Agnieszka Golec de Zavala

• Phd
• Goldsmiths University of London

Collective narcissism is a belief that one’s own group (the in-group) is exceptional but not sufficiently recognized by others. It is the form of ‘in-group love’ associated with ‘out-group hate’. In contrast to private collective self-esteem (a belief that the in-group is of high value), it consistently predicts prejudice, retaliatory intergroup ag...

In Poland, both, gender hierarchy restricting women’s sexuality and heteronormativity are rooted in traditional “family values” supported by the teachings of the Polish Catholic Church and attached to Polish national identity. Dissenters to traditional norms regulating gender and sexual relations are rejected as a threat to social order and nationa...

The present study explored the antecedents of solidarity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that solidarity during mass emergencies involves the development of a social identity encompassing those facing a common fate, we examined how national in-group satisfaction (IS, a belief that the national in-group and one’s membership in it are of high value...

Meta-analytical evidence indicates the robust association between collective narcissism and conspiracy theories is moderated by the content of conspiracy theories. Belief in conspiracies of specific outgroups fits collective narcissistic posture of intergroup hostility but collective narcissism is also bound to other conspiracy theories because it...

According to social identity theory, low self-esteem motivates group members to derogate out-groups, 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 th...

Collective narcissism is an individual predisposition toward political radicalization. It is the belief that the ingroup's exaggerated greatness is insufficiently recognized by others. This belief distorts social cognition, fostering a consistent yet inaccurate narrative in which the ingroup is perpetually wronged by others and therefore justified...

Why is the turmoil of revolution so often followed by the emergence of dictatorships as oppressive as the one overthrown by the revolution? It may be because national collective narcissism—a demand for external recognition of the exaggerated greatness of one's own nation—as a group-binding national ideology may be as involved in anti-hierarchical d...

Amid historically low societal trust in science, four cross-sectional studies (N = 3,856) reveal a link between generic science denial and national narcissism. The findings support the pre-registered hypotheses that (1) national narcissism (a desire for national recognition) and ingroup satisfaction (pride in national value) have opposite unique as...

In this paper, we examine the relationship between collective and individual forms of narcissism and two contrarian political orientations that are oppositional, suspicious, and purposefully destructive-need for chaos and anti-establishment orientation. In three studies (total N=4144), we demonstrate that (1) national collective narcissism predicts...

In four cross-sectional studies (N = 2,228; three preregistered), we hypothesized and found that U.S. American and White collective narcissism is associated with opposition to racial equality, whereas racial collective narcissism among Blacks and Latinx in the U.S. is associated with support for racial equality. In Studies 1 & 2, American national...

In four cross-sectional studies (N = 2,228; three preregistered), we hypothesized and found that U.S. American and White collective narcissism is associated with opposition to racial equality, whereas racial collective narcissism among Blacks and Latinx in the U.S. is associated with support for racial equality. In Studies 1 & 2, American national...

In four cross-sectional studies (N = 2,228; three preregistered), we hypothesized and found that U.S. American and White collective narcissism is associated with opposition to racial equality, whereas racial collective narcissism among Blacks and Latinx in the U.S. is associated with support for racial equality. In Studies 1 & 2, American national...

Three studies (N = 860) examined whether pleasure of revenge predicts both vengeful and benevolent motivations toward the provocateur. Across all studies, self-reported positive affect was higher, whereas self-reported negative affect was lower after an instance of revenge. Furthermore, the revenge-related positive affect predicted greater subseque...

Prejudice toward the LGBT community has become prevalent in Poland under the ultraconservative populist government. The results of three studies conducted between 2018 and 2019 (N1 = 879, N2 = 324, and N3 = 374) indicate that Polish collective narcissism—the belief that the exaggerated greatness of the nation is not recognized by others—is associat...

Collective narcissism is a belief that the ingroup deserves but is denied special treatment and recognition. It is a projection of the narcissistic need to be recognized as better than others on the social level of the self. It is an aspect of ingroup identification, one of the ways group members favour their ingroup. National narcissism is associa...

Recent allegations that Pope John Paul II turned a blind eye to clergy sexual abuse as archbishop and pope have ignited much controversy in Poland. In this study, we utilize data from an original representative survey of Polish adults to examine predictors of defensive political reactions to these allegations. We hypothesized that national and Cath...

