Are you really a narcissist? Absolutely!(YOUR LIFE)

Social scientists have developed and validated a new method to identify which people are narcissistic: just ask them. In a series of 11 experiments involving more than 2,200 people of all ages, the researchers found they reliably could identify narcissistic people by asking them this exact question (including the note): 'To what extent do you agree with this statement: 'I am a narcissist.' (Note: The word 'narcissist' means egotistical, self-focused, and vain.)" Participants rated themselves on a scale of 1 (not very true of me) to 7 (very true of me).

Results showed that people's answer to this question lined up very closely with several other validated measures of narcissism, including the widely used Narcissistic Personality Inventory. The difference is that this new survey--which the researchers call the Single Item Narcissism Scale (SINS)--has one question, while the NPI has 40 questions to answer.

"People who are willing to admit they are more narcissistic than others probably actually are more narcissistic," says Brad Bushman, study coauthor and professor of communication at Ohio State University, Columbus. "People who are narcissists are almost proud of the fact. You can ask them directly because they don't see narcissism as a negative quality; they believe they are superior to other people and are fine with saying that publicly."

Bushman conducted the study with Sara Konrath of the School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, Bloomington, and Brian Meier, professor of psychology at Gettysburg (Pa.) College.

Understanding narcissism has many implications for society that extend beyond the impact on the individual narcissist's life, Konrath indicates. "For example, narcissistic people have low empathy, and empathy is one key motivator of philanthropic behavior such as donating money or time to organizations."

Adds Bushman: "Overall, narcissism is problematic for both individuals and society. Those who think they are already great...