Narcissistic students perceive student-professor flirting as less morally troubling

New research suggests that a college student’s level of narcissism plays a role in how they perceive and participate in flirtatious interactions with their professors. The findings indicate that students with high levels of grandiose narcissism are more likely to report flirting with faculty and believe faculty are flirting back, whereas those with vulnerable narcissism tend to perceive such behavior as common among their peers but not within their own interactions. The study was published in The Journal of Social Psychology.

The dynamics of student-professor relationships have long been a subject of concern within higher education. While most interactions remain professional, sexual or romantic engagements do occur and can lead to serious consequences. These include lawsuits, conflicts of interest, and the erosion of a safe learning environment.

Despite the gravity of these issues, there has been very little empirical research into which individual personality traits might predict the initiation of such behaviors. Previous research from the early 1980s suggested that a significant portion of students had flirted with professors, but modern data on the psychological drivers behind these actions has been sparse.

“While researchers are often interested in how narcissism influences behavior within academia, previous research has focused on academic success (e.g., GPA) and/or academic misconduct (e.g., cheating),” explained study author Braden T. Hall, a PhD student at the University of Alabama.

“However, flirting between students and professors is a real-world problem with serious consequences (e.g., damage to reputation, severe power imbalances, damage to academic integrity, lawsuits, etc.), and no research has examined the types of students that may be more likely to engage in such behavior, perceive such behavior from their professors, or perceive such behavior as prevalent on their campus and/or less morally inappropriate.”

Narcissism is generally understood as a personality trait characterized by a sense of entitlement and self-importance. However, psychologists recognize two distinct forms: grandiose and vulnerable.

Grandiose narcissism is associated with boldness, charm, and a desire for admiration. Vulnerable narcissism involves similar entitlement but is coupled with insecurity, anxiety, and a sense of victimization. The research team proposed that these two types of narcissism would manifest differently regarding academic flirting.

The researchers hypothesized that grandiose individuals would be bold enough to flirt personally, while both types would view the behavior as more acceptable and prevalent among others. To test their hypotheses, the researchers recruited 233 undergraduate psychology students from the University of Alabama.

The sample was predominantly female and white, with an average age of 19. Participants began by completing the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory – Short Form, a standardized measure designed to assess levels of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. This allowed the team to score each participant on the specific dimensions of the personality trait.

The core of the study involved a detailed assessment of flirting behaviors. To ensure the behaviors listed were relevant, the researchers first conducted a pilot study to identify actions that students and faculty agreed constituted flirting. This resulted in a list of 12 specific behaviors for classroom settings, such as complimenting appearance, and 12 for office settings, such as sitting on a desk. Importantly, these behaviors were designed to be mild to moderate in nature rather than explicit sexual harassment or coercion.

Participants reviewed these behaviors and provided frequency estimates across several different scenarios. They rated how often they engaged in these behaviors toward professors and how often professors engaged in them toward the students. They also provided estimates for how often they believed their peers engaged in these behaviors with professors. Finally, the students rated the moral appropriateness of the behaviors. The researchers used statistical models to analyze how narcissism scores predicted these frequency estimates and moral judgments.

The results provided evidence that narcissism influences how students view academic boundaries. Students with higher levels of grandiose narcissism reported engaging in flirting behavior with professors more frequently. They also reported that professors flirted with them more often.

This pattern was consistent regardless of whether the interaction took place in a classroom or an office. This finding aligns with the profile of grandiose narcissists as individuals who seek attention, lack fear of social rejection, and may view themselves as exceptionally attractive or desirable to authority figures.

The findings for vulnerable narcissism were distinct. Students scoring high in vulnerable narcissism did not report higher frequencies of flirting with professors themselves. This is likely due to the social anxiety and fear of rejection that characterizes this form of narcissism. Although they may desire special treatment, the risk of awkwardness or dismissal likely inhibits them from acting on those desires.

However, vulnerable narcissism did predict how students viewed the behavior of others. High levels of vulnerable narcissism were associated with the belief that peers were frequently flirting with professors and that professors were flirting with peers. This suggests a cynical worldview where these students believe others are getting ahead through manipulative or immoral means, even if they are not doing so themselves.

When it comes to moral judgment, both forms of narcissism showed similar patterns. Higher levels of both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism were associated with viewing student-professor flirting as less inappropriate.

While the average student in the study viewed these behaviors as generally inappropriate, narcissistic students were more tolerant of them. This aligns with previous research suggesting that narcissism is linked to “moral disengagement,” or the tendency to excuse unethical behavior when it serves one’s interests or matches one’s worldview.

“Most of the effects of narcissism we found were medium-to-large, so these effects seem robust, and the effects of grandiose narcissism were consistent across contexts (e.g., classroom and offices), suggesting that these effects are due to trait-level differences rather than situations,” Hall told PsyPost.

The study also revealed general trends regarding the context of these interactions. Participants tended to view flirting as less inappropriate when it occurred in a classroom compared to a private office. The researchers suggest this might be because classroom interactions are public and may be interpreted as trying to be entertaining or engaging, whereas private office interactions imply a higher level of intimacy and potential for misconduct.

“Flirting between students and professors, while oftentimes seemingly benign, can be misinterpreted and have serious consequences in academic settings,” Hall explained. “The present study offers novel insight into the types of students (grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic students) who are more likely to see this behavior as less morally troubling and believe that flirting between students and professors is more typical. Additionally, we draw an important distinction wherein only grandiose narcissistic students are more likely to see flirting as typical of themselves.”

But it is important to contextualize these findings within the broader scope of the data. The average frequency estimates for flirting were low across the board. This means that while narcissistic students reported more flirting than their less narcissistic counterparts, the absolute reported frequency was still relatively rare.

Most students do not flirt with professors, and most view it as wrong. The study does not suggest that universities are overrun with flirtatious exchanges, but rather that when they do occur, specific personality traits are likely involved.

Even more narcissistic students “did not rate flirting between students and professors as appropriate, just less inappropriate,” Hall noted.

As with all research, there are also some limitations to consider. The research relied entirely on self-reported data. It is possible that grandiose narcissistic students merely believe they are flirting or being flirted with due to their inflated ego, rather than accurately reporting reality. The study was also cross-sectional, meaning it captured a snapshot in time and cannot definitively prove that narcissism causes the behavior, only that they are related.

Additionally, the sample was drawn from a large state university in the southeastern United States. “It would be interesting to see if these effects replicate at smaller universities where students and professors may have closer one-on-one relationships, which may lend itself to stronger effects,” Hall said.

The study, “‘Your desk or mine?’: narcissism predicts student-professor flirting frequency and perceptions of its appropriateness,” was authored by Braden T. Hall, William Hart, Joshua T. Lambert, and Bella C. Roberts.