National narcissism identified as a robust predictor of belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories
New research
published Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin provides evidence
that national narcissism is strongly tied to the spread of COVID-19 conspiracy
theories. National narcissism, a type of collective narcissism, refers to the
belief that one’s nation is exceptional and entitled to special treatment.
“We were interested in
the role that conspiracy theories might play during the pandemic. The United
Nations and the World Health Organization began using the term ‘infodemic’
during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 to communicate the risk that
misinformation might play in addressing the pandemic,” said study author Jay
J. Van Bavel, an associate professor at New York University and
author of “The Power of Us: Harnessing Our Shared Identities to Improve
Performance, Increase Cooperation, and Promote Social Harmony.”
“I also wrote about the
key role of misinformation and conspiracy theories, as well as collective
narcissism, in my initial paper on COVID a
few weeks later. This paper was a way to study those issues with a global
sample and help understand what might predict the belief and dissemination of
conspiracy theories during the pandemic.”
The researchers found
consistent evidence that greater national narcissism was associated with stronger
belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories. Those who scored higher on a measure of
national narcissism were also more willing to disseminate conspiracy theories
related to COVID-19. The findings were based on a survey of 293 U.S. adults, a
survey of 637 U.K. adults, and a survey of 50,757 participants from 56
countries.
In all three surveys,
the participants were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with statements
such as “I will never be satisfied until [my country] gets the recognition it
deserves” and [My country] deserves special treatment.” They also indicated the
extent to which they endorsed conspiracy theories about COVID-19, such as the
belief that the Chinese government deliberately engineered and spread the virus
as a bioweapon.
“People should
understand that social identity plays a central role in how people construct
beliefs,” Van Bavel told PsyPost. “This can, of course, be a good thing if you
are part of a group that values accuracy and the well being of group members.
Alternatively, it can be a bad thing if your identity involves inflated views
of your group and an obsession with dominance or image management.”
“In this case, we found
strong evidence across 56 different countries that this more narcissist form of
collective identity is a very strong predictor of a bad outcome–the belief in
conspiracy theories about the pandemic. And I want to underscore that this is a
pretty big effect size, much larger than other factors we’ve explored in the
domain of conspiracy theories and misinformation.”
The findings held even
after the researchers controlled for national identification, belief in
conspiracy theories unrelated to COVID-19, and political ideology. But the
study, like all research, includes some limitations.
“The single biggest
caveat is that we have no clear evidence of causation,” Van Bavel explained.
“We tried to rule out a number of alternative explanations by statistically
adjusting for relevant variables, but future research needs to find a way to
experimentally manipulate collective/national narcissism. I think that is the
most obvious future direction.”
The study, “National Narcissism predicts
the Belief in and the Dissemination of Conspiracy Theories During the COVID-19
Pandemic: Evidence From 56 Countries“, was authored by Anni
Sternisko, Aleksandra Cichocka, Aleksandra Cislak, and Jay J. Van Bavel.
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