To elucidate how ingroup identification is implicated in attitudes towards gender equality, it is important to consider that (1) people simultaneously identify with more (a nation) vs. less abstract groups (gender), and (2) gender collective narcissism is the specific aspect of ingroup identification likely to inspire opposite attitudes towards gen...

This research tested the hypothesis that mindful-gratitude practice attenuates the robust association between collective narcissism and prejudice. In Study 1 (a between-subjects study using a nationally representative sample of 569 Polish adults; 313 female), 10 min of mindful-gratitude practice—compared to mindful-attention practice and control—di...

Understanding of the exact trajectories of mood improvements during mindfulness practice helps to optimize mindfulness‐based interventions. The Mindfulness‐to‐Meaning model expects mood improvements to be linear, incremental, and cumulative. Our findings align with this expectation. We used multilevel growth curve models to analyze daily changes in...

Understanding of the exact trajectories of mood improvements during mindfulness practice helps to optimize the mindfulness-based interventions. The Mindfulness-to-Meaning model expects mood improvements to be linear, incremental, and cumulative. Our findings align with this expectation. We used multilevel growth curve models to analyze daily change...

Understanding of the exact trajectories of mood improvements during mindfulness practice helps to optimize the mindfulness-based interventions. The Mindfulness-to-Meaning model expects mood improvements to be linear, incremental, and cumulative. Our findings align with this expectation. We used multilevel growth curve models to analyze daily change...

To elucidate how ingroup identification is implicated in attitudes towards gender equality, it is important to consider that (1) people simultaneously identify with more (a nation) vs. less abstract groups (gender), and (2) gender collective narcissism is the specific aspect of ingroup identification likely to inspire opposite attitudes towards gen...

This research tested the hypothesis that mindful-gratitude practice attenuates the robust association between collective narcissism and prejudice. In between-subjects Study 1 (nationally representative sample of 569 Polish adults, 313 women), 10 minutes of mindful-gratitude practice—compared to mindful-attention practice and control—did not decreas...

This research tested the hypothesis that mindful-gratitude practice attenuates the robust association between collective narcissism and prejudice. In between-subjects Study 1 (nationally representative sample of 569 Polish adults, 313 women), 10 minutes of mindful-gratitude practice—compared to mindful-attention practice and control—did not decreas...

A randomized-controlled-trial study (N = 219) tested two pre-registered hypotheses that mobile-phone app-based mindfulness training improves wellbeing and increases self-transcendent emotions: gratitude, self-compassion, and awe. Latent change score modeling with a robust maximum likelihood estimator was used to test how those changes are associate...

Recent allegations that Pope John Paul II turned a blind eye to clergy sexual abuse as archbishop and pope have ignited much controversy in Poland. In this study, we utilize data from an original representative survey of Polish adults to examine predictors of defensive political reactions to these allegations. We hypothesized that national and Cath...

Recent allegations that Pope John Paul II turned a blind eye to clergy sexual abuse as archbishop and pope have ignited much controversy in Poland. In this study, we utilize data from an original representative survey of Polish adults to examine predictors of defensive political reactions to these allegations. We hypothesized that national and Cath...

To elucidate how ingroup identification is implicated in attitudes towards gender equality, it is important to consider that (1) people simultaneously identify with more (a nation) vs. less abstract groups (gender), and (2) gender collective narcissism is the specific aspect of ingroup identification likely to inspire opposite attitudes towards gen...

Three experiments (two pre-registered) tested whether gender collective narcissism (i.e., a belief that one’s gender ingroup’s exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others) predicts parochial vicarious ostracism (i.e., feeling ostracized and distressed while recognizing the gender ingroup’s exclusion, but not when recognizing the exclusi...

Meta-analytical evidence indicates the robust association between collective narcissism and conspiracy theories is moderated by the content of conspiracy theories. Belief in conspiracies of specific outgroups fits collective narcissistic posture of intergroup hostility but collective narcissism is also bound to other conspiracy theories because it...

