The self-destructive narcissist plays role of "bad guy" (or "bad girl"). But even this is within traditional social roles cartoonishly exaggerated by narcissist to attract attention. Men are likely to emphasise intellect, power, aggression, money, or social status. Narcissistic women are likely to emphasise body, looks, charm, sexuality, feminine "traits", homemaking, children and childrearing.

Punishing wayward narcissist is a veritable catch-22.

A jail term is useless as a deterrent if it only serves to focus attention on narcissist. Being infamous is second best to being famous - and far preferable to being ignored. The only way to effectively punish a narcissist is to withhold narcissistic supply from him and thus to prevent him from becoming a notorious celebrity.

Given a sufficient amount of media exposure, book contracts, talk shows, lectures, and public attention - narcissist may even consider whole grisly affair to be emotionally rewarding. To narcissist, freedom, wealth, social status, family, vocation - are all means to an end. And end is attention. If he can secure attention by being big bad wolf - narcissist unhesitatingly transforms himself into one. Lord Archer, for instance, seems to be positively basking in media circus provoked by his prison diaries.

The narcissist does not victimise, plunder, terrorise and abuse others in a cold, calculating manner. He does so offhandedly, as a manifestation of his genuine character. To be truly "guilty" one needs to intend, to deliberate, to contemplate one's choices and then to choose one's acts. The narcissist does none of these.

Thus, punishment breeds in him surprise, hurt and seething anger. The narcissist is stunned by society's insistence that he should be held accountable for his deeds and penalized accordingly. He feels wronged, baffled, injured, victim of bias, discrimination and injustice. He rebels and rages.

Depending upon pervasiveness of his magical thinking, narcissist may feel besieged by overwhelming powers, forces cosmic and intrinsically ominous. He may develop compulsive rites to fend off this "bad", unwarranted, persecutory influences.

The narcissist, very much infantile outcome of stunted personal development, engages in magical thinking. He feels omnipotent, that there is nothing he couldn't do or achieve if only he sets his mind to it. He feels omniscient - he rarely admits to ignorance and regards his intuitions and intellect as founts of objective data.

Thus, narcissists are haughtily convinced that introspection is a more important and more efficient (not to mention easier to accomplish) method of obtaining knowledge than systematic study of outside sources of information in accordance with strict and tedious curricula. Narcissists are "inspired" and they despise hamstrung technocrats.

To some extent, they feel omnipresent because they are either famous or about to become famous or because their product is selling or is being manufactured globally. Deeply immersed in their delusions of grandeur, they firmly believe that their acts have - or will have - a great influence not only on their firm, but on their country, or even on Mankind. Having mastered manipulation of their human environment - they are convinced that they will always "get away with it". They develop hubris and a false sense of immunity.

Narcissistic immunity is (erroneous) feeling, harboured by narcissist, that he is impervious to consequences of his actions, that he will never be effected by results of his own decisions, opinions, beliefs, deeds and misdeeds, acts, inaction, or membership of certain groups, that he is above reproach and punishment, that, magically, he is protected and will miraculously be saved at last moment. Hence audacity, simplicity, and transparency of some of fraud and corporate looting in 1990's. Narcissists rarely bother to cover their traces, so great is their disdain and conviction that they are above mortal laws and wherewithal.

What are sources of this unrealistic appraisal of situations and events?

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, PopMatters, and eBookWeb , a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory Bellaonline, and Suite101 .

Visit Sam's Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com

That’s why responses you gather are red-meat when you begin to establish your corrective public relations goal. For example, correct that inaccuracy, replace that false assumption with truth, or spike that unfair rumor as soon as possible.

Are there strategies available to you designed to show you how to achieve your new goal? Absolutely, but only three when it comes to perceptions and opinions. You can create perception/opinion where none exists, you can change existing perception, or you can reinforce it. A caveat here: be sure strategy you choose flows naturally from your brand new public relations goal.

Perhaps most challenging step in our problem solving sequence is preparing actual corrective message you will use to try and alter perception among members of target audience. Stay involved with your PR staff as they write message. Satisfy yourself that it is not only clear, but persuasive and compelling as well.

This is not a simple task because, as you make case for your point of view, you should keep two considerations in mind: one, above all, your message must be believable and, two, seldom will you want to deliver it in high-profile manner of a news announcement, preferring instead to make message part of another general interest release, presentation or address.

Speaking of communications tactics, here you must work closely with your PR folks (and your budget) in reviewing broad array of such tactics available to you. Everything from consumer meetings, media interviews, speeches and newsletters to brochures, press releases, special events, letters-to-the-editor and many others. But keep your eye on how each tactic stacks up as to its efficiency in reaching folks like those in your target audience.

Inevitably, you will question whether your effort is succeeding in achieving your public relations goal. To satisfy yourself, you and your PR staff must re-monitor perceptions among members of that audience, and that means more questions. Only this time, big difference is, you are focused sharply on signs of progress, i.e., indications that perceptions are clearly moving in your direction.

But are things moving too slowly for you? Add more communications tactics, and increase their frequencies, to speed things up.

Yes, when it comes to kind of crucially important outside audience behaviors that help them reach their operating objectives, I believe all managers are, indeed, alike in welcoming such support.

end

Bob Kelly counsels, writes and speaks to managers about using the fundamental premise of public relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S. Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The White House. mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.prcommentary.com