14 DAY TRIAL // Researchers with Ohio State University in the US claim to have come up with one very simple way to identify narcissistic folks without having to ask people to answer mind-bogglingly long and potentially dull questionnaires.
The method that these scientists believe can be used to probe the depths of the human mind in order to successfully identify those more narcissistic of the bunch boils down to asking folks just one question.
As detailed in a press release on the Ohio State University's website, the method has until now been tested on as many as 2,200 people taking part in 11 different experiments, and has proven most efficient.
Not to prolong the suspense, here is the one question that researchers say reveals just how big a narcissist your average Joe or Jane is: “To what extent do you agree with this statement: ‘I am a narcissist.’?”
Folks are supposed to answer this mind-bogglingly insightful question by rating themselves on a scale of 1 to 7, where 1 is the equivalent of “not very true of me” and 7 counts as “very true of me,” the Ohio State University specialists say.
Mind you, there is one catch. Thus, it appears that, in order for the question to work its magic and help identify narcissistic individuals, it must be accompanied by the following note: “The word ‘narcissist’ means egotistical, self-focused, and vain.”
These being said, perhaps the time is right to take a moment and let the news about this innovative method to establish how big a narcissist one person or another might be sink in. [Dramatic pause.] Now, let’s get back to business discussing the importance of this study.
In a nutshell, the Ohio State University specialists who came up with this method to pin down narcissists claim that their method can especially come in handy in situations where one wants to carry out long surveys.
They go on to explain that, as confirmed by their series of 11 experiments involving over 2,200 participants, the method yields surprisingly accurate results, chiefly because narcissists do not have any issues admitting to this personality trait.
“Our single-item scale can be useful for long surveys in which researchers are concerned about people getting fatigued or distracted while answering questions and possibly even dropping out before they are done,” explains researcher Brad Bushman.
Furthermore, “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.”
To sum up the findings of this investigation and the significance of the development of SINS (the Single Item Narcissism Scale), it seems that, in order to figure out whether a person is a narcissist or not, all one has to do is ask and trust that they will not lie about it. It is still unclear whether or not Captain Obvious was in any way involved in this research project.