Narcisismo e desonestidade acadêmica

Abstract

The objective of this research was to verify if narcissistic personality traits influence the probability of Accounting students to present behaviors considered dishonest in the academic environment. The study sample was composed by two hundred and one students enrolled in three higher education institutions in Brazil: (a) two public ones, one located in the state of Minas Gerais and the other one in the state of Paraná; and (b) a private one, located in the state of Bahia. Regarding the data collection procedures, a questionnaire was applied to the students. The empirical evidences indicate that students on average, tend, to agree with some assertions of the research instrument that refer to characteristics of narcissistic individuals, such as, among others: (a) obstinacy in pursuing their goals; (b) tireless search for success; (c) preference for individual productions; (d) difficulties in expressing feelings involving conflict and suffering; (e) feelings of guilt, when they do not reach their ideals; (f) exacerbated concern with the body; (g) need to impress others well; (h) uncomfortable feeling, when someone else is nedeed; and (i) unbridled search for pleasure, among others. However, it has been found that such narcissistic tendencies have no influence on the likelihood of students exhibiting behaviors considered dishonest in the academic environment. By the analyzed sample, it is concluded that higher levels of narcissism do not involve a direct impact on academic dishonesty.