Obsessive-compulsive disorder |
Touching a doorknob |
Contamination can kill me |
“This doorknob probably has germs on it.” “I must wash to be safe.” |
Disgust, anxiety, body tension |
Resisting touching anything else with hands, wash immediately |
Immediate reduction in distress but reinforces belief that one must wash to be safe |
Vulnerable narcissism |
Receiving negative feedback from boss |
No one sufficiently understands or appreciates me |
“He should have been clearer about what he wanted.” “I bet a different boss would appreciate me more.” “I should just give up.” |
Anxiety, anger, self-loathing |
Avoiding boss, fantasizing about “ideal” boss, suicidal ideation motivated by “showing them what they lost” |
Avoidance of critiques leads to social and occupational impairment and reinforces belief that criticism is intolerable |
Grandiose narcissism |
Learning that a peer got a better score on a test |
I must be the best in all ways |
“It doesn’t matter, I’m still better than them.” “They’ll pay for showing me up.” |
Anger, envy |
Ridiculing peer for caring about grade, lying that peer got grade by cheating, fantasizing of ways to get even |
Aggression and lying severely damages relationships and reinforces the notion that one must (appear to) be the best at all costs |