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The joint effects of narcissism and psychopathy on accounting students’ attitudes towards unethical professional practices

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  • Bailey, Charles D.

Abstract

Nonclinical psychopathy and everyday narcissism have received some attention in accounting literature. Both personality traits belong to a constellation of “dark” personality factors that can motivate or allow unethical behaviors. Although both entail callousness and a sense of entitlement, they have relatively distinct characteristics and thus are not highly correlated. Hence, they may contribute jointly and independently to explain or predict behavior. This study extends Bailey (2017) by examining their effects jointly in a national survey of accounting majors and describes the levels in that population. While narcissism is significantly correlated with acceptance of unethical practices, its effect is weaker than psychopathy, and only in the case of nonfinancial narcissistic acts does it explain variance beyond what an individual’s psychopathy explains. Narcissism in accounting majors is among the lowest of any population previously reported. Given that these traits are enduring, the participants are representative of practitioners. Implications for further research are discussed.

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  • Bailey, Charles D., 2019. "The joint effects of narcissism and psychopathy on accounting students’ attitudes towards unethical professional practices," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joaced:v:49:y:2019:i:c:s074857511930079x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jaccedu.2019.08.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Andrew Harrison & James Summers & Brian Mennecke, 2018. "The Effects of the Dark Triad on Unethical Behavior," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(1), pages 53-77, November.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Smith, Kenneth J. & Emerson, David J. & Mauldin, Shawn, 2021. "Online cheating at the intersection of the dark triad and fraud diamond," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
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    4. Analisa Analisa, 2020. "Factors influencing unethical behaviour in banking industry," Journal of Contemporary Accounting, Master in Accounting Program, Faculty of Business & Economics, Universitas Islam Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, vol. 2(2), pages 97-107, May.
    5. Apostolou, Barbara & Dorminey, Jack W. & Hassell, John M., 2020. "Accounting education literature review (2019)," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).

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