<p>Abstract</p><p>The aim of this present study was to investigate whether there is a relationship between birth order and the personality trait narcissism using 181 individuals from Finnveden High School in Värnamo (115 females, 60 males, mean age 17, sd=0,94), in the context of the proposal of Sulloway (1996) that personality is influenced by the specialized nich-es siblings adopt in the quest for access to parental resources. A questionnaire which in-cludes Narcissistic Personality Inventory test, Birth order test and also Rosenberg’s self-esteem test in order to investigate if it might has an impact on narcissistic personality trait, was used. Results showed that there was no significant relationship between birth order and narcissism, however, a significant relationship between narcissism and self-esteem was found. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between narcissism and the individual’s relationship with the mother. In conclusion, there was no direct rela-tionship between birth order and narcissism. Our hypothesis was falsified and no support for Sulloways theory was found.</p>

Despite the fact that there seems to be no direct link between the works of Nikolai Gogol and those of Oscar Wilde, Gogol’s novella, Портрет (The Portrait) and Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, share many elements in common, most notably the device of the predatory portrait. This report explores the parallels that exist between these two texts and argues that they mutually derive from elements found in Goethe’s Faust and the trope of the literary vampire. / text

The literature claims that, whilst hindering normal narcissistic development, a family of origin characterised by high levels of cohesion and low levels of adaptability, promotes individual proficiency in interpersonal skills. Coupled with unconscious motivations for interpersonal need gratification, a subsequent predisposition towards a career choice in psychotherapy is likely. This study set out to test these assumptions by comparing family of origin types, levels of narcissism and career self-efficacy in postgraduate Masters psychology students, postgraduate final year law students and final year electronic engineering students currently enroled in University of Natal training programmes (N=85). Informed by the literature, this study hypothesised that trainee psychotherapists would report more extreme family of origin types, predict career self-efficacy in the direction of social occupations and display higher levels of narcissism than students in other fields of specialisation. The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Terry, 1988), FACES III of the Circumplex Model (Olson, McCubbin, Barnes, Larsen, Muxen & Wilson, 1985) and the Career Self-Efficacy Scale (Matsui & Tsukamoto, 1991) were utilised to assess the dimensions of narcissism, family of origin and career self-efficacy respectively. This study was unable to find significant connections between family of origin, narcissism and career self-efficacy, thereby failing to provide empirical support for the literature's claims. Results have been discussed in terms of theoretical and practical implications and attempts have been made to account for the general lack of significant findings. Limitations of this study's research design and recommendations for future research in this area have been offered. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1996.

Foundational to almost any Hitchcock film is the idea of the voyeur: the (un)natural inclination to want to look upon the private, obscene, and potentially grizzly instances in other peoples’ lives. Such inclinations are typically satiated in secret and subsequently denied as something we desire. The voyeuristic act may be connected to narcissism in that we are seduced by our own fears and inner hells projected onto the watched ‘other.’ This kind of projection not only perpetuates our sense of denial of what are our own inclinations, but it also precipitates the potential for de-humanization and feelings of emptiness in that we detach from ourselves. The phenomenological paradox to such detachment is that the more we insist we are safe and self-enclosed here while the ‘other’ remains at bay there, the more we are convinced that we know ourselves and are connected to ourselves, when arguably, we couldn’t be more detached from ourselves and our humanity. And by not really knowing ourselves as well as we thought – as we might infer from a kind of ‘doppelganger’ or ‘doubles’ reading of Strangers on a Train, for example – is how fear is born, both in a Hitchcock film and in life generally. How then, might we come to truly know or face our fear if estrangement would seem an inherent quality to our very experience of it?

Foundational to almost any Hitchcock film is the idea of the voyeur: the (un)natural inclination to want to look upon the private, obscene, and potentially grizzly instances in other peoples’ lives. Such inclinations are typically satiated in secret and subsequently denied as something we desire. The voyeuristic act may be connected to narcissism in that we are seduced by our own fears and inner hells projected onto the watched ‘other.’ This kind of projection not only perpetuates our sense of denial of what are our own inclinations, but it also precipitates the potential for de-humanization and feelings of emptiness in that we detach from ourselves. The phenomenological paradox to such detachment is that the more we insist we are safe and self-enclosed here while the ‘other’ remains at bay there, the more we are convinced that we know ourselves and are connected to ourselves, when arguably, we couldn’t be more detached from ourselves and our humanity. And by not really knowing ourselves as well as we thought – as we might infer from a kind of ‘doppelganger’ or ‘doubles’ reading of Strangers on a Train, for example – is how fear is born, both in a Hitchcock film and in life generally. How then, might we come to truly know or face our fear if estrangement would seem an inherent quality to our very experience of it?

