In a multinational study (61 countries; N = 15,039), we examined how collective narcissists, both agentic (ACN) and communal (CCN), reacted cognitively (through endorsement of unfounded conspiracy and health beliefs) and behaviorally (via prevention, hoarding, and prosociality) to the pandemic. Higher ACN and CCN predicted greater endorsement of COVID-19 unfounded beliefs and higher likelihood of having recentl...
According to social identity theory, low self-esteem motivates group members to derogate outgroups, thus achieving positive in-group distinctiveness and boosting self-esteem. According to the Frankfurt School and status politics theorists, low self-esteem motivates collective narcissism (i.e., resentment for insufficient external recognition of the in-group's importance), which predicts out-group derogation. Em...
Results of five studies (N = 1596) linked collective narcissism-a belief in in-group exaggerated greatness contingent on external validation-to direct and indirect, retaliatory hostility in response to situations that collective narcissists perceived as insulting to the in-group but which fell well beyond the definition of an insult. In Turkey, collective narcissists responded with schadenfreude to the European...