The Effect of Dark Triad, Social Projection, and Moral Identity on Auditor Judgments and Actions

• In Event: Dark Triad in Accounting

Abstract

Auditor characteristics have been suggested as one of four antecedents to skeptical judgments and skeptical actions. We draw upon social projection theory to determine whether the use of one’s own characteristics as a proxy for the characteristics of others may differentially affect risk assessments based on the auditor’s own propensity toward unethical behavior (i.e., Dark Triad). We predict and find a significant disordinal interaction between social projection and Dark Triad traits, suggesting that auditors’ use of their own ethical tendencies as a proxy for their clients’ can differentially influence their ability to identify risks. Additionally, consistent with the sociocognitive model of moral psychology, we predict and find that while an auditors’ level of Dark Triad personality may influence their judgments, it is ultimately moral identity (i.e., the degree to which morality is important to a person’s self-concept) that significantly influences their actions. Our results suggest that a propensity toward unethical behavior (i.e., Dark Triad) could be helpful for auditors in identifying audit risks in certain situations, but that auditors’ moral identity is the self-regulatory mechanism restricting unethical actions.

Authors

• Kristen Steury, University of South Carolina

• Chad Matthew Stefaniak, University of South Carolina