Narcissism Dynamics

The scientific study of narcissism has accelerated in recent years. However, this literature has primarily been cross-sectional and descriptive in nature, making it difficult to integrate with theories of narcissism, which instead emphasize various dynamics. Theoretical work construes narcissism as a complex dynamical system with processes that interact to contribute to narcissism expression and maintenance. We begin by reviewing theoretical accounts of narcissism and what they suggest about dynamic processes. We then review research that examines processes associated with narcissism in naturalistic settings. Integrating clinical theories with empirical work, we highlight remaining tensions in the field and discuss major conceptual considerations. For example, we discuss the role of entitlement and antagonistic behavior within narcissism and the need to identify the temporal ordering of various processes (e.g., self-esteem fluctuations and fluctuations in grandiosity and vulnerability). In light of limitations of the existing literature, we then discuss methodological barriers that currently limit the ability to fully align empirical research with theorized processes within narcissism.

Earliest known spatial competition between stromatoporoids: evidence from the Upper Ordovician Xiazhen Formation of South China

The earliest known interpreted spatial competition between two species of stromatoporoids, Clathrodictyon cf. C. mammillatum (Schmidt, 1858) and Labechia sp. is found in the Upper Ordovician Xiazhen Formation at Zhuzhai, South China. The interaction between these taxa was initiated by settlement of Labechia sp. on the surface of Clathrodictyon cf. C. mammillatum. Distortions of the intraskeletal elements of stromatoporoids represented by abnormally large, wide cysts and thick cyst plates in Labechia sp. are observed, along with zigzag crumpled distorted laminae and antagonistic behavior of the skeleton in Clathrodictyon cf. C. mammillatum, indicating syn-vivo interactions. The growth of Labechia sp. was terminated by the overgrowth of Clathrodictyon cf. C. mammillatum, possibly reflecting the ecological superiority of Clathrodictyon cf. C. mammillatum over Labechia sp. The observations are interpreted as competitive interaction between stromatoporoids that was most likely facultative, thus most likely occurring by chance, but the interaction allows assessment of different growth behaviors of the stromatoporoid species. Analysis of the interaction provides evidence to improve understanding of the paleoecology and growth behaviors of early stromatoporoids.

Regulatory Effect of SlyA onrcsBExpression inSalmonella entericaSerovar Typhimurium

ABSTRACTTheSalmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium RcsCDB system regulates the synthesis of colanic acid and the flagellum as well as the expression of virulence genes. We previously demonstrated that thercsC11mutant, which constitutively activates the RcsB regulator, attenuatesSalmonellavirulence in an animal model. This attenuated phenotype was also produced by deletion of theslyAgene. In this work, we investigated if this antagonistic behavior is produced by modulating the expression of both regulator-encoding genes. We demonstrated that SlyA overproduction negatively regulatesrcsBtranscription. A bioinformatics analysis enabled us to identify putative SlyA binding sites on both promoters, PrcsDBand PrcsB, which controlrcsBtranscriptional levels. We also determined that SlyA is able to recognize and bind to these predicted sites to modulate the activity of bothrcsBpromoters. According to these results, SlyA repressesrcsBtranscription by direct binding to specific sites located on thercsBpromoters, thus accounting for the attenuated/virulence antagonistic behaviors. Moreover, we showed that the opposite effect between both regulators also physiologically affects theSalmonellamotility phenotype. In this sense, we observed that under SlyA overproduction, PrcsBis repressed, and consequently, bacterial motility is increased. On the basis of these results, we suggest that during infection, the different RcsB levels produced act as a switch between the virulent and attenuated forms ofSalmonella. Thereby, we propose that higher concentrations of RcsB tilt the balance toward the attenuated form, while absence or low concentrations resulting from SlyA overproduction tilt the balance toward the virulent form.IMPORTANCEThe antagonistic behavior of RcsB and SlyA on virulence gene expression led us to hypothesize that there is interplay between both regulators in a regulatory network and these could be considered coordinators of this process. Here, we report that the SlyA virulence factor influences motility behavior by controllingrcsBtranscription from the PrcsBpromoter. We also demonstrate that SlyA negatively affects the expression of thercsBgene by direct binding to PrcsDBand PrcsBpromoters. We suggest that different levels of RcsB act as a switch between the virulent and attenuated forms ofSalmonella, where high concentrations of the regulator tend to tilt the balance toward the attenuated form and low concentrations or its absence tilt it toward the virulent form.

“He Is Just the Nowhere Man of British Politics”: Personal Attacks in Prime Minister’s Questions

Views from the media, the public, and from inside Parliament have expressed discontent with, reportedly, recent high levels of personally antagonistic behavior in Prime Minister’s Questions. The focus of this study is a fine-grained analysis of language classified as a personal attack. A personal attack coding system was devised, and significant individual differences between Prime Ministers and increases across individual premierships were observed. Of the five Prime Ministers between 1979 and 2016, David Cameron was the most personally aggressive, though a significant decrease followed Jeremy Corbyn’s appointment as Leader of the Opposition. Potential explanations for recent highs include heightened TV and social media attention coupled with sports-like reporting and party expectation, and not discounting individual personalities or intergroup theories. Suggestions for the functions of personal attacks include highlighting differences, disarming or deconstructing adversaries, and equivocation. Further explanations are offered for the relative politeness of Cameron versus Corbyn.

Measurement Invariance of Oppositional Defiant Disorder Dimensions in 3-Year-Old Preschoolers

Measurement invariance (metric/scalar) of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) dimensions (negative affect, oppositional behavior, and antagonistic behavior) across sex and informants is tested. Parents and teachers of 622 preschool children from the general population answered a dimensional measure of ODD. ODD dimensions function similarly in boys and girls. Some differences were found by informant, indicating that the equivalence of the ratings of parents and teachers is not complete and that given the same underlying level of the latent trait, some parents’ item scores were higher than those of teachers. Metric invariance was complete but scalar invariance was not attained. The results contribute evidence on the conceptualization of ODD as a source-specific disorder. The simultaneous use of ODD dimensions reported by parents and teachers must be considered in the context of a lack of complete measurement invariance, which implies that comparisons of observed means from parents and teachers are not readily interpretable.