I believe there is a positive relationship between conscientiousness and narcissism. This is because an egocentric person will act with more self-interest; that is, other people’s interests and desires will be indifferent to such a person. Narcissists will work harder concentrating on their own goals to make themselves more successful. Thus, selfish people will find it difficult to be conscientious about things that do not affect themselves or their interests.
Narcissism can have a significant impact on how people perceive the world around them. For example, Lawson and Kakkar’s research (2021) supports the idea that people can use fake news and misinformation to present themselves in a better light. The study’s key conclusion is that higher conscientiousness weakened the positive association between conservative ideology fake news being shared (Lawson & Kakkar, 2021). The way people exchange information has been the subject of study not only by the scientists mentioned earlier. For example, Palmer et al. (2016) found that narcissistic individuals share positive events indiscriminately. Their goal is often bragging, which is not the case for other, more empirical people. It can be said that the study illustrates that conscientious people are more careful in sharing their opinions because they are aware of the importance of other people’s values and interests.
In addition, the development of certain psychological features occurs under the influence of external factors. For example, Potard et al. (2020) have found that addiction to video games can cause the emergence of specific character traits proving that people tend to change psychologically. Moreover, dependence on video games can stem from people’s desire to prove their own importance by winning and creating an ideal image in the game (Potard et al. 2020). Receiving a new achievement is an occasion for narcissists to boast and make those around them feel less successful.
Analysis of the influence of character traits on performance at work is one of the popular directions in psychological research. For example, Venkatesh et al. (2021) planned to find out if conscientious workers are more motivated and productive. The study concluded that conscientiousness showed a significantly stronger association with job performance during- COVID than pre-COVID (Venkatesh et al., 2021). Thus, diligence causes employees to work longer hours, but the length of time in the workplace does not demonstrate the effectiveness of such labor. Conscientious workers may stay late simply because they fear criticism from their bosses or want to help their colleagues, not because they want to improve their efficiency. Another study by Kim et al. (2021) demonstrates that the narcissism of company executives can increase employees’ sense of uncertainty during a coronavirus pandemic. Once again, it proves the hypothesis that narcissists who tend to think only about their own well-being ignore the needs of those around them, namely their subordinates (Kim et al 2021). It can also be concluded that narcissism and conscientiousness are in many ways mutually exclusive concepts.
In general, narcissism can cause people to do compulsive things, which can lead to health problems. For example, a correlation was found between the number of recorded traffic violations and the narcissism of the driver. (Lönnqvist et al. 2020) Besides, in their study, Ksinan et al. (2021) hypothesize that narcissism is associated with more extensive and uncontrolled smartphone use. The latter, in turn, increases the risk of increased anxiety, loneliness, and depression (Ksinan et al., 2021). The scientists’ hypothesis was confirmed – self-obsessed people wanting to get a charge of positive emotions are trying to do it using their phones. However, there are still some limitations to the applicability of the study since the participants were 18-19-year-olds. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that at least young people are more willing to admit that they are narcissistic (Berenson et al., 2017). Moreover, the hypothesis that narcissists are people with higher self-esteem and, therefore, more confident in their abilities is confirmed (Berenson et al., 2017). The constant feeling of self-satisfaction is what causes the impenetrable sense of self-enthusiasm lacking in non-narcissists.
A literature review suggests that narcissism can indeed help individuals produce significant results. However, some negative consequences of this phenomenon have been found. Failing to show empathy for others, acting impulsively, and acting solely in one’s own best interests will not lead to positive results. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with genuinely loving and admiring oneself. The only question is whether people are in control of this feeling or whether it controls them. Depending on that, one will get a character trait that will either help achieve great career results or destroy relations with people around and worsen mental health. An analysis of the available studies on the topic of conscientiousness and narcissism suggests that more research of a more detailed nature is needed. So far, it is possible only to draw some preliminary but not fully confirmed conclusions about the relationship between the two variables – integrity and narcissism. Nevertheless, it should be considered confirmed that self-centered people are easier to achieve success in the areas of interest. Their performance stems from a desire to demonstrate to others their exceptionalism and ability to accomplish their goals.
References
Berenson, K. R., Ellison, W. D., & Clasing, R. (2017). Age differences in the desirability of narcissism. Journal of Individual Differences, 38(4), 230â240. Web.
Kim, J., Lee, H. W., Gao, H., & Johnson, R. E. (2021). When CEOs are all about themselves: Perceived CEO narcissism and middle managersâ workplace behaviors amid the COVID- 19 pandemic. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(9), 1283â1298. Web.
Ksinan, A. J., MaliĆĄ, J., & Vazsonyi, A. T. (2021). Swiping away the moments that make up a dull day: Narcissism, boredom, and compulsive smartphone use. Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues, 40(6), 2917â2926. Web.
Lawson, M. A., & Kakkar, H. (2021). Of pandemics, politics, and personality: The role of conscientiousness and political ideology in the sharing of fake news. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Web.
Lönnqvist, J. E., Ilmarinen, V., & Leikas, S. (2020). Not only assholes drive Mercedes Besides disagreeable men, also conscientious people drive highâstatus cars. International Journal of Psychology, 55(4), 572â576. Web.
Palmer, C. A., Ramsey, M. A., Morey, J. N., & Gentzler, A. L. (2016). How do people share their positive events? Individual differences in capitalizing, bragging, and mass-sharing. Journal of Individual Differences, 37(4), 250â259. Web.
Potard, C., Henry, A., Boudoukha, A.-H., Courtois, R., Laurent, A., & Lignier, B. (2020). Video game playersâ personality traits: An exploratory cluster approach to identifying gaming preferences. Psychology of Popular Media, 9(4), 499â512. Web.
Venkatesh, V., Ganster, D. C., Schuetz, S. W., & Sykes, T. A. (2021). Risks and rewards of conscientiousness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106(5), 643â656. Web.