Narcissism: are accounting students using their personality traits to perform better?

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11606/rco.v11i31.137775

Keywords:

Narcissism, Academic Performance., Accounting Education, Narcissistic personality inventory

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to identify if non-athological narcissistic personality traits in accounting students are related to their performance. Students who overestimate their performance, a characteristic present in narcissistic individuals, live in the unrealistic belief that they do better than others in different activities. Such tendency can be detrimental in the long term. In addition to resulting in a constant effort so that such expectations become reality. The data were collected from a sample of 106 Brazilian accounting students who responded to a survey that included the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). The results suggest that the higher the presence of narcissistic traits, the greater his/her self-perceived academic performance. At the same time, narcissism does not influence the student’s real performance, which suggest that narcissistic personality traits just influence expectations, reather than the learning process.

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Author Biographies

  • Gerlando Augusto Sampaio Franco de Lima, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

    Ph.D. in Accounting and Accounting from the University of São Paulo (USP). Senior Lecturer at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

     

  • Bruna Camargos Avelino, Federal University of Minas Gerais

    Ph.D. in Controllership and Accounting from the University of São Paulo (USP). Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

     

  • Jacqueline Veneroso Alves da Cunha, Federal University of Minas Gerais

    Ph.D. in Controllership and Accounting from the University of São Paulo (USP). Associate Professor, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).

     

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2018-01-31

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How to Cite

Lima, G. A. S. F. de, Avelino, B. C., & Cunha, J. V. A. da. (2018). Narcissism: are accounting students using their personality traits to perform better?. Revista De Contabilidade E Organizações, 11(31), 58-74. https://doi.org/10.11606/rco.v11i31.137775