双语阅读：在自恋这件事上 姜还是老的辣

Using data from six different studies, researchers charted how narcissism changes over time and between generations in 747 people aged 13 to 77.

利用六项不同研究的数据，研究人员绘图解释了年龄跨度为13至77岁的747位被试的自恋特质随时间和代际而产生的变化。

研究者们用来定义自恋的三个指标分别是：

❶ Willfulness, or being full of yourself;

任性——只想着自己，不顾他人；

❷ Hypersensitivity, or being overly defensive;

超敏反应——过度敏感，容易生气；

❸ Autonomy, or a sense of leadership and authority.

自主性——一种自我领导的感觉

发现一：年龄越大，自恋越正向

On average, negative forms of narcissism — willfulness and hypersensitivity — declined with age, while the more positive feeling of having control over your life increased as people got older.

从平均数来看，消极的自恋形式——任性和超敏反应——随着年龄的增长而减少。不过，随着年龄的增长，那种对生活有掌控感的更为积极的感觉则会增加。

The increase in this “good” narcissism over time is surprising, says William Chopik, author on the study and assistant professor at Michigan State University. “It looks like the most rapid changes occur just after people experience those setbacks or experiences,”Chopik says. That could be a divorce, or some other adverse experience. Overall, people change the most rapidly during their middle age.

该研究论文的作者、密歇根州立大学助理教授威廉·乔皮克表示，这种“好的”自恋表现随着时间的推移居然会增加，实在令人惊讶。他说：“研究显示，人们在经历挫折或者阅历增加之后，（自恋状态）发生的变化最快。” 这种经历可能是离婚，或者是其他的令人不快的经历。而且总的来说，人们在中年的时候变化最快。

Narcissism is often thought of as a monolithic personality trait, but this study suggests autonomy may stand alone. It also makes sense that as we age, we feel more competent in our lives and actions, Chopik says. “Oftentimes, life experiences, jobs, and relationships have a tendency to change our priorities as we age, and that’s what we think we’re seeing here.”

自恋通常被认为是一种单一的（无法拆分的）人格特征，但这项研究表明，自主性可能可以拆分出来。乔皮克称，可以这么解释——随着年龄的增长，人们觉得自己对生活和行动更有掌控感和决定权。“正如研究结果显示的那样，在我们长大的过程中，生活经历、工作经历和人际关系往往会改变我们的自恋重心。”

People are indeed most narcissistic in their twenties, Chopik says (those in their seventies are least narcissistic).

乔皮克称，人的一生，20多岁的时候的确是最自恋的，到了70多岁就变得最不自恋了。

发现二：后辈们可没你当年自恋

Contrary to the stereotype, young people today are likely no more narcissistic than any generation before them (including the Baby Boomers).

和大多数人想的不一样，如今的年轻人可能真的没有前面的几代人自恋（包括婴儿潮那一代）。

注：美国婴儿潮特指美国第二次世界大战后1946年至1964年，这18年间婴儿潮人口高达7600万人，这一人群被通称为“婴儿潮一代”。

The results defy a popular piece of folk wisdom about younger generations — and the current generation of 20-somethings in particular — that they are hopelessly full of themselves.

大多数人认为年轻一代（尤其是现在这一代20多岁的年轻人）简直是个人主义到爆。但是，研究结果与这一看法相悖。

“You can find people as long ago as 700 B.C. lamenting at how narcissistic today’s kids are,” says Chopik, “So for all the talk about how young people are narcissistic, it’s generally the case that they “age out of it” and become more mature, responsible, and considerate of others. I hope it starts to challenge the misconception that all young people are narcissistic or are more narcissistic than previous generations.”

乔皮克表示：“你会发现，其实早在公元前700年，当时的人就已经在抱怨青年人过分自恋了。所以呢，有人爱说年轻人自恋，一般来讲，是因为说话者自己 “已经长大成人”，变得更加成熟、负责任、体贴他人了。我希望，这项研究可以挑战这种错误观念，那就是，所有年轻人都自恋或者比前几代人都更自恋。”

但是，有些人就是自恋一辈子。

The researchers also found some outliers: Some people just stayed narcissists. Some people declined really dramatically and became quite humble people. Others didn’t change much at all, suggesting that narcissism might be a lifelong condition for them.

研究人员还发现了一些极端值：有些人就是会自恋到老。虽然有部分被试的自恋特质急剧减弱，老了之后变成了相当谦卑的人，但还有些人就是一点也没有变，这表明高度自恋可能伴随他们一生。