New Research Confirms Rise in Narcissism

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse, 1903.

Narcissism continues to rise in American society, along with hostility and anger. The latest research to support the growth of this psychological disorder concerns popular song lyrics.

University of Kentucky psychologist Nathan DeWall and his colleagues recently analyzed lyrics from the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from 1980 to 2007. They found a statistically significant trend toward narcissism in the music, with the words "I" and "me" gradually replacing "we" and "us."

Narcissism and outward hostility have been linked by psychology research in the past, and DeWall's analysis shows that it's linked in song lyrics as well. "In the early '80s lyrics, love was easy and positive, and about two people," psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego University says. "The recent songs are about what the individual wants, and how she or he has been disappointed or wronged."

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a beautiful and beloved youth who loved none but himself. He wasted away staring at his reflection in the surface of a pond. According to several new studies, more and more of today's youths are developing the rather unattractive quality exhibited by Narcissus in the fable.

Click here for the complete article.

'Explosive Disorder' Fuels Road Rage

Scientists are finally putting a clinical name on road rage. They say much of the irrational fury shown on today’s highways is a symptom of “intermittent explosive disorder.”

According to researchers at the University of Chicago, people have stronger reactions to being slighted than to being treated with generosity, which is why traffic troubles can cause some people to detonate in anger.

"For instance in driving, if you are kind and let someone go in front of you, that driver may be considerate in response. But if you cut someone off, that person may react very aggressively, and this could escalate to road rage," said University of Chicago psychology professor Boaz Keysar. "Small slights could escalate to unbelievable, irrational feuds."

Intermittent explosive disorder is "characterized by recurrent episodes of angry and potentially violent outbursts ~ seen in cases of road rage or spousal abuse," wrote Ronald Kessler of Harvard Medical School and his colleagues.

Intermittent explosive disorder "has been found to be much more common than previously thought," they wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Attacks resulting from the disorder "are out of proportion to the social stressors triggering them" and aren't related to other mental disorders, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

"People with this disorder overreact to situations with uncontrollable rage, feel a sense of relief during the angry outburst, and then feel remorseful about their actions," Kessler and colleagues wrote.

Click here for the LiveScience article.

Doodling Shown to Enhance Recall Abilities

According to a new study published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, subjects given a doodling task while listening to a dull phone message had a 29% improved recall compared to their non-doodling counterparts.

Forty members of a research panel were asked to listen to a 2.5-minute tape giving several names of people and places and were told to write down only the names of people going to a party. Half of the participants were asked to shade in shapes on a piece of paper at the same time, but paying no attention to neatness. Participants were not asked to doodle naturally so that they would not become self-conscious. None of the participants were told it was a memory test.

After the tape had finished, all participants in the study were asked to recall the eight names of the party-goers they were asked to write down, as well as eight additional place names which were included as incidental information.

The doodlers recalled on average 7.5 names of people and places compared to only 5.8 by the non-doodlers.

"If someone is doing a boring task, like listening to a dull telephone conversation, they may start to daydream," said study researcher Professor Jackie Andrade of the University of Plymouth in England. "Daydreaming distracts them from the task, resulting in poorer performance. A simple task ~ like doodling ~ may be sufficient to stop daydreaming without affecting performance on the main task."

"This study suggests that in everyday life doodling may be something we do because it helps to keep us on track with a boring task, rather than being an unnecessary distraction that we should try to resist doing," Andrade added.

Click here for the complete Medical News Today article.

Dementia Sufferers Can't Detect Sarcasm

People suffering from dementia can’t tell if someone is being sarcastic, thus sarcasm has been elevated from the lowest form of wit to a medical diagnostic device.

Australian researchers said people under 65 suffering from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) ~ the second most prevalent form of dementia ~ cannot decipher sarcasm, which helps explains some of their lack of feeling toward their caregivers.

"This is significant because if caregivers are angry, sad or depressed, the patient won't pick this up. It is often very upsetting for family members," John Hodges, one of the lead researchers, told Cosmos magazine. "Patients find it difficult to interact with people, they don't pick up on social cues, they lack empathy and they make bad judgements."

Researchers began studying the role of sarcasm in detecting FTD, because it requires a patient to spot discrepancies between a person's words and the tone of their voice, Hodges said.

Click here for the complete article in Cosmos magazine.