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Study Finds Entertainment Stars are Narcissistic

Not that anybody needed a proof, but now the entertainment industry experts and fans can be sure: celebrities are more in love with themselves than the average person. That`s the conclusion of a new study by Drew Pinsky and S. Mark Young of the University of Southern California, in which participated 200 celebrities. The study conclusions will appear in the Journal of Research in Personality. The study found that it`s not the entertainment industry that turns stars into narcissists, but, it suggests, the self-adoring seek jobs in show business.

The study, whose subjects were all guests on Pinsky`s sex-advice radio show, found that reality TV stars were the most narcissistic of all celebrities. Female stars were also more likely than the male ones to show signs of narcissistic qualities. Jeremy Ritzlin, a longtime Hollywood psychologist who has not seen the study says: It`s "common sense" that celebrities are narcissists. Narcissism is really being in love with yourself. So it would be natural for narcissists to gravitate toward the spotlight, where other people will also think highly of them."

According to Pinsky, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at USC`s Keck School of Medicine, narcissists yearn for attention, are overconfident, behave unpredictably and lack empathy. "However, they are well-liked, especially on first meeting, are extroverted and perform well in public," added Pinsky, who has hosted the syndicated radio show "Loveline" for 20 years.