Narcissism and Actors: A Comparative Study of the Narcissistic Qualities of Actors Acting Students and Psychology Students

This study compared 200 psychology undergraduates, 47 acting students and 69 professional actors using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. The inventory was evaluated using both Robert Raskin's seven factor system and Robert Emmons' four factor system. Three comparisons were done. The first analysis involved the three groups, undergraduate, student actors, and professional actors and gender. The second involved only the professional actors and investigated effects of gender and membership in an acting union. The third examined effects of gender and age. The age groups were delineated by decade beginning with teens, the oldest group being in their sixties. The acting groups were found to be significantly more narcissistic in terms of Emmons' Leadership/Authority factor, and Raskins' Exhibitionism factor. The undergraduates and student actors had significantly higher scores than the professionals on Raskin's Entitlement factor. Within the professional group, women who were members of an acting union obtained significantly higher scores for Raskin's Authority factor. Participants in their twenties were found to have significantly higher scores in terms of Emmons' Exploitation/Entitlement, and Raskin's Entitlement factors. It is suggested that the narcissistic qualities historically associated with professional actors actually exist in young student actors. Moreover, the long held beliefs {about the narcissistic professional actor) need to be re-evaluated.