Esta tese investiga as representações de maternidade em mulheres situadas na configuração monoparental feminina da contemporaneidade, analisando as implicações dessas significações no exercício da maternidade. Aborda as relações entre os significados, as atribuições da maternidade e a cultura, destacando as variações nas significações do ser mãe, atreladas aos deslocamentos dos sentidos do ser mulher, no curso do processo civilizador. Investiga as representações da maternidade para compreender a subjetividade da mulher-mãe na cultura contemporânea e os modos dessa exercer a função educativa no contexto monoparental, entendendo a centralidade do Desejo da Mãe na subjetivação do filho, na transmissão da ordem simbólica e na construção da sua cidadania. A pesquisa foi realizada com cinco mulheres sem cônjuge, com filhos, através de entrevistas semiabertas, sendo esse recurso empregado desde o campo conceitual da Psicanálise. A metodologia adotada foi a da pesquisa psicanalítica, em que o método freudiano de investigação dirigiu a escuta e interpretação das falas dos sujeitos. Para analisar essas falas, foram destacados elementos fundamentais desse grupo cultural, emergentes nos discursos das mulheres: a mãe, o filho e o pai. A base conceitual da Psicanálise sustenta a interpretação dos discursos das mães sobre o tema da maternidade, onde o narcisismo, a feminilidade, o complexo de Édipo e o Desejo de Mãe foram os eixos teóricos interpretativos principais, tomados na análise da subjetividade feminina. Na leitura e compreensão dessa temática, também foi realizado um diálogo com outras disciplinas das Ciências Humanas. A tese indica que os significados da maternidade e os modos de ocupação do lugar parental materno dependem das vivências narcísicas, identificatórias, edípicas e da economia de gozo da mulher, em conjunção com as expectativas culturais sobre parentalidade, filiação e conjugalidade. Em relação a essas questões, o estudo aponta a presença de pontos de tensão nas experiências das mães situadas na dobradiça, isto é, na transição da modernidade para a pós-modernidade. Os relatos permitem dizer que a Função Paterna inscrita na mulher, o pai simbólico da mãe, é o que torna possível a limitação da onipotência materna na configuração monoparental, assim como afirmar ser o pai real um importante agente na regulação da economia libidinal nessas famílias. Este estudo questiona o suposto da emergência de um matriarcado no laço social contemporâneo e o declínio da Função Paterna, assinalando que as mudanças da posição da mulher na cultura não implicam a realização da fantasia da mulher toda. Por outro lado, aponta uma possível mudança na economia pulsional das mulheres, naquilo que concerne ao gozo Outro, na maternidade. / This thesis investigates the representations of motherhood in women situated in the contemporary female single parent family configuration, analyzing the implications of these significations in the practice of motherhood. It approaches the relations among significances, motherhood attributions and culture, highlighting the variations in the significations of being a mother, linked to the displacements of the meanings of being a woman, along the civilizing process. It investigates the representations of motherhood in order to understand the subjectivity of the woman-mother in the contemporary culture and the ways they perform the educative function in the single parent context, understanding the centrality of Mother’s Wish in the subjectivation of the child, in the transmission of the symbolic order and in the construction of their citizenship. The research was developed with five women, no spouse, with children, by the means of semi-open interviews, being this resource used from the perspective of the conceptual field of Psychoanalysis. The methodology adopted was the psychoanalytic research, in which the listening and interpretation of the subjects’ speech was guided by Freud’s method of investigation. In order to analyze these speeches, fundamental elements of this cultural group, emerging from the women’s discourses, were highlighted: the mother, the child and the father. The conceptual basis of Psychoanalysis gives support to the interpretation of the discourses of these mothers about motherhood, where narcissism, femininity, the Oedipus complex and the Mother’s Wish were the main interpretative theoretical axes, taken in the analysis of female subjectivity. In the reading and understanding of this issue, a dialogue with other subjects of the Human Sciences was also developed. The thesis indicates that the significations of motherhood and the modes of occupation of the mother’s parental place depend on narcissistic, identification and oedipal experiences of the woman’s jouissance economy, associated with cultural expectations in relation to parenthood, filiation and conjugability. In relation to these questions, the study points to the presence of tension points in the experiences of mothers situated on the hinge, that is, in the transition from Modernity to Post-Modernity. From the reports, it is possible to say that the Paternal Function inscribed in the woman, the mother’s symbolic father, is what makes the limitation of maternal omnipotence possible in the single parent configuration, as well as to assert that the real father is an important agent in the regulation of the libidinal economy in these families. This study questions the supposed emergence of a matriarchy in the contemporary social bond and the decreasing of Paternal Function, pointing out that the changes of woman’s position in the culture don’t imply the coming true of the whole-woman fantasy. On the other hand, it points to a possible change in women’s drive economy, concerning the Other-jouissance, in motherhood.

