You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
One of the most frequent problems of our modern society, and one which manifests itself in the life of the classroom, is the individual's lack of ability to be connected to and aware of his own feelings and the feelings of others. We call this kind of individual self-involved, egocentric, or narcissistic.
Addressing himself to the current and increasing problem of narcissism in our society, William Stevens (1977), in his article “Narcissism in the Me Decade,” defines the narcissistic personality in the following way:
… he might be among the most charming of companions or the most cultivated of people. It is only on deeper acquaintaince that the rest emerges. He has an inability to form firm human relationships or to share and appreciate another's feelings. The narcissist sees people only in terms of how they can serve his needs. Otherwise, he or she can't be bothered.
His attention is so firmly fixed on his own well-being that he cannot bridge the gulf between himself and others. No matter how much personal power and acclaim he acquires, the narcissist suffers, too. He pays a high price in the shallowness and poverty of his relationships all his life. As life goes on, he feels an emptiness and an anger that might even surface in psychosomatic symptoms.
Modern psychoanalysts have shown a particular interest in the problem of narcissism. Spotnitz and Meadow (1976) attribute the