As 2017 comes to a close, if we look back at the most important stories of the year, we will find a plethora of examples of blatant narcissistic behavior and how narcissism seems to have become pervasive in our culture. Whether it’s in business, entertainment, or politics, we’ve been bombarded with so many examples of narcissistic behavior that the term “narcissistic personality” has become part of the American lexicon. Here are a few examples. In the world of business and entertainment, we’ve seen numerous cases of sexual harassment in the workplace. Some may have come as a complete shock (e.g., Dustin Hoffman? Al Franken?) and others weren’t so surprising. Several actresses who have bravely come forward to tell their stories of being traumatized by Harvey Weinstein’s sexually predatory behavior have confirmed what has been rumored in Hollywood for decades: the “casting couch” does exist. These allegations have even brought to light horrific accounts of predatory sexual behavior directed at childhood stars like Shirley Temple and Judy Garland, who were allegedly preyed upon by Hollywood producers/movie moguls. We’ve also heard allegations of sexual harassment by several well-known TV news anchors including Bill O’Reilly, Matt Lauer, and Charlie Rose. Again, some of the accusers were known to us before 2017 from previous allegations while many of these predatory sexual behaviors have only come to light within the past year.
What most sexual predators have in common is a narcissistic personality trait in which these individuals feel entitled to prey on others. We even heard this in the infamous Access Hollywood video that declared to the world that when you’re a celebrity, you can do almost anything you want without fear of retaliation. Because of their unique status, many narcissists also feel like they’re above the law. Although settling lawsuits out of court has been common for many men accused of sexual harassment or assault, sometimes in exchange for legal immunity, this still sends the message that if you are rich and famous, the laws do not apply to you. This “above the law” attitude also raises questions about the psychopathic nature of these individuals. Many predators justify this by claiming that the women they have harassed will welcome their advances or feel good about it because they enjoy celebrity status.
Two common personality traits among those with NPD apply to the 2017 sexual assault cases: exploitation of others and a lack of empathy for those affected. Here, we saw celebrities using their power and, under the guise of “helping” sheltered young women, luring these women into traumatic and embarrassing situations. Instead of “helping” these perpetrators, they were essentially exploiting these women for their gratification. This raises the question of whether we are seeing cases of narcissistic behavior alone or sociopathic behavior. Certainly, in these incidents where children and teens were being exploited, sociopathic behavior seems like a more appropriate way to describe these behaviors but keep in mind that most sociopaths are also narcissists. The key, however, is that most sociopaths feel no remorse, guilt, or remorse for their transgressions and instead often come up with elaborate rationalizations or justifications for their behavior like the one described above. I hope no one thinks (even for a second) that I am excusing this behavior when I describe it as narcissistic or psychopathic. The goal of behavioral science is to predict and explain behavior, not justify it. And if we can predict and explain behavior, it may provide some clues about how to prevent it in the future.
As we begin 2018, allegations of sexual harassment in the workplace are sure to pose challenges for HR departments and lawyers. There appears to be a continuum of the types of sexual harassment that can occur in the workplace. At one end of the continuum are behaviors such as inappropriate sexual jokes, comments about physical appearance, inappropriate staring at someone’s body, and inappropriate photos or screen savers on an office computer. These examples often constitute what lawyers and HR professionals call “hostile workplace transgressions.” The next level of sexual harassment involves actual physical transgressions such as unwanted kissing, touching, groping, or rubbing against someone, and taking photos of coworkers without their permission or knowledge. Additionally, while stalking may not involve crossing physical boundaries, it still creates a sense of boundary violation (imagine someone breaking into your home or apartment and tampering with your belongings?) Legally, the above boundary violations move into the gray area of sexual assault. This brings us to the next category, which involves rape, holding someone against their will (e.g., in an office or hotel room), and exhibitionism (e.g., someone exposing themselves). While narcissists are more likely to engage in aggressive forms of workplace sexual harassment, psychopaths (especially those with sexual sadism) are more likely to escalate to behaviors that may include sexual assault, rape, and child sexual abuse. The sad thing is, that any of the above harassment or assault behaviors can be traumatic.
In other news stories in 2017, we became aware of how sexual harassment (and in some cases sexual assault and rape) has become part of corporate culture. We heard this when stories of sexual harassment began to emerge at Uber, leading to the ouster of then-CEO Travis Kalanick. In these allegations, Kalanick and several other Uber executives were accused of sexual harassment, which also included offensive comments in the workplace regarding female employees working at Uber. This also led to Uber’s five major investors calling for Kalanick to resign. After the initial allegations were made, an additional 20 Uber employees were fired (Isaac, 2017). Sexual harassment has also been rampant at many tech startups, again reflecting the corporate culture of these organizations and how women are exploited and treated as second-class citizens. We also saw how sexual harassment and assault have become ingrained in the military, as first reported in Kirby Dick’s award-winning documentary, The Invisible War. Companies and employers need to take steps to prevent sexual harassment by 2018, not only do they need to provide mandatory training on sexual harassment in the workplace, but they also need to look out for the narcissists and psychopaths in their midst. Believe me, they’re out there. However, there may be another way to protect against sexual harassment in the workplace. According to a recent article in The New Yorker by Lizzie Widdecombe (January 22, 2017), Glassdoor may be changing workplace culture or at least risking power dynamics. Glassdoor (launched in 2008) has become the second most popular job site because it has become “the Yelp of workplaces, where people share salary information and post anonymous reviews to rate their office environment,” according to Widdecombe. These approval ratings provide bosses and corporate culture with insight into the types of power dynamics that exist within certain workplaces. Similar to Yelp, some reviews may be misleading or retaliatory, however, it is important to look at these reviews holistically if one wants to get a glimpse into the company culture and how employees are treated.
