If you watch TV, read popular books or even study research articles, you may walk away believing narcissism is a uniquely United States-based characteristic, whether most common in American young adults, professionals in law, business or entertainment, or politicians.
But a recent study from researchers at Michigan State University’s Department of Psychology found that narcissism is a universal trait with consistent patterns across cultures. Interestingly, their findings indicate the U.S. is not even in the top five countries with the highest levels of narcissism — and that rates are higher among young adults and men.
Narcissism, which is a psychological trait that involves excessively high self-esteem but relatively low empathy, also involves an excessive positive focus on the self and a low regard for others.