Personality and Ethical Decision-Making in Research: The Role of Perceptions of Self and others

Abstract

This study examined basic personality characteristics, narcissism, and cynicism as predictors of ethical decision-making among graduate students training for careers in the sciences. Participants completed individual difference measures along with a scenario-based ethical decision-making measure that captures the complex, multifaceted nature of ethical decision-making in scientific research. The results revealed that narcissism and cynicism (individual differences influencing self-perceptions and perceptions of others) showed consistently negative relationships with aspects of ethical decision-making, whereas more basic personality characteristics (e.g., conscientiousness, agreeableness) were less consistent and weaker. Further analyses examined the relationship of personality to metacognitive reasoning strategies and social-behavioral response patterns thought to underlie ethical decision-making. The findings indicated that personality was associated with many of these social-cognitive mechanisms which might, in part, explain the association between personality and ethical decisions.