Diploma thesis "Sex on a plate: Food porn on Czech food blogs" explores the link between food and sex. It argues that this connection is deeply rooted in our culture and nowadays it is reflected in food porn circulating on social media. The aim of this thesis is not only pointig out the connection between food and sex but also demonstrate that "porn" in food porn is well justified and not at all coincidental. The phenomenon of food porn is also set in the context of a contemporary trend of online sharing. The theoretical part explores the relationship between people and food with emphasis on the differences between eating habits of men and women. Furthermore, the thesis draws attention to the similarities between food porn and sexual pornography. In the theoretical part of this thesis, I also comment on the trend of online sharing and digital narcisism. The second half of the thesis presents the chosen methodology, its design and my analysis using grounded theory, a method of qualitative research.

The phenomenon of alienation is closely related to the current morality crisis as it affects the very core of man's being. It appears that this phenomenon is not only a contemporary problem. It is as old as civilization itself, although its manifestation had taken on different forms in different eras. In this study alienation is analysed in time perspective. The following exponents pertaining to this phenomenon are examined closely: Plotinus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Fromm and the contemporary society. In the contemporary situation alienation manifests in various ways within the family and society. The disintegration of the family is escalating. More children are abused in a childhostile society. The generation gap is widening and suicide amongst teenagers is increasing. Man becomes more lonely and experiences an identity crisis from which he tries to escape by means of narcissism. Possible contributing factors to the above-mentioned are secularisation, nihilism, urbanisation and the negative influence of science and technology. The need of contemporary society cannot be realized without knowledge pertaining to the nature and essential characteristics of alienation. An accountable mode of thought grounded in time and space can be utilised towards bringing man to his senses. In attempting to establish authentic thought and accompaniment the reflective mode of thought can be implemented by the agogoque to take a stand against the degraded view o( man and world. This could result in man regaining a sense of security and could possibly lead to establishing an authentic world-view, mode of thought and accompaniment. / Die aktualiteit van die ontheemdingsverskynsel hang ten nouste met die moraliteitskrisis saam waarin die eietydse beskawing horn bevind, want dit raak die mens in sy diepste wese. Die ontheemdingsverskynsel is egter nie net 'n eietydse probleem nie, maar manifesteer verskillend in verskillende tydperke en dateer sover as die ontstaan van die beskawing self terug. Hierdie studie word vanuit 'n tydsperspektief belig. Die volgende eksponente met betrekking tot hierdie verskynsel sal noukeurig ondersoek word: Plotinus, Hegel, Feuerbach, Marx, Durkheim, Fromm en die eietydse bestel. In die eietyd manifesteer ontheemding op verskeie maniere in die gesin en samelewing. Gesinsverbrokkeling neem toe en kinders word al meer in 'n kind-vyandige samelewing verwerp. Die generasiegaping word groter en tienerselfmoord kom toenemend voor. Die vereensaamde mens beleef 'n identiteitskrisis en soek in narcisme ontvlugting. Moontlike oorsaaklike faktore vir bogenoemde is sekularisasie, nihilisme, verstedeliking en die negatiewe invloed van die wetenskap en tegnologie. Die nood waarin die eietydse samelewing horn bevind, kan nie sonder kennis van die aard en die wese wat kenmerkend van die ontheemdingsverskynsel is, besef word me. 'n Verantwoordbare denkweg wat in die tydlikheid en ruimtelikheid begrond is, hied die moontlikheid om die mens tot besinning te bring. Hierdie besinnende denkweg waarin die agogieker teen die gedegradeerde mens- en wereldbeskouing standpunt inneem, kan as korrektief dien en tot outentieke denke en begeleiding aanleiding gee. Dan sal die ontheemde mens weer die nodige geborgenheid ervaar en sal dit moontlik wees om weer outentiek wereld te konstitueer, te leef, te <link en te begelei. / D.Litt. et Phil. (History of Education)

