Narcissism for Fun and Profit: An Empirical Examination of Narcissism and Its Determinants in a Sample of Generation Z Business College Students

Abstract

The Millennial Generation is frequently identified with narcissistic behavior. However, less work has examined the narcissism of the subsequent generational cohort, Generation Z. In this article, we review the literature on the relationship between narcissism and undergraduate academic major in a college of business, campus involvement, and several demographic variables. We then conduct a study ( N = 660) to evaluate subclinical narcissism and its relationship to those choices and traits among contemporary undergraduate business college students using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) and the Single Item Narcissism Scale (SINS). Results reveal one of the highest mean NPI scores in the literature, corroborating prior findings concerning elevated narcissism among business students and providing a piece of evidence concerning intergenerational narcissism. Then, using a set of regression models, we find that NPI scores are higher among finance majors, leaders of student organizations, males, younger students, extrinsically religious students, and non-White students. The SINS is supported as a valid measure of subclinical narcissism. We then discuss how these findings have influenced our approach to course policy and classroom management, and we outline directions for future research based on this exploratory study of Generation Z college students.