You Can Find Out If Someone's A Narcissist By Asking One Question
Eye-opening.
Getty Images What if you were able to figure out if someone was really a narcissist by just asking them one simple question?
Can you imagine how easy that would be? We would no longer have to suffer through the pain of getting involved in a relationship with a narcissist.
And according to science, this is actually totally possible.
Self-centeredness and self-confidence can often be confused with narcissism. It is true that people who have an inflated sense of self are usually narcissists.
However, asking someone one little question will help determine whether or not they're actually a narcissist after all.
In 2014, research found that, "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 will usually include the following, 'I prefer to blend in with the crowd' (a non-narcissistic response) versus 'I like to be the center of attention' (a narcissistic response). Or 'The thought of ruling the world frightens me' (a non-narcissistic response) versus 'If I ruled the world, it would be a better place' (a narcissistic response)."
But in a study published in the journal Plos One, researchers looked at specific studies that determine narcissism.
The study says, "Participants had the option of rating their agreement on a scale of 1 (not very true of me) to 7 (very true of me). Because narcissists are confident in their answers and basically everything they do, they would likely tell you objectively what kind of person they are. Overall, the score just reveals where one would fall along a spectrum compared with others in the population."
The researchers determined that one question on the longer test could determine whether someone is a narcissist:
"To what extent do you agree with the statement, 'I am a narcissist'? (Note: The word 'narcissist' means egotistical, self-focused, and vain)."
Ultimately, they found that, narcissists could really care less if you find out that they're narcissists. As one of the study's authors, Brad Bushman, puts it, "Narcissists aren't afraid to tell you they're narcissists. They're not embarrassed about it at all."
And bad news for millennials, because the study found that men and younger people usually scored higher on the narcissist scale than anyone else did.
Bushman explained, "The self-esteem movement, I think, is a big part of that. Also, I think social media provides a venue for people to project themselves to very large audiences."
So, the best way to figure out if someone is really a narcissist or not is to just ask them blatantly, because they aren't ashamed to say yes. In fact, they'll be pretty proud of their honesty.
Stacy Narine is a regular contributor to YourTango.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in September 2015 and was updated with the latest information.