We’ve all experienced glory-seeking colleagues, abusive bosses, team members who focus obsessively about their woes or customers with self-control issues. Maybe you’ve even experienced all of those. Some of those troublesome people could be narcissists or have executive control problems.
Quick recap: What are narcissists and executive control problems?
In the post, The Curse of the Narcissistic Boss, we reviewed a research study on the impact of narcissism and executive control on abusive supervision.
Narcissism is a personality trait in which people feel superior, want adulation from others and seek power. Not surprisingly, narcissists showed a stronger tendency to be abusive to peers and direct reports.
The research study also looked at executive control. They defined executive control as combination of brain-based tendencies including inhibition. Essentially a supervisor lacking executive control could be impulsive and lack self-control. To measure this brain-based tendency, they used electrodes and brain imaging.
The TED organization provides some useful resources to go deeper on these topics.
Ted Ed Lesson: Definition of Narcissism
This TED-Ed lesson (4.54 minutes) by W. Keith Campbell called The psychology of narcissism covers the definition of narcissism. Using an engaging animated format, the video explains the root of the word, the set of traits that comprise it and explains the psychological impact.
Specifically, the video describes both grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism. They also address the 1-2% of the population that have a serious Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Fortunately, the video ends on an optimistic note. It indicates that narcissists can learn new behaviors and improve relationships.
TED Talk: Brain plasticity
Continuing the theme of improvement, Michael Merzenich gave a 2004 TED Talk (23 minutes) to discuss brain plasticity. His talk is titled Growing evidence of brain plasticity and you can link to the transcript of the presentation here.
Brain plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to change and learn over time. Human brains are built for change. They are shaped by the environment, experiences, learning and other factors.
Brain plasticity allows for narcissists to change their behavior. Even people who struggle with brain-based executive control issues can improve and change behavior.
Research mapping a brain
In his talk, Merzenich discusses brain development and behavior. The most relevant section to this topic is between 7:18 – 12:00 minutes. In this section, he recounts a study in which a monkey learned a new task requiring finger dexterity. Scientists monitored the monkey’s neurons in its brain. The neuron mapping revealed a change in the monkey’s physical brain. Specifically, the physical changes occurred in the part of the brain responsible for finger control. As the monkey learned, its brain physically changed.
Considering behavior, like executive control, from a neuro-psychological foundation adds a fascinating perspective to the research. It suggests that even hard-wired traits like executive control can be changed.
TED Talk: More brain stuff
If you want more fascinating brain information, check out this TED 2008 talk (3.53 minutes) by Christopher deCharms called A look inside the brain in real time. Focused on chronic pain, it shows some interesting graphical representations of the brain and activation of different areas.
Understanding personality traits like narcissism and brain-based traits like executive control help us diagnose and solve for problems like abusive supervisors. We need to understand the people causing the problems and help them grow and adapt.
