A University of British Columbia study finds that narcissistic applicants are more successful in job interviews than equally qualified candidates who act more modestly.
The findings suggest that applicants from cultures that place greater emphasis on humility, including some Asian cultures, may have a harder time landing a job in North America.
Before placing participants in job interview scenarios, researchers used questionnaires to measure their levels of narcissism. The study found that people who rated as narcissists were viewed as more attractive job candidates.
They also found that participants of Japanese, Chinese and Korean heritage exhibited lower levels of narcissism, and were less likely to receive “definitely hire” ratings as a result.
Learn more about this study here.
Story sources:
Del Paulhus
UBC Dept. of Psychology
Email: dpaulhus@psych.ubc.ca
“A job interview is one of the few social situations where narcissistic behaviours such as boasting actually create a positive impression. Normally, people are put off by such behaviour, especially over repeated exposure.”
“The pro-narcissism bias results in an indirect cultural bias – particularly against East Asians.”
BACKGROUND
The study was originally published by the Journal of Applied Social Psychology in October 2013 and can be found here.