Recent work suggests that collective narcissism—an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in an in-group’s greatness that demands constant external validation—is a reliable predictor of authoritarian-populist hostility toward democratic norms, processes, and outcomes. In the present study, we use a recent survey of American adults to examine the relations...

Meta-analytical evidence indicates the robust association between collective narcissism and conspiracy theories is moderated by the content of conspiracy theories. Belief in conspiracies of specific outgroups fits collective narcissistic posture of intergroup hostility but collective narcissism is also bound to other conspiracy theories because it...

National collective narcissism is a key driver of societal instability. It promotes an exclusive, narrow vision of the national group and escalates contests for equal political representation between advantaged and disadvantaged groups (e.g., men and women) into intergroup conflicts. Advantaged group’s perceive a threat to their dominant status fro...

National collective narcissism is a key driver of societal instability. It promotes an exclusive, narrow vision of the national group and escalates contests for equal political representation between advantaged and disadvantaged groups (e.g., men and women) into intergroup conflicts. Advantaged group’s perceive a threat to their dominant status fro...

Recent work suggests that collective narcissism—an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in an ingroup's greatness that demands constant external validation—is a strong predictor of a variety of political attitudes. In the present study, we use nationally representative panel data from Poland to examine the relationship between national collective narcis...

Recent work suggests that collective narcissism—an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in an in-group’s greatness that demands constant external validation—is a reliable predictor of authoritarian-populist hostility toward democratic norms, processes, and outcomes. In the present study, we use a recent survey of American adults to examine the relations...

Recent work suggests that collective narcissism—an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in an in-group’s greatness that demands constant external validation—is a reliable predictor of authoritarian-populist hostility toward democratic norms, processes, and outcomes. In the present study, we use a recent survey of American adults to examine the relations...

Objective: 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 rece...

Religion is frequently a key component of national identity. This is notably true in Poland, where national identity is strongly tied to traditional Catholic values. In the present study, we examine the relationship between religious commitment (indicated by self-identification as religious and frequency of practice) and two kinds of national ident...

We utilize the distinction between collective narcissism (insistence on external recognition of ingroup’s superiority) and ingroup satisfaction (feeling proud of belonging to a valuable group) to examine whether the link between religiosity and positivity toward the nation in Poland reflect a need to feel embedded in salient social groups or an att...

The storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and voter intimidation by Donald Trump's supporters have marked significant upheaval in American democracy. In two cross‐sectional studies and one experiment, we tested the proposition that American collective narcissism is associated with support for populist leadership (particular, their message...

The storming of the US Capitol and voter intimidation by Trump supporters has marked significant upheaval in American democracy. In three cross-sectional studies, we test the proposition that collective narcissism is associated with support for a populist leader to the point of disregard for democratic procedures and hostility towards others. In St...

The storming of the US Capitol and voter intimidation by Trump supporters has marked significant upheaval in American democracy. In three cross-sectional studies, we test the proposition that collective narcissism is associated with support for a populist leader to the point of disregard for democratic procedures and hostility towards others. In St...

Results of three cross-sectional studies indicate that sexism in Poland is associated with collective narcissism—a belief that one’s own group’s (the in-group’s) exaggerated exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others—with reference to three social identities: male, religious, and national. In Study 1 (n = 329), male collective narcissi...

The negative consequences of personal exclusion have been demonstrated by multiple studies. Less is known about the consequences of witnessing one’s own group being excluded by other groups, although studies suggest exclusion can be experienced vicariously and negatively affects members of the excluded group. Results of the present lab-based experi...

The negative consequences of personal exclusion have been demonstrated by multiple studies. Less is known about the consequences of witnessing one’s own group being excluded by other groups, although studies suggest exclusion can be experienced vicariously and negatively affects members of the excluded group. Results of the present lab-based experi...

The negative consequences of personal exclusion have been demonstrated by multiple studies. Less is known about the consequences of witnessing one’s own group being excluded by other groups, although studies suggest exclusion can be experienced vicariously and negatively affects members of the excluded group. Results of the present lab-based experi...

Opposition to sexual minority rights in Poland is among the highest in the EU. Populist political actors in the country repeatedly scapegoat gays and lesbians, presenting them as a threat to the Polish nation and its shared norms and values, particularly those derived from religion. Building upon previous research which shows how discourse construc...

