How prevalent is narcissism in investment banking, and finance overall?
Can you see it in others, or is it 'just there'? In university, many of the students whose aim is to get into finance are rather high up on the narcissist meter, you can see it a mile away, but does this just continue all through finance or am I seeing the '1%'?
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It's not just banking. It's law, medicine, politics, etc. It doesn't have to do with finance, it has to do with the highly motivated, highly paid people in finance.
Narcissism is everywhere, not just finance.
I think there is a positive correlation between ambition and narcissism. I also think there is a positive correlation between narcissism and a lack of ethics. Hence why I think it's dangerous to be too ambitious.
I think old people are often less narcissistic. (Ted Cruz seems to be an exception.)
Idunno. When I am around people who aren't 10x more brazenly ambitious than I am, I tend to relax. I tend to root for people to succeed rather than worry that they'll create some massive blowup and view their success with a wary eye.
I think finance can sometimes serve as a magnet for people who want to get a lot without giving a whole lot. I think it also serves as a magnet for a lot of OTHER people, including folks who loved playing Monopoly and various business games as a kid, and people who just enjoy playing with money.
I think it's human to have some narcissism.
I think I probably have some narcissism. (I know I have the attention whoring aspects of narcissism at least.)
I think the $64K question is "Am I much more important than everyone else? Or are other people about as important as me?"
What kind of moronic comment is this? First of all, Ted Cruz was born in 1970. I don't know who defines "old people" as 42 going on 43 except for the biggest dumbass on WSO (which is you). Second of all, the single most narcissistic person in Washington, D.C. is the former freshman Senator from Illinois who is one of the least experienced people to ever hold the Office of the Presidency. It took a phenomenal ego for a community organizer to run for commander-in-chief of the U.S. armed forces and for chief law enforcement officer of the United States.
Oh well, since you didn't claim that Ted Cruz isn't a narcissist but deflected onto someone else, I'm assuming you agree with me on Ted Cruz. But that wasn't really the point of my post.
Do you have a non-political view on my view that "People who think other people matter, too are probably less likely to be narcissistic?"
I fluctuate every few months between not caring about anyone and wanting to make the world a better place. Shit's confusing.
Was going to give a generic WSO comment, but was pleasantly surprised @ IlliniProgrammer and DCDepository argument.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (Originally Posted: 04/30/2010)
It is estimated that 1% of the general population is affected with this.
What do you think the percentage is in terms of people who work in Finance? It seems to me like many of the listed symptoms are pretty common in Finance...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissistic_personality_disorder
disorder? I say strength.
Yeah, that personality would go over real well with associates and MD's treating you like shit. I think a lot of people are confusing IB analyst with shit they see in Wall Street and American Psycho.
well the MDs could certainly develop some of these traits, with the money, and power over analysts they get to have
Is that 1% worldwide? I must say that seems like a rather low proportion for the US, even independently of finance.
Perhaps many people believe their shit don't stink but I'd believe the percentage is skewed towards the younger generation, many of whom believe they will be the next Derek Jeter or Madonna or ...Gordon Gekko
Thinking you are the shit and being classified as having narcissistic personality disorder are two very different things. I think most people in finance think they are the shit, but I do not think the majority of them are clinical.
the majority of people that attain positions of power in finance/law/government are narcissistic if not utter psychopaths.
It is estimated that there is a much higher percentage of narcissists in highly visible and prestigious professions such as banking, politics, law, etc compared to the general population. Narcissists are naturally attracted to jobs that will gain them recognition. Narcissists also tend to be highly motivated, because their entire personality/self-esteem hinges upon success and the recognition it provides them.
The 1-2% figure is correct for the US, but that is for people with NPD that fit the DSM-IV criteria. I would imagine that there is a greater proportion of people who have some narcissistic traits but stop short of the full-blown disorder.
How much does narcissism hurt you in the real world? (Originally Posted: 10/31/2013)
Is it worse to be an alcoholic narcissist?
422
∞
unless you got deep pockets that can buy people to tolerate the narcissism, its gonna hurt you
Just don't
I'm a narcissist and its never held me back.
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