The key word for narcissistic personality disorder is “self-aggrandizement.”
Self-view: The narcissistic personalities view themselves as special and unique—almost as princes or princesses. They believe that they have a special status that places them above ordinary people. They consider themselves superior and entitled to special favors and favorable treatment; they are above the rules that govern other people.
View of others: Although they may regard other people as inferior, they do not do this in the same sense as do the antisocial personalities. They simply see themselves as prestigious and as elevated above the average person; they see others as their vassals and potential admirers. They seek recognition from others primarily to document their own grandiosity and preserve their superior status.
Beliefs: The core narcissistic beliefs are as follows: “Since I am special, I deserve special dispensations, privileges, and prerogatives,” “I’m superior to others and they should acknowledge this,” “I’m above the rules.” Many of these patients have covert beliefs of being unlovable or helpless. These beliefs emerge after a significant failure and form core elements in the patients’ depression.
The conditional beliefs are, “If others don’t recognize my special status, they should be punished,” “If I am to maintain my superior status, I should expect others’ subservience.” On the other hand, they have negatively framed beliefs such as, “If I’m not on top, I’m a flop.” Thus, when they experience a significant defeat, they are prone to a catastrophic drop in self-esteem. The instrumental belief is, “Strive at all times to demonstrate your superiority.”
Strategy: Their main plans revolve around activities that can reinforce their superior status and expand their “personal domain.” Thus, they may seek glory, wealth, position, power, and prestige as a way of continuously reinforcing their superior image. They tend to be highly competitive with others who claim an equally high status and will resort to manipulative strategies to gain their ends.
Unlike the antisocial personality, they do not have a cynical view of the rules that govern human conduct; they simply consider themselves exempt from them. Similarly, they do regard themselves as part of society, but at the very top stratum.
Affect: Their main affect is anger when other people do not accord them the admiration or respect to which they believe they are entitled, or otherwise thwart them in some way. They are prone to becoming depressed, however, if their strategies are foiled. For example, psychothera- pists have treated several “inside traders” on Wall Street who became depressed after their manipulations were discovered and they were publicly disgraced. They believed that by tumbling from their high position, they had lost everything.