Dans les trois chapitres de cette thèse nous explorons le lien entre les performances des entreprises et les caractéristiques psychologiques des dirigeants. Dans un premier chapitre conceptuel, nous étudions les fondements théoriques des travaux en finance comportementale d'entreprise en analysant l'hubris et les concepts qui lui sont apparentés. Nous suggérons des pistes de recherche futures qui, pour certaines, sont mises en oeuvre dans les deux autres chapitres de ce travail. Dans le second chapitre, nous étudions l'impact du narcissisme des dirigeants acquéreurs et cibles sur les aspects privés d'un échantillon de fusions-acquisitions américaines. Nos résultats indiquent que desniveaux de narcissisme plus élevés chez les dirigeants acquéreurs sont associés à une plus forte probabilité que l'acquéreur initie l'opération et à une période plus courte entre l'initiation de l'opération et son annonce publique. Nos résultats suggèrent également que des niveaux de narcissisme plus élevés chez les dirigeants cibles sont positivement associés à la prime offerte et négativement associés aux rendements anormaux cumulés de l'acquéreur. Dans le troisième chapitre, nous analysons l'effet du leadership authentique du dirigeant sur les performances boursières etd'exploitation d'un échantillon d'entreprises du SBF 250. Nous collectons des données sur le leadership authentique par le biais de questionnaires. Nous analysons la différence entre les performances des entreprises en les affectant à trois portefeuilles selon le niveau de leadership authentique en utilisant l'analyse en trois facteurs de Fama et French. Nous ne trouvons aucun lien significatif entre le niveau de leadership authentique du dirigeant et la performance boursière. Dansles analyses des performances d'exploitation, nous trouvons un lien positif et significatif entre le niveau de leadership authentique et la rentabilité économique (ROA). / We study the effect of CEO psychological characteristics on firm performance in three papers. We first consider the theoretical background to work in behavioral corporate finance in a conceptual paper analyzing hubris and related psychological concepts. In this paper we put forward ideas for future research, some of which we implement subsequent papers. In paper 2, we study the effect of acquirer and target CEO narcissism on the private aspects of the takeover process in a sample of US M&A deals. We find that higher levels of acquirer CEO narcissism are associated with a higher probability of deal initiation by the acquirer and with a shorter length of time between deal initiation and announcement. Concerning value effects, our results suggest that higher levels of target CEO narcissism are positively related to bid premium and negatively related to acquirer cumulative abnormal returns. In addition, the difference between acquirer and target CEO narcissism is a significant factor in explaining the different aspects of the takeover process. In the third paper, we analyze the effect of CEO authentic leadership on the market and operating performance of a sample of listed French firms. We collect data on CEO authentic leadership using questionnaires. We analyze the difference in performance of firms sorted into three portfolios according to the level of CEO authentic leadership using a Fama French three factor analysis. We fail to find a significant relationship between CEO authentic leadership and market performance. In the operating performance analyses, we find a positive association between CEO authentic leadership and ROA.

Le rire et la mélancolie constituent l'ambiance dominante des romans de Milan Kundera. Ce sont les deux faces de son attitude vis-à-vis du narcissisme de l'homme reflété par ses personnages. Comme Narcisse, l'homme n'est jamais celui pour qui il se prend. Le narrateur présente cette vision kundérienne de l'homme, en racontant le comique et la misère des personnages. Comme le vécu de Kundera se reflète dans les situations des personnages, ce narrateur assume d'un côté une fonction d'autocritique. Mais d'un autre côté, ce narrateur reflète également le romancier, en prenant jusqu'au nom même de Kundera, et présente son image du romancier que croit être Kundera. Ainsi, Kundera lui-même n'est pas non plus hors de l'emprise narcissique. Néanmoins, le roman est le seul espace qui lui permet de méditer sa subjectivité narcissique en la relativisant. Pour Kundera, le roman permet d'échapper momentanément à la condition de Narcisse, grâce au jeu solitaire et sérieux de l'écriture dans les marges de l'hypothèse. / Laughter and melancholy constitute the dominant atmosphere of the novels of Milan Kundera. These are the two faces of his attitude about man’s narcissism and of which his characters are reflections. But man is never the person he thinks he is. Kundera expresses this vision of man through the narrators in his novels, who explore the comic and the miserable aspects of the characters appearing in them. Given the fact that the experience of Kundera is reflected in the characters’ situations, on one hand, the narrator endorses a function of self-criticism. On the other hand, this narrator reflects the novelist, sometimes taking even the name of Kundera himself, and presents his image of the novelist which Kundera believes himself to be. Therefore, Kundera is not free of narcissism. Nevertheless, the novel is the only place that allows him to ponder over his narcissistic subjectivity by the way of relativization. For Kundera, the novel enables him to escape momentarily the condition of Narcissus, by the solitary and serious game of writing in the margins of hypothesis.