Donald Capps poignantly describes the narcissistic personality based on the official definition of the narcissistic personality disorder in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,
Having an exaggerated or grandiose sense of self importance; as having a remarkable absence of interest in and empathy for other persons; as eager to obtain admiration and approval from others; as entertaining fantasies of unrealistic goals; as lacking emotional depth, and unwilling or unable to understand the complex emotions of other people; as angry and resentful, but often concealing such resentment beneath depressive moods, as deficient in genuine feelings of sadness and compassions; as cold and indifferent, icy and unresponsive; as manipulative, exploitative, and unprincipled; as having strong feelings of insecurity and inferiority, alternating, but in no predictable pattern, with feelings of greatness and omnipotent fantasies; and as lacking enthusiasm and joy in the pursuit of goals, but reflecting, instead, a driven, pleasureless approach to goals, which are fueled by an insatiable ambition. Interpersonal relationships are extremely unstable due to a tendency either to overidealize or to devalue a relationship on an alternating basis. The other is expected to respond to one’s desires and wants, but has no right to expect similar treatment in return. (Donald Capps, The Depleted Self, 1993 pages 14-15)
Not all narcissistic manifests all the traits describe above. Ben Bursten classified narcissitic personality into four types: craving, paranoid, manipulative and phallic. (Capps, p.20).
The craving type is the “needy”, “dependent” and “passive-aggressive” type. They are clingy and demanding. They are not trying to wean from dependency; rather they are desperately seeking dependence (Capps p.21). The void is deeply rooted in the self and thus no amount of need-satisfaction can fill. Their hunger for emotional nourishment is like a bottomless pit.
The paranoid type is characterized by hypersensitivity, rigidity, unwarranted suspicion, jealousy, envy, excessive self-importance and a tendency to blame others and ascribe evil motives to them. They are generally argumentative, love to find fault, complain and easily get jealous. They are filled with suspicion and self-hatred.
The manipulative type is characterized by lying, little apparent guilt, transient and superficial relationships. They tend to manipulate their influence on others. They do not cease manipulating after they have got what they desire for manipulation is self-defining for this trait of personality.
The phallic type is most often male and is characterized by the need to parade his masculinity. This type of narcissistic personality tends to show off his marchioness. He will make use of his body as an instrument to acquire attention and admiration.
The narcissistic self will remain narcissistic because they have to go for repairs in order to recover their self-esteem. However, the repairs are symptomatic of their pathologies. As what Donald Capps has pointed out, the repair takes the form of doing more of what they had been doing, even though this was what got them into their current state of vulnerability. Thus, the craving personality craves more, the paranoid personality becomes even more suspicious, the manipulative personality manipulates more, and the phallic personality engages in greater self-promotion. (Capps, p.27). Consequently, their own efforts to repair are in fact counterproductive.
