Application of the Theory of Narcissism to Consumer Capitalism - Essay Example

?Narcissism is a term that has been derived from the clinical in the year of 1899. Initially it de d the attitude of an individual “who treats his own body in the same way in which the body of a sexual object is ordinarily treated” (Sandler, Fonagy & Person, 2012, p.3). The person generally spends a long time looking at her own body and doing activities like fondling one’s own self until she obtains complete satisfaction. The conception of narcissism occupies an important position in the psychoanalytic theory. Like the theory of identification, narcissism also brought profound changes in the process of psychoanalysis. Sigmund Freud had made numerous references to the concept of narcissism and assigned multiple meanings to this term. In the year of 1909 or 1910 Freud had introduced the notion of narcissism into psychoanalytic theory. This concept first rose from the study of homosexuality by Freud and his interest grew further in making further research of the “psychotic states” (Sandler, Fonagy & Person, 2012, p.109). In this paper the issues of pattern of consumer behavior in cases of narcissism, their dependence upon public admiration and the effect of commodification of females due to consumer capitalism are discussed. This paper deals with Lasch’s application of the theory of narcissism to consumer capitalism and shows the extent of its effect on the American consumerism. Narcissism: An important aspect of psychoanalysis The theory of narcissism has become a problematic issue in the theory of psychoanalysis. Primary narcissism defines the “moment of loss the child experiences when the unitary bliss of the womb is broken by birth” (Gaitanidis, & Curk, 2007, p. 134). The secondary narcissism, according to Freud, is a manifestation of the normal or primary narcissism that exists among all individuals and is found in patients with pathological disorders. Lasch has strongly maintained the distinction between primary and secondary narcissism in compliance with the theories of Freud. Lasch has indicated that families play a big role in the process of the construction of one’s personality. Family is the foundational site in which children learn to identify their own limitations and get accustomed with the desires that other people in the society have. The reprinted edition of the “Culture of Narcissim” by Christopher Lasch contains an ‘afterword’ in which the author has emphasized that acceptance of one’s own limitations “in the spirit of gratitude and contrition” (Gaitanidis, & Curk, 2007, p. 134) leads one to achieve happiness. Attempts to annul the limitations of the self, only increases one’s dissatisfaction and mental disturbance. Psychoanalysis further confirms this ancient religious belief. Narcissists are a part of the absorptive class According to Zarembka, the commodity narcissist is basically a product of the person’s “existence within the absorptive class” (Zarembka, 2009, p. 121). Although narcissists are also created by nature they are more a product of the society in which they belong and they have the characteristics of the Freudian concepts of narcissism. The narcissists have the “capacity to maintain a relatively positive self-image through a variety of self-regulation, affect-regulation, and interpersonal processes, and it underlies individuals’ need for validation and admiration, as well as the motivation to overtly and covertly seek out self-enhancement experiences from the social environment” (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 31). It is normal for any individual to strive to perceive herself “in a positive light” (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 31) and to desire to gain experiences of self-enhancement. But such desires exceed the aspects of normal personality when the desires for validation and admiration become intense and beyond the scope of imposing regulatory measures. These people lose the ability to regulate their self esteem, emotions and interpersonal behavior once faced with disappointment concerning their own self. Pathological narcissism heightens their sensitivity to the troughs and crests of daily life and relationships with the people around them (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 32). Consumer behavior among the narcissists Consumer behavior poses an important part of an individual’s day to day life and strongly counts for her sense of self. It has been recognized by Sartre that the totality of one’s possessions is reflected in the totality of his or her being. As one’s possessions are integrate with one’s concept of self, “the self is invested in material objects” (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 382). Protection, maintenance, enhancement and of one’s possessions imparts a sense of positivity among the people and consumption serves to increase the self-positivity. This motivates individuals to make purchases so that they can view “themselves as competent, moral and lovable” (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 382). The purchases of commodities distinguished with brand names appear to increase one’s standard and prestige in the society. The narcissistic self represents a certain type of self which is very likely to get augmented through conspicuous consumption. Narcissistic personality favors symbolic products A survey conducted on some participants to test the hypothesis that narcissists prefer symbolic products comparatively more than non narcissists, yielded the result that supported the hypothesis made. In the study the participants were supplied with a set of two booklets. The first one had “the Narcissistic Personality Inventory” (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 384). The second one contained pictorial examples of four types of products, such as, “mobile phones, MP3 players, hair conditioners and sunglasses” (Campbell & Miller, 2011, p. 384) along with their descriptions. On each page there were two examples of each of the products, one representing superior attractiveness with inferior practicability and the other one of better practicability with inferior attractiveness. The participants were asked to choose one of the product examples that the person would be most likely to buy, after looking at the pictures and reading the descriptions. The result yielded by comparing the scores of both the booklets answered by each participant suggested that compared to the non narcissists, the narcissists favor symbolic products more, and do not emphasize upon the practical utility of the products. From other experiences it can be concluded with substantial evidence that narcissists put on a more organized and neat appearance. They are commonly found to wear stylish outfits which are quite costly, in greater frequency than non narcissists. The narcissist females seem to spend more time and money on their make ups and make show of skin relative to non narcissist females. Advertisement: A