Everyone likes to feel special, but according to a new study by some American psychologists, there’s a limit.

The psychologists have concluded in a study released this week that today’s college students are more self-centered and narcissistic than their predecessors and that the trend doesn’t bode well for the students’ future.

The word “narcissism,” of course, comes from Aesop’s fable about an ancient Greek named Narcissus, who was extremely handsome – and knew it. So enamored of his own image was he that one day, after seeing his reflection in a mountain pool, he decided to kiss his own perfect image on the water’s surface. However, when he leaned over, he lost his balance and fell into the pool. He was beautiful but he didn’t know how to swim, so he drowned. So much for beauty being more important than brains.

Unfortunately, the lesson of the Narcissus fable seems to be lost on modern college students. The inventory used by the psychologists includes such statements as “If I ruled the world, it would be a better place,” “I think I am a special person” and “I can live my life any way I want to.” The number of students responding positively to these questions, the researchers said, has steadily increased since 1982. In 2006, two-thirds of the students who took the test had above-average scores.

Perhaps you know some of them. They probably are the ones who are unwilling to conform to anyone else’s standard and are convinced that any action they take is just fine, and anyone who disagrees with them just doesn’t realize how special they are.

Narcissism, in small doses, isn’t a bad thing and can go by different names, like self-confidence and self-acceptance. But in larger doses, it seems to simply give people permission to do whatever they want regardless of how it negatively affects or impresses the people around them.

The psychologists blame the narcissism trend on the “self-esteem” movement that dates back to the 1980s. Children were encouraged to see themselves as “special” to a damaging degree. Because they were special, they expected to be the center of attention and to be able to do whatever they chose. As young adults, they thrive on self-centered, attention-grabbing activities like posting their own profiles and opinions on MySpace or YouTube. They are overfocused on their own achievements and goals; even when they volunteer their time, it often is because it will help them get a scholarship or fill in their resume.

This, of course, doesn’t describe all college students, but it is a disturbing trend. The grandparents and great-grandparents of these students grew up hearing different messages. Instead of “you’re special,” they heard “you’re just as good but no better than anyone else.” Instead of “look at me,” they heard “do your work; don’t make a spectacle of yourself.”

There’s a happy medium between being confident and being insufferable. The story of Narcissus, however, offers a timely reminder that being too stuck on yourself may leave you without a friend to pull you out when you fall in the lake.