real life

The three-minute test that will reveal if you're a narcissist or not.

You might have noticed the word ‘narcissist’ has exploded all over the goddamn internet as of late.

“The moment I realised my husband was a narcissist” stories and “How my narcissistic boss ruined by career” pepper blog platforms like Medium and ThoughtCatalog for good reason – we lap them up. Our clicks and reads show we have an innate interest in those who exist among us and hold an excessive interest in themselves.

We all want to take cute selfies for Instagram – but doing so now requires a delicate balancing act – ensuring that our selfie-to-regular-photo ratio doesn’t dip into “that Michelle Andrews is a TOTAL NARCISSIST” territory.

Wait. Does referring to myself in third person make me a narcissist?

This is a bloody minefield.

A few of us sat around the Mamamia office this week and asked that precise question – how do you know if you’re a narcissist? Where’s the line between self-interest and self-obsession; between self-love and self-preoccupation?

Well, you lucky ducks, there’s actually a test for that.

The psychology experts at PsychCentral have published the Narcissistic Personality Quiz, a 40-point questionnaire based upon the Narcissistic Personality Inventory which was developed by psychologists R. Raskin and H. Terry in 1988.

Listen: Rachel Corbett, Mia Freedman and Leigh Campbell discuss their results on the narcissism test on Mamamia Out Loud. (Post continues…)

While going through the test, you need to select the statement that best describes you. The test developers say you’ll need “approximately eight minutes” to fill it out, but because you’re totally brilliant and exceptional and was born to rule the free world, I’m sure you can do it in three.

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For example, the first statements you need to choose between are “I have a natural talent for influencing people” OR “I am not good at influencing people.”

The trick is this: Be HONEST. Don’t do the quiz sitting beside anyone. Select the statement that really, truly, represents who you are at your core. Don’t let the fear of your result sway your answers away from what is accurate.

At the end, the test will shoot back your narcissism score. If you get between 12 and 15 you’re totally average. If you get 18, you’ve probably got the ego of a celebrity. If you get over 20, you might just be a narcissist.

You can also scroll down to see how you fared on the seven components of narcissism. Here’s my result:

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An exhibitionist blogger... what are the chances?

Okay, honesty time: I got a 15. Then I heard my colleague got an 11 and felt a bit self-conscious, so changed two of my answers so I'd get a 13.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

A parenting writer told me: "I got a 7. I think with age, you don't need to be seen as a leader or an authority.... you don't care about power because you're confident."

One of the girls on the beauty team was stoked to be a 13 - dead bang in the middle. Another got a 16 and wondered if that made her future celeb material.

Another was very, very upset to learn she's a 24, she told me: "I am in so much denial about this - and apparently that's a symptom of narcissism." A member of our sales team got a 28 and commented: "I knew it'd be high but not that high."

One person got a 30 and probably has a Donald Trump complex now.

Basically, I've thrown our entire office into disarray. Goooood times.

Click here to take the narcissism test and let us know how you go in the comments! Did you score over 20, or are you below average?

Listen to the latest episode of Mamamia Out Loud below: