APPEARANCE STATUS AND NARCISSISM AMONG ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS

Geetesh Kumar Singh 1 and Dr. Richa Rani Yadav 2 . 1. M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Department of Psychology, DAV PG College, B.H.U., Varanasi, India. 2. Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, DAV PG College, B.H.U., Varanasi, India. ...................................................................................................................... Manuscript Info Abstract ......................... ........................................................................ Manuscript History

To date, face research has focused largely on the appearance status (parlor going tendencies) and narcissism, how these variables are affecting each other. Appearance status have two basics dimensions one is associated with the parlor (Salon or Beauty Parlor) going people and other is associated with non-parlor going people, here we are interested to see whether the narcissism is high or low in parlor going people or non-parlor going people. The term narcissism involves grandiosity, a lack of empathy for other people, and a need for admiration. People with this condition are frequently described as arrogant, self-centered, manipulative, and demanding. They may also concentrate on grandiose fantasies (e.g. success, beauty, brilliance) and may be convinced that they deserve special treatment. These characteristics typically begin in early adulthood and must be consistently evident in multiple contexts, such as at work and in relationships. Finding reveals that narcissism is high in the people having parlor going tendencies, this study also reveals that men, on average, are more narcissistic than women.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….... Introduction:-
In present scenario men are becoming more conscious about their looks and grooming as indicated by the fast narrowing gap between men and women customers opting for salon services (Indian Beauty and Make-up Annual Survey, beaupal.com 2015-16). One of the major evolutions is that beauty products are no longer restricted to women; men have taken to grooming and preening as well. The rise in the number of men's salon these days , bears testament to this fact. Services like manicure, pedicure, facial, and hair styling, which were once exclusively for women, have become part and parcel of men's grooming routine too (Retrieved from, cosmotechexpoindia). The survey also indicates a rise in men's population availing salon services and challenges past reports which claimed that 85 per cent of salon revenues come from the women population. Survey asserts (beaupal.com) these figures may not stand true in today's times and estimates that men's population may have risen to contribute as high as 20-25 per cent of a salon's revenue. Imagine a country where everyone acts like a reality show contestant obsessed with power, status and appearance, and is comfortable manipulating others for their personal gain. -I'm here to win, not make friends,‖ would be the national motto. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) defines NPD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 (DSM-5; APA, 2013) as -a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy and behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts‖ (p. 645). Although this definition of narcissism is linked to the clinical conceptualization of NPD, the personality attribute of narcissism exists on a continuum that ranges from mild to extremely maladaptive manifestations (Raskin & Hall, 1979;Samuel & Widiger, 2008) and is frequently investigated by social and personality psychologists as a personality trait, not as a personality disorder (e.g., Miller & Campbell, 2008).
Buffalo, N.Y. (March, 2015) -With three decades of data from more than 475,000 participants, a new study on narcissism from the University at Buffalo School of Management reveals that men, on average, are more narcissistic than women. Forthcoming in the journal Psychological Bulletin, the study compiled 31 years of narcissism research and found that men consistently scored higher in narcissism across multiple generations and regardless of age.
-Narcissism is associated with various interpersonal dysfunctions, including an inability to maintain healthy longterm relationships, unethical behavior and aggression,‖ says lead author Emily Grijalva, PhD, assistant professor of organization and human resources in the UB School of Management.
NPD has a high rate of comorbidity with other mental disorders (Paris & Joel, 2014). Individuals with NPD are prone to bouts of depression, often meeting criteria for co-occurring depressive disorders (Berger & FK, 2014). In addition, NPD is associated with bipolar disorder, anorexia, and substance use disorders, especially cocaine. As far as other personality NPD has a high rate of comorbidity with other mental disorders (Paris & Joel, 2014). Individuals with NPD are prone to bouts of depression, often meeting criteria for co-occurring depressive disorders (Berger & FK, 2014).

Appearance and Narcissism:-
Several academic studies have found evidence that people with dark triad personalities are judged as slightly betterlooking than average on first sight (Carter, Gregory Louis, Anne C. Campbell, Steven Muncer, 2013). Two studies have determined that this is because people with dark triad traits put more effort into their appearance, and the difference in attractiveness disappears when "dressed down" with bland clothing and without make up (Holtzman& Nicholas, 2012). Two more studies found that only narcissistic subjects were judged to be better-looking, but the other dark triad traits of machiavellianism and psychopathy had no correlation with looks (Back, Schmuckle & Egloff, 2010).
Dr. Peter Rentfrow found that narcissism does have a distinct physical signature, and can be detected from physical appearance alone, a psychologist at the University of Cambridge, and one of the team that carried out the study (2008).
For women, key markers included showing cleavage, having plucked eyebrows and wearing make-up. For men, a muscular physique was rated as a key indicator, whereas wearing glasses was a sign of not being narcissistic (Peter Rentfrow, 2008).
-Our exploratory analyses suggest that narcissism is associated with a neat, organised appearance, flashy, revealing clothing, greater adornment like make-up, and expensive, stylish clothes,‖ say the researchers, whose study is to appear in the Journal of Research in Personality (2008).
These results suggest that narcissists do seem to alter their appearance, consciously or unconsciously, in a way that reflects their appearance-oriented motives.
The image that narcissists create appears to capture the unique constellation of personality traits characteristic of narcissism. Narcissism is associated with vanity, exhibitionism, and status-seeking (S Vazire, Peter J. Rentfrow & Samuel D. Gosling, 2008).

