (very
true of me). Since narcissism is a continuous dimension, rather than dichotomous (i.e., two answers:
narcissist or not a narcissist), there was no cutoff for whether a person was or was not a narcissist,
Bushman said. The score just reveals where one would fall along a spectrum compared with others
in the population.
Past studies show that younger participants and males tended to score higher on the narcissist scale
than others in the study. (You can also take a quizto see how you compare to others of the same age
and sex.)
The new study suggests that researchers who are
pressed for time or doing a much larger study can
include this simple question in their research if they
want to get a rough gauge of narcissistic traits. The
question couldn't be used to diagnose narcissistic
personality disorder, which is a psychiatric condition
in which narcissism negatively impacts someone's life,
Bushman said.
Quick survey
The new findings aren't terribly surprising, as similar one-question surveys have been found to work
for self-esteem, said W. Keith Campbell, a psychology professor at Georgia State University, who
was not involved in the study.
"There is some evidence in the literature that people who are narcissistic are self-aware," Campbell
told Live Science. "That's why some of the self-assessment measures work."
Ideally, the question could be used in the context of other large research questions. Because it's only
one question, it would be easy to send people text messages with the question when doing a quick
survey of their mood, he said.
But for researchers specifically studying narcissism, the more extensive survey would be better,
Campbell said. That's because narcissism has several components, from exhibitionism to a tendency
to exploit others, Campbell said.
"With a longer scale, you can look at those factors; with the one item, you just can't," Campbell said.
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