Narcissists and conspiracy theories

By now I have written six posts about narcissists, which should give you an idea that I am somewhat interested in them. But let’s be honest, narcissists are fascinating and interesting. Just ask them. They will tell you.

As part of my reading about narcissists, I came across an interesting overview paper that summarizes the empirical evidence that shows that narcissists are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories. In essence, the paper argues that conspiracy theories appeal to narcissists in three ways.

Three pathways why narcissists like conspiracy theories

Source: Cichoka et al. (2022)

First, many narcissists display what is called “agentic extraversion” which is a fancy word for the need for admiration, and using grandiose stories and exaggerated claims to boost their egos and create that very admiration that they crave. Well, a key component of conspiracy theories is that they claim there is a group of people that has special insights into how the world works. Being part of this small group of enlightened people creates exactly that kind of ego boost narcissists want.

The second driver for narcissists is their antagonism. Almost all narcissists feel threatened by other people, particularly the ones they cannot control. Other people are intentionally malicious and in particular politicians, billionaires, and other powerful people that narcissists intuitively know are more successful than they are, are perceived as out to get them. Join this with an intense need for control and an intense fear of defeat. This is why before narcissists accept and admit defeat, they rather stick to conspiracy theories that allow them to retain control over the situation and tell themselves that they have been cheated out of what is rightfully theirs. In this respect, it is interesting to note that narcissistic people typically lack self-esteem. Individuals with positive self-evaluation and satisfaction about their achievements in life are less likely to be narcissists. In essence, narcissists think they are losers, which is why they cling to theories that others are out to get them, so narcissists don’t have to change anything about their lives.

Third, narcissists are much more gullible than the average person. The very fact that they are so in love with their abilities makes them shut down critical assessments of the people they interact with and the “information” they encounter. The technical term used here – and I am not making this up – is “bullshit receptivity” which can be observed in individuals but also in groups of individuals up to the point of entire nations. This study showed that citizens of countries that promote a feeling of exceptionalism are more likely to believe and spread conspiracy theories. This is maybe why countries like the United States and the UK have seen conspiracy theories spread more widely in recent years than countries like Germany or Switzerland. The narrative of American exceptionalism or – to a lesser extent – of British superiority is still very much alive in the US and the UK and forms a much bigger part of national identity than in other countries (no offense to my American and British readers).

These three pathways are all tapped into by conspiracy theories which is why so many narcissists tend to fall for them. The funny, or rather an unfunny result of these three traits of narcissists is also that narcissists are more likely to aim for a career in politics. Becoming a politician also feeds all three needs of narcissists. This paper summarised the impressions of more than 1800 experts on 157 democratically elected political leaders. The 14 leaders with autocratic tendencies in that study were associated with much stronger narcissistic tendencies than less autocratic leaders with the same political lean. In essence, we often don’t get the political leaders we need because the people who run for office are already skewed towards more narcissistic people. And the most grandiose and outrageous of these candidates often make it into office because they provide the best show and are most entertaining. The result is that we, again and again, elect people that turn out to have rather strong autocratic tendencies.