ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a number of theories which highlight the importance of dominance evaluations in various theories of psychopathology. An existential theory is constructed on the meaning-making capabilities of humans. The fear of insufficient worth and the need to prove one-self by accomplishments is a prevailing hallmark of people labelled Type A. Narcissistic personality disorder is a highly complex and controversial area of psychopathology. The chapter explores a few elements in order to present a view that social competitiveness is the central difficulty for narcissists. Kernberg sees narcissism developing from the oral stage and related to parental abandonment and rejection. Work with the narcissistic personality inventory (NPI) suggests a positive relationship between narcissism and Eysenck's dimensions of extraversion and psychoticism. A factor analysis of the NPI suggested four separate factors labelled exploitativeness/entitlement, leadership/authority, superiority/arrogance and self-absorption/self-admiration. The chapter also outlines possible relationships between Type A and narcissistic behaviour.
