Narcissism in Selection: Do Narcissists Select Narcissists?

Abstract

The present study was concerned with understanding the extent to which a bias such as the similar-to-me effect played a role in predicting hiring decisions when considering rater-ratee narcissism and rater personality factors. There were three research questions generated prior to gathering data: (1) are narcissists more likely to be selected than non-narcissists?; (2) are narcissists more likely to select narcissists in an interview setting?; and (3) are other personality factors predictive of decisions to hire narcissists? To answer these questions, data was collected from 121 respondents (65% male, 35% female) with an average age of 35 (SD = 9.74). Regarding research question one, data indicated that lower levels of candidate narcissism were associated with being selected overall. For research question two, results indicated that higher levels of narcissism predicted decisions to hire narcissists. Concerning the third research question, results indicated that higher levels of conscientiousness and agreeableness were negatively associated with decisions to hire narcissists. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.