Recent work suggests that collective narcissism—an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in an in-group’s greatness that demands constant external validation—is a strong predictor of a variety of political attitudes. In the present study, we use nationally-representative panel data from Poland to examine the relationship between collective narcissism and...

Recent work suggests that collective narcissism—an exaggerated, unrealistic belief in an in-group’s greatness that demands constant external validation—is a strong predictor of a variety of political attitudes. In the present study, we use nationally-representative panel data from Poland to examine the relationship between national collective narci...

Although it is known that collective narcissism is associated with problematic intergroup relations, its predictors are less well understood. Two studies, conducted in four European Union countries (Germany, Greece, Portugal, the United Kingdom [UK]), tested the hypotheses that integrated (i.e., realistic and symbolic) threat (Study 1, N = 936) as...

Results of three cross-sectional studies indicate that sexism in Poland is associated with collective narcissism—a belief that one’s own group’s (the in-group’s) exaggerated exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others—with reference to three social identities: male, religious, and national. In Study 1 (n = 329), male collective narcissi...

Results of three cross-sectional studies indicate that sexism in Poland is associated with collective narcissism—a belief that one’s own group’s (the in-group’s) exaggerated exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others—with reference to three social identities: male, religious, and national. In Study 1 (n = 329), male collective narcissi...

The present study explored the antecedents of solidarity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that solidarity during mass emergencies involves the development of a social identity encompassing those facing a common fate, we examined how national in-group satisfaction (a belief that the national in-group and one’s membership in it are of high value) ve...

The present study explored the antecedents of solidarity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that solidarity during mass emergencies involves the development of a social identity encompassing those facing a common fate, we examined how national in-group satisfaction (a belief that the national in-group and one’s membership in it are of high value) ve...

Research on national collective narcissism, the belief and resentment that a nation's exceptionality is not sufficiently recognized by others, provides a theoretical framework for understanding the psychological motivations behind the support for right‐wing populism. It bridges the findings regarding the economic and sociocultural conditions implic...

Results of a three-wave longitudinal study conducted in the first four weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (N = 889) indicate that right wing-authoritarianism increased as the pandemic unfolded, predicting significant growth in national cohesion and in the belief that non-traditional women and sexual minorities threaten the national survival....

Results of a three-wave longitudinal study conducted in the first four weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (N = 889) indicate that right wing-authoritarianism increased as the pandemic unfolded, predicting significant growth in national cohesion and in the belief that non-traditional women and sexual minorities threaten the national survival....

We examined the associations between the need for personal control, different types of ingroup commitment, and group‐related outcomes: (1) defensive responses to ingroup criticism, (2) ingroup disloyalty, and (3) outgroup attitudes. We assumed that collective narcissism (i.e., a belief in ingroup’s greatness which is contingent on external validati...

Collective narcissism is a belief that one’s own group (the in-group) is exceptional but not sufficiently recognized by others. It is the form of ‘in-group love’ associated with ‘out-group hate’. In contrast to private collective self-esteem (a belief that the in-group is of high value), it consistently predicts prejudice, retaliatory intergroup ag...

Collective narcissism is a belief that one’s own group (the in-group) is exceptional but not sufficiently recognized by others. It is the form of ‘in-group love’ associated with ‘out-group hate’. In contrast to private collective self-esteem (a belief that the in-group is of high value), it consistently predicts prejudice, retaliatory intergroup ag...

The current wave of populism has been characterized by visible presence of conspiratorial ideation, explanations for events that—typically without evidence— assume secretive, malevolent plots involving collective actors. In this chapter, we argue that collective narcissism, i.e., resentment for the lack of recognition of one’s own group’s entitleme...

In-group identification is necessary for in-group members to take responsibility for the past transgressions of the in-group. However, even among high identifiers, the reactions to reminders of the in-group's transgression may differ depending on the beliefs members hold about their in-group. Results of a cross-sectional study (N = 441), indicate t...

We examined whether and why collective narcissism (i.e., resentment for insufficient recognition of the in-group’s importance) versus in-group satisfaction (i.e., a belief that the in-group and one’s membership in it are reasons to be proud) have opposite, unique associations with hostility toward Syrian refugees in Poland. Results of two cross-sec...

