A correlational study of moral development and narcissism.

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between the Defining Issues Test and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and its seven subscales. A sample of 119 subjects was drawn from the researcher's coworkers, friends, and family members, representing a wide variety of ages and occupations. Ninety-eight valid tests were received from this sample (40 males, 58 females). The scores obtained on the Defining Issues Test and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory were recorded for each subject, as were the gender, educational level in years, and the subjects' occupations. Pearson product-moment coefficients were calculated to determine the relationships between the two tests as well as the intercorrelations between the subscales of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. A correlation of .11 (~ > .05) was found between the Defining Issues Test and the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. Intercorrelations between the Narcissistic Personality Inventory subscales ranged from .17 to .83. A Newman-Keuls' Test was performed to determine the significance of the effect of subjects' educational level on scores obtained on each test instrument. This study suggests that there is a small, insignificant, positive relationship between the characteristics of moral reasoning ability as assessed by the Defining Issues Test, and narcissism, as assessed by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. The study also indicates that educational level is significant in the degree to which these characteristics are present. Further investigation of these traits and their relationship to other personality characteristics is suggested by this study.