Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Sementelli, Arthur J.

Abstract

Public service motivation (PSM) encompasses self-sacrifice (SS), compassion (COM), commitment to public values (CPV), and attraction to public participation (APP) as part of a public service ethic. The public and non-profit sectors are purported to consist of individuals possessing other-directed, communal values, rather than self-directed, agentic values characterizing private sector organizations. However, PSM’s positive, or prosocial bias often discounts self-interested motives and mixed motives. Garnering insights from personality psychology may further the development of PSM from multidisciplinary angles. Malevolent personalities in organizations have been evidenced by decades of research in the private sector. Yet, similar efforts delineating malevolent types in public and non-profit organizations remain lacking. While a battery of personality scales access general personality disorders, none has been administered across sectors to determine if disordered individuals are more likely to be found employed in a particular sector. The communal narcissism scale is distinct from other malevolent scales because it measures communal traits as a function of domain specificity. Unlike the agentic version of narcissism, in which self-aggrandizement is almost immediately apparent to others, in communal narcissism, the self-aggrandizement component is hidden by a ‘saint-type bias’ and self-proclaimed other-orientation. Some communal narcissism traits may mimic dimensions of the PSM scale. If a malevolent personality can mimic public service motivation, then this research would be among the first to illustrate a dark side of PSM, as recently suggested by PSM scholars. This research found that CNI was, indeed, associated with PSM, particularly the self-sacrifice, public participation, and compassion dimensions. Additionally, PSM was positively associated with the non-profit sector and negatively associated with the private sector. CNI, in contrast, was indirectly influenced by sector. Specifically, CNI was positively associated with non-profit sector and negatively associated with the private sector. An empirical analysis of two studies is presented and future research directions are discussed.

Extent

198 p.

Comments

Includes bibliography.|Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018.|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Includes bibliography.

Identifier

FA00013061

Format

pdf

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