Does Self-Love or Self-Hate Predict Conspiracy Beliefs? Narcissism, Self-Esteem, and the Endorsement of Conspiracy Theories

Abstract

Across three studies, we examined the role of self-evaluation in predicting conspiracy beliefs. Previous research linked the endorsement of conspiracy theories to low self-esteem.We propose that conspiracy theories should rather be appealing to individuals with exaggerated feelings of self-love, such as narcissists, due to their paranoid tendencies. In Study 1 general conspiracist beliefs were predicted by high individual narcissism but low self-esteem. Study 2 demonstrated that these effects were differentially mediated by paranoid thoughts, and independent of the effects of collective narcissism. Individual narcissism predicted generalized conspiracist beliefs, regardless of the conspiracy theories implicating in-group or out-group members, while collective narcissism predicted belief in out-group but not in-group conspiracies. Study 3 replicated the effects of individual narcissism and selfesteem on the endorsement of various specific conspiracy theories and demonstrated that the negative effect of self-esteem was largely accounted for by the general negativity towards humans associated with low self-esteem. Keywords: conspiracy theories, self-esteem, narcissism, collective narcissism, paranoia RUNNING HEAD: Narcissism and conspiracy beliefs 3 Does self-love or self-hate predict conspiracy beliefs? Narcissism, self-esteem and the endorsement of conspiracy theories Although conspiracy theories are often treated as harmless entertainment, they can have serious societal consequences (Douglas, Sutton, Jolley, & Wood, 2015). For example, exposure to conspiracy theories can decrease political engagement or pro-environmental behavior (Jolley & Douglas, 2014a;2014b). If widespread conspiracy theories affect the society, then it seems important to understand psychological factors underlying conspiracy beliefs. One prevalent hypothesis in this line of inquiry has been that conspiracy theories are usually endorsed by individuals who show poor psychological adjustment or are in some way socially disadvantaged. Conspiracy beliefs have been linked to powerlessness (AbalakinaPaap, Stephan, Craig, & Gregory, 1999), feelings of relative deprivation (Bilewicz, Winiewski, Kofta, & Wójcik, 2013), anomie (Abalakina-Paap et al., 1999;Imhoff & Bruder, 2014), lack of personal control (Whitson & Galinsky, 2008; cf. Bruder, Haffke, Neave, Nouripanah, & Imhoff, 2013), uncertainty (van Prooijen & Jostmann, 2012Whitson, Galinsky, & Kay, 2015), and being a member of a disadvantaged group (Abalkina-Paap et al., 1999;Crocker, Luhtanen, Broadnax, & Blaine, 1999;Goertzel, 1994). It has been theorized that belief in others´ conspiratorial actions that unfairly undermine one's own efforts, can serve to protect feelings of self-worth (Robins & Post, 1997).In line with this reasoning, Abalkina-Paap and colleagues (1999) proposed that conspiracy beliefs should be endorsed by people with low self-esteem "because this permits them to blame others for their problems" (p. 644). So far, however, evidence linking conspiracy beliefs to low s...

Collective narcissism and the growth of conspiracy thinking over the course of the 2016 United States presidential election: A longitudinal analysis

“…Most importantly, while previous studies showed that CN was related to endorsement of specific conspiracy theories explaining particular hardships experienced by the in‐group (Cichocka et al., ; Golec de Zavala & Cichocka, ), the present study showed that CN predicts changes in the generic predisposition to think in conspiracy terms. Thus, while previous studies showed that CN predicts beliefs that specific out‐groups engaged in secretive, malevolent actions (Cichocka et al., ), our findings indicate that CN predicts a more general predilection toward conspiracy thinking—that is, an essentially content‐free tendency to believe that a malevolent, secretive “them” conspires against “us” to cause harm (Uscinski et al., ). Such results suggest that CN with reference to any in‐group should be related to general conspiracy thinking and in‐groups and out‐groups featured can be redefined depending on current intergroup context.…”

“…Consistent with the idea that conspiracy theories are especially appealing to those who feel they are losing politically (Uscinski & Parent, ), ideological liberalism was associated with growth in conspiracy thinking. Third, consistent with the idea that positive social identification is associated with reduced conspiracy endorsement once CN is accounted for (Cichocka et al., ), American identification was associated with decreased conspiracy thinking over the campaign.…”

Belief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain

“…Furthermore, evidence suggests that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with problematic interpersonal relationships. Specifically, belief in conspiracy theories is correlated with a range of individual difference variables that reflect impoverished interpersonal functioning, such as interpersonal paranoia (Darwin et al., ), narcissism (Cichocka, Marchlewska, & Golec de Zavala, ), disagreeableness (Swami et al., ), insecure attachment (Green & Douglas, ) and Machiavellianism (Douglas & Sutton, ). While future research would need to examine the causal effects of conspiracy beliefs on the quality of interpersonal relationships more directly, the findings obtained so far are consistent with the idea that endorsing conspiracy theories is associated with poorer interpersonal functioning.…”

The role of system identity threat in conspiracy theory endorsement

“…Research examining CTs has increased dramatically in recent years, with much of it focusing on individual differences that predict increased endorsement of CTs or the circumstances under which conspiracy thinking is likely to emerge. For example, individuals who believe in CTs tend to have higher levels of paranormal beliefs (Swami et al., ), anxiety (Grzesiak‐Feldman, ), paranoid ideation (Darwin, Neave, & Holmes, ), openness to new experiences (Swami, Chamorro‐Premuzic, & Furnham, ), need for uniqueness (Imhoff & Lamberty, ; Lantian, Muller, Nurra, & Douglas, ), and narcissism (Cichocka, Marchlewska, & Golec de Zavala, ), and are lower in self‐esteem (Cichocka et al., ; Swami et al., ) and agreeableness (Swami et al., , ), and are more likely to believe in other CTs (Goertzel, ; Imhoff & Lamberty, ; Swami et al., , ), even when these beliefs are contradictory (Wood, Douglas, & Sutton, ). With respect to political antecedents, research indicates that CT endorsement is higher among those who are more politically extreme (van Prooijen, Krouwel, & Pollet, ) and politically cynical and distrusting of government (Swami et al., ).…”