The social identity approach to wellbeing posits that social identifications provide psychological resources that contribute to individual wellbeing. Unless individuals identify with stigmatized groups or groups whose norms prescribe damaging behaviors, identifying with groups seems beneficial. This article explores the possibility that the differe...

This article proposes a new theoretical framework for the reviewed state‐of‐the‐art research on collective narcissism—the belief that the ingroup’s exceptionality is not sufficiently appreciated by others. Collective narcissism is motivated by the investment of an undermined sense of self‐esteem into the belief in the ingroup’s entitlement to privi...

Collective narcissism is a tendency to exaggerate an in-group's importance and desire for its external recognition. The concept was coined to help explain the mass support for the Nazi politics in Germany. Recently, several successful populist campaigns were based on collective narcissistic calls for revival of national purity, uniqueness, and grea...

Using data from a longitudinal study of American adults collected between July and November 2016, we examine the hypothesis that American collective narcissism would uniquely predict increases in conspiracy thinking during the 2016 presidential campaign. Going beyond previous findings, our results indicate that collective narcissism (but not in‐gro...

Explaining support for Donald Trump's presidential candidacy has become a key social-science challenge. An emerging literature highlights several important individual-level precursors of Trump support, including racial attitudes, sexism, and authoritarianism. In this report, we provide evidence for the role of a novel psychological factor: collecti...

[This corrects the article on p. 752 in vol. 8, PMID: 28553249.].

Explaining support for Donald Trump's presidential candidacy has become a key social-science challenge. An emerging literature highlights several important individual-level precursors of Trump support, including racial attitudes, sexism, and authoritarianism. In this report, we provide evidence for the role of a novel psychological factor: collecti...

The Leave campaign in the U.K., which advocated exiting the European Union, emphasized anxiety over immigration and the need to take control of the U.K.'s borders. Citizens who expressed concerns about immigration to the U.K. were more likely to vote to leave. Two correlational studies examined the previously unexplored question of whether the Brex...

Objective: We examined the effects of control motivation on in-group positivity. Past research suggests that people compensate for low personal control by increasing support for social in-groups. We predicted that the effect of personal control on in-group positivity would depend on the type of in-group positivity. Low personal control should incr...

Research on beneficial consequences of yoga focuses on the effects of yogic breathing and meditation. Less is known about the psychological effects of performing yoga postures. The present study investigated the effects of yoga poses on subjective sense of energy and self-esteem. The effects of yoga postures were compared to the effects of ‘power p...

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, colle...

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 tendencie...

This research examines the role of different forms of positive regard for the in-group in predicting beliefs in intergroup conspiracies. Collective narcissism reflects a belief in in-group greatness contingent on others’ recognition. We hypothesized that collective narcissism should be especially likely to foster out-group conspiracy beliefs. Posit...

-Compared to younger adults, older adults attend more to positive stimuli, a positivity effect. Older adults have limited time horizons, and they focus on maintaining positive affect, whereas younger adults have unlimited time horizons, and they focus on acquiring knowledge and developing skills. Time horizons were manipulated by asking participant...

This multinational study simultaneously tested three prominent hypotheses—universal disposition, cultural relativity, and livability—that explained differences in subjective well-being across nations. We performed multilevel structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized relationships at both individual and cultural levels in 33 nations....

The results of four studies suggest that contamination concerns involved in prejudice towards male homosexuals may be expressed in the increased need for physical cleansing after an imagined contact with a homosexual man. Participants in Study 1 completed word fragments according to the theme of cleansing, and in Study 2, they chose a cleansing wip...

The aim of this research was to examine conditions that modify feminists’ support for women as targets of gender discrimination. In an experimental study we tested a hypothesis that threatened feminist identity will lead to greater differentiation between feminists and conservative women as victims of discrimination and, in turn, a decrease in supp...

Results of 4 experiments demonstrated that under in-group image threat collective narcissism predicts retaliatory intergroup hostility. Under in-group criticism (vs. praise) collective narcissists expressed intention to harm the offending out-group but not other, nonoffending out-groups. This effect was specific to collective narcissism and was rep...