If my results say no narcissism and someone else's say "narcissist" there might be some clues in that information about someone in fact being a narcissist or not. It is actually a small amount of questions, in comparison to something like the MMPI (which I have taken as well), but that does not make it totally inaccurate. There are 40 questions., not 10, not 5, but a sampling of things about the ways a narcissist thinks, or how someone who is not one thinks. Maybe 100 questions, or 300, or like the 567 on the MMPI, would be more indicative. Someone who is more of an empath is not likely to score as a narcissist. A narcissist is not likely to score as not, because they do have strong beliefs about how great they think they are and what they are better at than the rest of the world.Those types of psychology questions are not written based on narc (or other condition) behavior.
The test is written and then a bunch of guinea pigs take the tests. Included the collection of subjects taking the test are diagnosed people. Then statistics are used to figure out how different conditions answered the questions. So no trick questions only arbitrary.
There used to be the MMPI ( Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index ) that was first pass at diagnosing a patient. It was comprised of a bunch of meaninglessness questions.
Example
I am afraid of spiders
I like spiders
I dont like spiders
I think spiders are cool....
Those questions were not there to ID aracnaphobianaphobia. They were arbitrary. An individuals answers where compared with diagnosed patients results to characterize the patient being tested. The results are not 100%. They are just a first guess.
When I was young and depressed (before God found me) I took the the MMPI. I came back as ...
A paranoid schizophrenic with psychotic tendencies.
"I got better"
When I told The Princess she asked "Am i safe alone with you?"
Please resume your talk about narcs.
Ben
That set of questions may be a subset of the MMPI. I am not saying that quiz is bogus. I am saying that one can not look at those questions and ask "what would a a narc say?" to cheat the test. It is not the individual questions but rather the similarity to what narcs would reply.
True, like other such tests. The thing about the MMPI is that with that many questions, you'd need a very good memory to remember the truth or not of questions you had previously answered. I remember that some of those questions were so similar to previous ones that they asked. If you wanted to be normal, you would say, "No, I want to blend in. I do not want to be the center of attention." But we all know people who do want to be the center of attention and some will go to lengths to make that attention negative or just to move it to themselves, whatever it takes. Until it bites them in the backside.
I just took it also, as fast as I could read and respond without thought, just first impressions, 0-11... After reading these posts the last couple of months I already knew I wasn't one but the test was interesting.
I do not have all the answers, if I have any. I do think identifying and understanding that someone is a narcissist is a step. It took me 50 years to understand that that was a dynamic in my family. I belong to some groups that deal with narcissism, mothers, siblings, spouses.
"Dealing with those who are always right" - I make one attempt to enlighten them, then go directly to humor-as-I-know-it. After that there is only termination of one sort or another.
LOL. Those may have been "control" questions.
If you could read some of the things I have read in the groups I belong to, you realize that God and life has been very good to some of us. Some people got the short straw in life and somehow end up with the worst people as parents, spouses, bosses, co-workers, neighbors. You couldn't make some of it up if you were the most creative person on earth. It boggles the mind how sick some people can be.
You and Jim may have provided a CLUE. These people may have physical brain defects. Open synapses that can't close, stuff like that, could be common in most folks. if they are the wrong synapses, empathy doesn't happen.
Some people thrive on drama! They are in the midst of it all the time. There is no accident about the same person or people always being in trouble.
I recognize those questions. I was on our towns Fire and Police Commission for many years. There were some crazy questions on the MMPI. “If you were very thirsty and nothing else was available, would you drink a cup of blood?”
