Books aside, if you asked a college freshman today who the Greatest Generation is, they might respond by pointing in a mirror.
Young people's unprecedented level of self-infatuation was revealed
in a new analysis of the American Freshman Survey, which has been asking
students to rate themselves compared to their peers since 1966.
Psychologist Jean Twenge and her colleagues compiled the data and
found that over the last four decades there's been a dramatic rise in
the number of students who describe themselves as being 'above average'
in the areas of academic ability, drive to achieve, mathematical
ability, and self-confidence.
Researchers found a disconnect between the student's opinions of themselves and actual ability.
While students are much more likely to call themselves gifted in
writing abilities, objective test scores actually show that their
writing abilities are far less than those of their 1960s counterparts.
Also on the decline is the amount of time spent studying, with little
more than a third of students saying they study for six or more hours a
week compared to almost half of all students claiming the same in the
late 1980s.
Though they may work less, the number that said they had a drive to succeed rose sharply.
Still, these young egoists can grow up to become depressed adults. A
2006 study found that students suffer from 'ambition inflation' as their
increased ambitions accompany increasingly unrealistic expectations.
"Since the 1960s and 1970s, when those expectations started to grow,
there's been an increase in anxiety and depression," Twenge said.
"There's going to be a lot more people who don't reach their goals."
"Our culture used to encourage modesty and humility and not bragging
about yourself," Twenge told BBC News. "It was considered a bad thing to
be seen as conceited or full of yourself." Twenge said narcissim is a
trait that is often negative and destructive, and blames its boom on
several trends - including parenting styles, celebrity culture, social
media, and easy credit - for allowing people to seem more successful
than they really are.
"What's really become prevalent over the last two decades is the idea
that being highly self-confident - loving yourself, believing in
yourself - is the key to success," Twenge said. "Now the interesting
thing about that belief is it's widely held, it's very deeply held, and
it's also untrue." "You need to believe that you can go out and do
something but that's not the same as thinking that you're great," Twenge
said.
Source: Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2257715/Study-shows-college-students-think-theyre-special--read-write-barely-study.html
