What’s a narcissist like?

自恋者是什么样的人？

It takes all sorts to make a world – so some say. Nobody is the same, and our different personalities and character traits make us what we are. Wouldn’t it be boring if we were all the same? But if someone doesn’t behave or think like you, it can be frustrating. And there’s one personality type that can be very difficult to deal with - narcissism.

有人说，世界是由各种各样的人构成的。每个人都是独一无二的，不同的个性和性格特征造就了我们。如果我们都一样不是很无聊吗?但如果有人的行为或思维方式与你不同，那就会令人沮丧。有一种人格类型是很难处理的——自恋。

Narcissists consider themselves the most important person. They’re only interested in their own life, without a care in the world about the people around them. Their lack of empathy makes them come across as arrogant and self-important. If you know someone like this, their narcissistic attitudes might irritate you. But you might find it even more irritating to know that, according to new research, they are likely to be happier than other people.

自恋者认为自己是最重要的人。他们只对自己的生活感兴趣，不关心周围的人。他们缺乏同理心，让人觉得他们傲慢自大、妄自尊大。如果你认识这样的人，他们的自恋态度可能会激怒你。但你可能会发现，更令人恼火的是，根据最新研究，他们可能比其他人更快乐。

An ongoing study of narcissism by researchers at Queen's University Belfast has found such people might infuriate others but are less likely to be stressed or depressed. Writing about the research, the BBC’s Sean Coughlan says “They might have trampled over others and left a trail of emotional damage around them - but narcissists also seem to be insulated against feeling bad about themselves.” And their heightened sense of self-importance appears to give them "protective" qualities.

贝尔法斯特女王大学的研究人员正在进行的一项关于自恋的研究发现，这种人可能会激怒他人，但不太可能感到压力或沮丧。英国广播公司(BBC)的肖恩·考夫兰在写到这项研究时说:“他们可能会践踏他人，给他人留下情感创伤，但自恋者似乎也不会自我感觉差劲。”他们高度的自我性似乎给了他们“保护性”的特质。

Researchers have been trying to understand why narcissism appears to be more prevalent in areas such as politics, social media and celebrity culture and why narcissists' shameless, over-confident attitude seems to be rewarded rather than penalised. It does seem that they have the best of all worlds, which is not great news for shrinking violets. And there’s more bad news for those who are shy and retiring: previous research by Queen’s University has also found that a ‘mental toughness’ helps narcissists succeed at work and in their social lives because they can overcome rejection and disappointment. And other tests have found that narcissistic students do better in exams, not because they are more clever, but because of their confidence and assertiveness.

研究人员一直在试图理解为什么自恋在政治、社交媒体和名人文化等领域似乎更为普遍，以及为什么自恋者无耻、过度自信的态度似乎得到了回报，而不是惩罚。他们似乎拥有世界上最好的东西，这对腼腆的人来说可不是什么好消息。对于那些害羞和不爱交际的人来说，还有更多的坏消息:英国女王大学此前的研究也发现，“心理韧性”有助于自恋者在工作和社交生活中取得成功，因为他们能够克服拒绝和失望。其他测试也发现，自恋的学生在考试中表现更好，不是因为他们更聪明，而是因为他们的自信和果断。