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The findings show that these values are reflected in narcissists' physical appearance -in the clothes they wear, the effort they put into their appearance, and their less-inhibited display of their bodies.

Group differences (Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy):-
The most pronounced group difference is in gender: numerous studies have shown that men tend to score higher than women on narcissism ( , although the magnitude of the difference varies across traits and the measurement instruments used. One interesting finding related to narcissism-albeit one based on non-representative samples-is that while men continue to score higher than women, it seems that the gender gap has shrunk considerably when comparing cohort data from 1992 and 2006. More specifically, the aforementioned findings indicate that there has been a general increase in levels of narcissism over time among college students of both sexes, but comparatively, the average level of narcissism in women has increased more than the average level of narcissism in men (Twenge, Jean; Konrath, Sarah; Foster, Joshua; Campbell, Keith; Bushman & Brad, 2008).
There is far less information available on race differences in dark triad traits, and the data that is available is not representative of the population at-large. For instance, a 2008 research study using undergraduate participants found that Caucasians reported higher levels of narcissism relative to Asians (Trzesniewski, K.H.; Donnellan& M.B., 2008). Similarly, another 2008 study using undergraduate participants found that Caucasians tended to score slightly higher than non-Caucasians on Machiavellianism (Dahling, J.J.; Whitaker, B.G.; Levy & P.E., 2008). When attempting to discern whether there are ethnic differences in psychopathy, researchers have addressed the issue using different measurement instruments (e.g., the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale and The Psychopathic Personality Inventory), but no race differences have been found regardless of the measure used (Lander, G.C.; Lutz-Zois, C.J.; Rye, M.S.; Goodnight & J.A., 2012). Additionally, when comparing Caucasians and African Americans from correctional, substance abuse, and psychiatric samples-groups with typically high prevalence rates of psychopathy-researchers again failed to find any meaningful group differences in psychopathy. In summary, there is some sparse evidence that Caucasians tend to score higher on measures of narcissism and Machiavellianism than other ethnicities, while no evidence exists for race differences in Psychopathy

Instruments:-
The survey instrument consists twenty-three question (exclusive of demographic questions) paper pencil survey, comprised of two distinct sections includes first is check-list and second is Narcissistic Personality Inventory, instruments are described below.

Procedure:-
The survey questionnaire test (Check-list, NPI-16) was administered to the participants with proper instruction. Data was collected and scoring was done with the help of scoring keys. Then the scores of participants were tabulated for the further analysis to make inferences from the data by using appropriate statistical package.

Statistical Analysis:
First the Descriptive Statistics was used to analyze the participants' minimum and maximum scores, mean and standard deviation after that Two-Way Analysis of Variance used to analyze main and interaction effects of Age status, Gender status and Appearance status on Narcissism and for analysis of the data Statistical significance was established at the level of P ≤ 0.05. The data were processed using IBM SPSS 24.0 software.

Results:-
In the present research work data analysis has been done with the help of descriptive and interactional (ANOVA) statistics. Results as per statistical analysis are as follows:  Table-2 show that between Gender status [F-ratio (1,176) = 5.87, P < 0.05] was found significant at 0.05 level. Thus Gender status is partially affecting variable Narcissism and Graph-1 represents that mean score of male on Narcissism is higher than female. Table-1 also disclose that Appearance status is profoundly affecting Narcissism and Graph-1 display that Narcissism is higher in parlor going than non-parlor going. Mean and S.D. of Parlor Going

Discussion:-
This exploratory study seeks to examine the main and interaction effect of Narcissism with appearance status (Parlor going/Non parlor going) among male-female adolescents and young adults. Fundamentally, the finding reveals that men, on average, are more narcissistic than women. This result suggests that compared with women, men are more likely to exploit others and to believe that they themselves are special and therefore entitled to privileges and compared with women men exhibit more assertiveness, motivation to lead, and a desire for power and authority over others. This finding is consistent in their practical significance with previous studies conducted by Buffalo

Conclusion:-
Because this study functions as an exploratory foundation to include the construct of appearance status (Parlor going/Non parlor going) among male-female adolescents and young adults as a potential variable in Narcissism, it serves to contribute to the ongoing investigation into the relationships between Narcissism and Appearance categories (Parlor going/Non parlor going, Adolescents/Young adults and Male/Female). Fundamentally, the finding reveals that men, on average, are more narcissistic than women. This result suggests that compared with women, men are more likely to exploit others and to believe that they themselves are special and therefore entitled to privileges and compared with women men exhibit more assertiveness, motivation to lead, and a desire for power and authority over others, finding also reveals that narcissism is high in the people having parlor going tendencies, (Buffalo, N.Y., 2015; Emmons, 1984; Raskin and Terry,1988). This research does contribute some indication as to why Parlor going individuals report high Narcissism, why young adults are more agreeable than adolescents, why females more suffers with anxiety, anger, envy, guilt, and depressed mood than male and so many questions. It is hoped that the contribution of the present research, in combination with prior and future studies like it, will promote a more thorough understanding of narcissistic personality and how it operates within the relational domain.

Limitations:-
Like all research that uses self-report measures, the results of this study may have been affected by common methods bias including social desirability bias and consistency motif. Small sample used in the present study limit the generalization of present findings and male female ratio in this study was also unequal.