key to survival in capitalist market Advertisements are made as a part of promotions and serve as an important sales boosting strategy in the free market system of capitalist economy. These advertisements are made not with a presumption of building a direct relationship between the ad and the sale or a direct contract between the ad and the potential customers, rather the ads are a strategic method of drawing attention of the target group of customers towards the products that they are likely to consume. It acts like a general but effective reminder to them that increase their possibility to buy those products. The advertisements, although are not intended to make forceful appeal to the people to make purchases, are presented in an attractive way on the basis of enough research made about the market condition and the preferences of the people. The pictures, videos and tag lines are mostly placeless and timeless. The scenario or backgrounds in which the shots are taken, and the people or celebrities that are employed in the making of the advertisements, produce an abstract idea in the minds of the audience who neither judge the feasibility of the situations depicted nor make any conscious attempt to reach the standard of the livelihoods maintained by the celebrities; but are affected enormously by the visual effect of the advertisement and think in terms of achieving the product in show that would improve their appearance or push them up along the scale of comparison with the other members of the community (Schudson, 1984, pp. 1-2). The kind of image installed in the minds of the viewers work its way towards the development of the desire to acquire the kind of products and services that are put on display. It is natural for an individual, who is assumed to have a normal personality, to nurture a desire for such goods and services. It is also not unnatural for him to consider a possibility of betterment towards the self by making use of these products. Often, the person sets before her an example of the products that she aspires to purchase even if she lacks the actual purchasing power. However, the people with narcissistic tendencies often feel compelled to have these products in personal possession. They judge the utility of the good in terms of the competitiveness of its sale in the market, the value of the product being judged more by its flaunt-ability rather than p[practical utility. The capitalist market makes superb use of such thinking process of the people and promotes it further through the strategies it conceives. An example: ‘The American way of Life’ The marketing procedures of most goods and services in the USA refer directly or indirectly to the nation as a whole. Although it is not always intended to inspire a patriotic feeling, it establishes a particular sense of belongingness that should be enhanced by doing the deeds done by Americans in general. Many of the advertising slogans emphasize the “American way of life” (Schudson, 1984, p. 5) and provokes the narcissist people in making choices that would polish their American-ness. They identify themselves with the trend prevailing at the particular point of time and seek vigorous admiration for the superiority of their own self. This increases conspicuous consumption considerably and further acts as promoter of consumer capitalism. In the stated social and economic condition, consumer demand gets manipulated in a large scale and in a coordinated fashion that yields advantage to the sellers. Commodification of women in the era of consumer capitalism The ideologies of fashion and beauty have long been making the display of female figures in the marketing of commodities. The women’s appearances in such promotional events and advertisements results “in commodification of women in the modern consumer culture” (Bagatur, 2007, p. iv). The women act in both ways, as a consumer and also as commodities. The display of women in the promotion of beauty products in particular enhance the possibility of the narcissistic population to embrace the products by attaching greater value to them, relative to the non narcissist population. The narcissist women tend to appear more visually attractive as voted by the others and also they themselves savor the feeling of superiority and self esteem. They express their desire to become socially lovable through the presentation of their self and any lack of admiration scales up their desire to make comparison to the females that are put on display for the advertisement of the products. Conclusion The emergence of the United States from the long span of recession has casts effect upon the economic condition and business environment. In this situation, the application of the strategies of consumer capitalism has been applied by the business houses and has succesfully provided a boost to the economy. The narcissistic tendencies of a big proportion of the people have acted as an added advantage. “Narcissism is a symptomatic trait of self-identity in the phase of modernity” (Laughey, 2007, p. 98). Consumer capitalism brings about the flawed projection of self-love and encourages individualism. People with narcissistic tendencies are mainly concerned with the protection of their own self esteem and rely upon the views about their own self, not accounting much for the feelings of the others. Lasch has attributed importance to the personality disorder of narcissism since in his thoughts narcissism leads people to have greater dependence upon the corporations and other individuals for self esteem. The narcissists rise to prominence in business organizations which in turn provides them with the approval that they need for the validation of their self esteem. Lasch has proposed in this context, the ‘culture of narcissism’ which has become a part of the bigger American culture and is supported by it (Battani, Hall & Neitz, , p. 28). References 1. Battani, M., Hall, J. R. & Neitz, M. J. (2012). Sociology On Culture. Routledge 2. Bagatur, S. (2007), Endangering consumption: commodification of women through print media with specific reference to the Turkish case, retrieved on January 16, 2013 from https://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609131/index.pdf 3. Campbell, W. K. & Miller, J. D. (2011). The Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Findings, and Treatments. John Wiley & Sons. 4. Gaitanidis, A. & Curk, P. (2007). Narcissism: A Critical Reader. Karnac Books. 5. Laughey, D. (2007).Key Themes in Media Theory. McGraw-Hill International. 6. Sandler, S., Fonagy, P. & Person, E. S. (2012). Freud's "On Narcissism: An Introduction". Karnac Books. 7. Schudson, M. (1984), Advertising as Capitalist Realism, Advertising, The Uneasy Persuasion: It’s Dubious Impact on American Society, retrieved on January 16, 2013 from http://www.trinityhistory.org/AP/Advertising%20as%20Capitalist%20Realism.pdf 8. Zarembka, P. (2009). Why Capitalism Survives Crises: The Shock Absorbers. 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