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Collective narcissism predicts the belief and dissemination of conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic [post]

Anni Sternisko, Aleksandra Cichocka, Aleksandra Cislak, Jay Joseph Van Bavel
2020 unpublished

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While COVID-19 was quietly spreading across the globe, conspiracy theories were finding loud voices on the internet. What contributes to the spread of these theories? In two national surveys (NTotal = 950) conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom, we identified national narcissism – a belief in the greatness of one's nation that others do not appreciate – as a risk factor for the spread of conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that national narcissism was
more » ... ly associated with the proneness to believe and disseminate conspiracy theories related to COVID-19, accounting for up to 22% of the variance. Further, we found preliminary evidence that belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and national narcissism was linked to health-related behaviors and attitudes towards public policies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Our study expands previous work by illustrating the importance of identity processes in the spread of conspiracy theories during pandemics.
doi:10.31234/osf.io/4c6av fatcat:54mqfoxbpbaq3fdv44nghkhrkm
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Anni Sternisko, Aleksandra Cichocka, Aleksandra Cislak, Jay Joseph Van Bavel. "Collective narcissism predicts the belief and dissemination of conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic." (2020)