Social identity threat across group status: Links to psychological well-being and intergroup bias through collective narcissism and ingroup satisfaction.

Abstract

Objectives. Through two correlational studies (Study 1: Turkish majority, Kurdish minority; Study 2: White British majority; Black minority), we examined the implications of social identity threat for majority and minority ethnic group members' psychological well-being and intergroup bias, using a social identity framework that incorporates the recently highlighted distinction between narcissistic and non-narcissistic positive evaluation of the ingroup (i.e., collective narcissism and ingroup satisfaction, respectively). Method. Online questionnaires were completed by 397 Turkish nationals (265 ethnic Turks and 132 ethnic Kurds, Mage = 32.81, SD = 11.67) in Study 1 and 351 British individuals (163 White and 188 Black British; Mage = 31.47, SD = 10.84) in Study 2.Results. Social identity threat was consistently associated with collective narcissism among all ethnic groups, whereas it was either unrelated or related negatively to ingroup satisfaction. Collective narcissism was positively associated with intergroup bias among both majority and minority groups. Unexpectedly, ingroup satisfaction was also related to greater bias particularly among majority members. In all groups, ingroup satisfaction (but not collective narcissism) was directly associated with greater psychological well-being. Conclusions.Findings highlight the importance of exploring the narcissistic component of positive ingroup evaluation to provide a more nuanced understanding of the relationships between social identity threat and personal well-being, as well as intergroup bias.

Collective Narcissism as a Basis for Nationalism

“…Just as narcissism is qualitatively different from and has a different etiology than self-esteem (Brummelman, Thomaes, & Sedikides, 2016), collective narcissism is a distinct and separate phenomenon from ingroup satisfaction (Golec de Zavala et al, 2019;2020;. They are, as Golec de Zavala and colleagues (2020) argue 'alternative beliefs that people may hold about the social identities they share' (p. 742) Individuals who endorse collective narcissism are sensitive to threats to the perceived greatness of the ingroup (Bagci et al, 2021;Guerra et al, 2020). When the ingroup does not receive the admiration it is believed to deserve, collective narcissists react with hostility, retaliatory aggression, and joy at the misfortunes of outgroups in both observational and experimental studies (Golec de Zavala et al, 2009;Golec de Zavala, Cichocka, & Iskra-Golec, 2013b;Golec de Zavala, Pekker, Guerra, & Baran, 2016;Hase et al, 2021).…”

Conditional Parochial Vicarious Ostracism: Gender Collective Narcissism Predicts Distress at the Exclusion of the Gender Ingroup in Women and Men

“…When it becomes a prevalent way of defining the ingroup's identity, it is likely to undermine group members' wellbeing. Indeed, collective narcissism is associated with chronically low life satisfaction, predominantly negative mood and negative emotionality (Golec de Zavala, 2019;Golec de Zavala et al, 2022), and, unlike non-narcissistic ingroup satisfaction, it does not predict well-being in advantaged or disadvantaged groups (Bagci et al, 2021). Thus, to understand the role of ingroup identification in the context of intergroup exclusion, it is important to examine not only whether group members identify with the excluded ingroup, but also how they identify with it, as ingroup identification is a multifaceted phenomenon (e.g., Leach et al, 2008).…”

“…Collective narcissism is an aspect of ingroup identification that pertains to positive evaluations of the ingroup (Golec de Zavala et al, 2009. However, unlike nonnarcissistic positive regard for the ingroup (e.g., private collective self-esteem, Crocker & Luhtanen, 1990;ingroup satisfaction, Leach et al, 2008;positive ingroup regard, Brewer, 2011), collective narcissism is chronically associated with exaggerated perceptions of intergroup threat, conflict, and injustice against the ingroup, regardless of the ingroup's actual situation (Bagci et al, 2021;Golec de Zavala et al, 2016Guerra et al, 2022;Hase et al, 2021).…”

How social identity shapes conspiratorial belief

“…Some of the most striking evidence of the role of identity comes from studies exploring the relationship between conspiratorial beliefs and collective narcissism. Collective narcissism is the belief that one's group is not recognized for their inherent greatness (Golec De Zavala et al, 2009) and has been consistently associated with social identity threat (Bagci et al, 2021) and conspiracy theory beliefs (Golec de Zavala & Cichocka, 2012;Sternisko et al, 2021;Marchlewska et al, 2019). For instance, a recent international study across 56 countries found that people with higher collective narcissism were much more likely to believe a variety of conspiracy theories about COVID-19 (Sternisko et al, 2021).…”