Premium
Is “Generation Me” Really More Narcissistic Than Previous Generations?
Author(s) -
Trzesniewski Kali H.,
Donnellan M. Brent,
Robins Richard W.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00508.x
Subject(s) - narcissism , psychology , interpretation (philosophy) , social psychology , personality , sample (material) , chemistry , chromatography , computer science , programming language
ABSTRACT In this commentary, we identify several methodological and conceptual issues that undermine Twenge, Konrath, Foster, Campbell, and Bushman's (this issue) claim that narcissism levels have been rising over the past few decades. Specifically, we discuss (a) the limitations of convenience samples for making inferences about generational differences, (b) our failure to replicate other cross‐temporal meta‐analytic findings using data from a nationally representative sample, and (c) issues surrounding the interpretation of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. It is important to consider these issues given the extensive media coverage of Twenge et al.'s claim that today's youth are particularly narcissistic, which has wide‐ranging implications for how this generation of young adults views itself and is viewed by society at large.