The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America

Love the the book. It's an easy read and answers the problem of celebrity in America. It also answers the problem in families where narcissism starts. I grew up wondering what was wrong with some people and now I understand it better and has helped me in my relationships and work. Thank you Dr. Drew Pinsky for taking on this subject for the rest of us.

As a therapist by training and an aspiring psychologist interested in studying personality disorders, I had been looking for a book exactly like this! Kudos to Dr. Pinsky and Dr. Young for tackling a tough subject which seems to permeate every corner of American society--yet no one seems to want to talk about! The authors did an excellent job of detailing how American celebrities' self-destructive, exploitative, and otherwise narcissitic behaviors in the media affect the rest of us--especially teens, young teens, and those of us with narcisstic tendencies due to our childhood trauma and/or poor parenting that we received from our own parents/caretakers. They also made a compelling argument about how our critical responses to some of the doomed stars (e.g. "Britney is so f-ed up! She's so f-in' retarded!") is actually a reflection of OUR own narcissistic traits. I really enjoyed the section on how our current "norm" of blogging our personal daily lives on the net or broadcasting our "talents" on YouTube can indeed be a cover-up for our feelings of emptiness and low self-esteem, depending on the manner in which they are portrayed. This book has affected me personally. No, I don't emulate Lindsay Lohan's wild lifestyle as "cool." No, I don't post provocative pictures and stories on my blog (I don't even have a public blog!). But it has helped me to realize the meaning behind my fascination with a particular celebrity, and how I have identified with some of his narcissic behavior on T.V. even though he isn't known for getting into trouble with the law or drug abuse. I was like, "Wow, I see so much of myself in him!" Finally, I highly recommend the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) at the end of the book, as well as the section on parenting our children to prevent them from developing unhealthy narcissism. Even though my NPI score was close to average, I was not surprised by the results which indicated that I harbor high levels of a certain narcissistic trait. And the book goes into great detail about the major traits that make up narcissism in our personality. One criticism, though--I wish the authors talked more about what "healthy narcissim" is, even though they mention it throughout the book. All in all--a wonderful and informative read!

I've read about 5 books on selfish people in the last 6 months. I work with some self-centered people who have crazy logic. I watch them praise an action they perform, and reprimand a subordinate for the same behavior. I needed to understand these thought processes that allow a person to rationalize their actions and distrust everyone else. This book provides great examples of this behavior in celebrities. And the author approaches the celebrity subjects as one of the billions of humans on the planet, and doesn't treat them as "special" people. In fact, he finds that celebrities being treated AS special makes their narcissism more difficult to treat. And the chapter detailing what core personality type goes into show-biz is eye-opening. Basically, "They're not self-centered because they're celebrities. They became celebrities because they needed constant praise." The book also describes the negative effect the media/celebrity complex has on teens, and ways to prevent it. I expected this book to be interesting, but I didn't expect it to be solid psychology. But it is.

The Mirror Effect is the rarest of kind of book and the fact that is it very good is particularly impressive considering the odds. For a book of broad, social criticism written by a television personality to not only be scientific and well supported, but also calm and compassionate is a true feat. The premise of The Mirror Effect is bold. Pinsky writes that the convergence of reality television, lowered libel standards and constant connectedness have combined to create a market for an awful kind of celebrity (Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton). When this collides with the void left by pervasive divorce, childhood trauma and drugs, we have a society that encourages and supports narcissism. To continue the Mirror Analogy, society and celebrity are both mirrors and when put together create an endless chain that recreates the same initial problem. A child who develops narcissistic tendencies because of a negligent parent sees narcissism rewarded in the famous people they respect and the celebrity interprets that attention as approval for their own dangerous and indulgent behavior. Neither is incentivized be responsible, mature or healthy. The thesis would be significant if it were simple social criticism but it is much more than that. Pinsky and Young actually bothered to do the research, subjecting hundreds of Loveline guests to a narcissism study they later published in 2006. They didn't stop there. The Mirror Effect is full of connections to existing and well respected psychological findings, making the book both fascinating and substantive. Also, due to Pinsky's place in popular culture, it is (thankfully) current. As opposed to the religiously based arguments of someone like Rabbi Schmuley Boteach, The Mirror Effect was written with an inside line on the celebrities it criticizes. Chapters begin with quotes from relevant celebrities and Pinsky draws from an array of anecdotes and examples possible only by someone who is more than just an observer. If there is one weakness in the book it's the publishers push to make it appeal to a mass audience - something that though deserved, takes away from its academic credibility. There is the massive photo of Dr. Drew on the cover and the fact that it has a whopping three total contributing authors. (check the cover page, Jill Stern is also credited). Despite all the research there is no bibliography, index or even footnotes. But those are small consequences considering the implications and quality of The Mirror Effect.