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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC
Agentic Collective Narcissism and Communal Collective Narcissism:
Do They Predict COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Emotions, Beliefs, and Behaviors?
Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland
Artur Sawicki, University of Gdansk, Poland
Jarosław Piotrowski, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland
Uri Lifshin, Reichman University, Israel
Mabelle Kretchner, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel
John J. Skowronski, Northern Illinois University, USA
Constantine Sedikides, University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Peter K. Jonason, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Poland
and University of Padova, Italy
Mladen Adamovic, King's College London, United Kingdom
Attiso M.G. Agada, Clinique Biasa, Togo
Oli Ahmed, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh
Laith Al-Shawaf, University of Colorado, USA
Seth Christopher Yaw Appiah, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology,
Ghana
Rahkman Ardi, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia
Uzma Azam, Aligarh Muslim University, India
Zana Hasan Babakr, Soran University, Iraq
Einar Baldvin Baldursson, Aalborg University, Denmark
Sergiu Bălțătescu, University of Oradea, Romania
Tomasz Baran, University of Warsaw, Poland
Konstantin Bochaver, Independent Researcher, Russia
Aidos Bolatov, Astana Medical University, Kazakhstan
Mario Bonato, University of Padova, Italy
Harshalini Y. Bundhoo, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius
Trawin Chaleeraktrakoon, Thammasat University, Thailand
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC
Phatthanakit Chobthamkit, Thammasat University, Thailand
Richard G. Cowden, Harvard University, USA
Victor Counted, Regent University, USA
Gisela de Clunie, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Panama
Sonya Dragova-Koleva, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria
Carla Sofia Esteves, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Valdiney V. Gouveia, Federal University of Paraiba, Brazil
Katherine Gundolf, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Austria
Salima Hamouda, University of Biskra, Algeria
Carmen Haretche, Instituto Nacional de Evaluación Educativa, Uruguay
Evelyn Hye Kyung Jeong, University of Limerick, Ireland
Dzintra Iliško, Daugavpils University, Latvia
Najma Iqbal Malik, University of Sargodha, Pakistan
John Jamir Benzon Aruta, De La Salle University, Philippines
Fanli Jia, Seton Hall University, USA
Veljko Jovanović, University of Novi Sad, Serbia
Tomislav Jukić, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University, Croatia
Doroteja Pavan Jukić, University of Zagreb, Croatia
Shanmukh V. Kamble, Karnatak University, India
Narine Khachatryan, Yerevan State University, Armenia
Martina Klicperova-Baker, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Christopher Kogler, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
Emil Knezović, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Metodi Koralov, New Bulgarian University, Bulgaria
Monika Kovacs, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Hungary
Walaa Labib M. Eldesoki, Al Jouf University, Saudi Arabia and Menoufia University, Egypt
Aitor Larzabal Fernandez, Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU), Spain
Kadi Liik, Tallinn University, Estonia
Sadia Malik, University of Sargodha, Pakistan
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC
Karine Malysheva, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
John Maltby, Leicester University, United Kingdom
Agim Mamuti, Mother Theresa University, Albania
Jasmina Mangafic, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Chanki Moon, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom
Taciano Milfont, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Stephan Muehlbacher, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Austria
Reza Najafi, University of Padova, Italy
Emrah Özsoy, Sakarya University, Turkey
Joonha Park, Graduate School of Education, Kyoto University, Japan
Pablo Pérez de León, Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Uruguay
Iva Polackova Solcova, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic
Jano Ramos-Diaz, Universidad Privada del Norte, Perú
Goran Ridic, Cologne Business School (CBS) University of Mainz, Germany
Ognjen Riđić, International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Adil Samekin, M. Narikbayev KAZGUU University, Kazakhstan
Andrej Starc, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Delia Stefenel, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
Kiều Thị Thanh Trà, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Vietnam
Habib Tiliouine, University of Oran, Algeria
Robert Tomšik, Research Institute for Child Psychology and Pathopsychology, Slovakia
Jorge Torres-Marín, University of Granada, Spain
Charles S. Umeh, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Eduardo Wills-Herrera, Los Andes University, Colombia
Anna Wlodarczyk, Universidad Católica del Norte, Chile
Zahir Vally, United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates
Christin‐Melanie Vauclair, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE-IUL), CIS-IUL, Portugal
Illia Yahiiaiev, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ukraine
Somayeh Zand, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC
Acknowledgments and Funding
The work of Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska and Jarosław Piotrowski was supported by
grant 2017/26/E/HS6/00282 from the National Science Centre, Poland. The work of Artur
Sawicki was supported by grant number 0086/DIA/2017/46 financed by the Ministry of
Science and Higher Education in Poland. The work of Peter K. Jonason was partially funded
by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (PPN/ULM/2019/1/00019/U/00001)
and a grant from the National Science Centre of Poland (2019/35/B/HS6/00682). The work of
Martina Klicperova-Baker and Iva Polackova Solcova was supported by the NPO "Systemic
Risk Institute" no. LX22NPO5101, funded by European Union - Next Generation EU
(Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, NPO: EXCELES), IOCB, and Strategie AV21.The
work of Narine Khachatryan was supported by the RA Science Committee research project №
20TTSH-070. Corresponding author: Magdalena Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Cardinal Stefan
Wyszynski University in Warsaw, Wóycickiego 1/3 01-938 Warsaw, email: m.zemojtel-
piotrowska@uksw.edu.pl
Data Availability Statement
The manuscript is part of the project: COVID-19, Personality and Quality of life: Self-
enhancement in the Time of the Pandemic (preregistered at: https://osf.io/hpwbj/). Datasets,
codes, and Supplementary Material, can be found at
https://osf.io/m9atn/?view_only=8363457afcfe40fe93d6df2f5c2711b6.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 1
Agentic Collective Narcissism and Communal Collective Narcissism:
Do They Predict COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Emotions, Beliefs, and Behaviors?
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 2
Abstract
A multinational study (61 countries; N=15,039) examined how collective narcissists, both
agentic (ACN) and communal (CCN), reacted emotionally (with fear), cognitively (through
endorsement of unfounded beliefs), and behaviorally (via prevention, hoarding, and
prosociality) to the pandemic. Higher ACN and CCN predicted greater fear of COVID-19,
greater endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 conspiracy and health beliefs, and) increased
likelihood of having recently engaged in pandemic-linked preventive, hoarding, and prosocial
behaviors. The predictive effects of ACN and CCN were independent, suggesting construct
separability. Fear positively predicted endorsement of unfounded beliefs and behaviors, but
the slope of that relation was flattened when ACN and CCN were particularly high. Finally,
the relation between ACN or CCN and outcomes changed across countries varying in
collective fear.
Keywords: collective narcissism, COVID-19, unfounded beliefs, prevention behavior,
hoarding behavior, prosocial behavior
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 3
Agentic Collective Narcissism and Communal Collective Narcissism:
Do They Predict COVID-19 Pandemic-Related Emotions, Beliefs, and Behaviors?
The COVID-19 pandemic threatened individual and collective safety (Ahorsu et al.,
2022; Fofana et al., 2020). This threat instigated many changes in psychology and behavior,
both at the group level (e.g., closing offices) and at the individual level (Galea et al., 2020;
Sternisko et al., 2023). However, as in most circumstances, despite widespread emergence of
such alterations, it was also the case that psychological responses and behavioral responses to
the pandemic varied across individuals. For example, not everyone wore masks and not
everyone experienced fear of COVID-19. Our research examines reasons underlying such
individual differences in responses to the pandemic.
One relevant individual difference is narcissism. Conceptual and empirical forays
(Emmons, 1984, 1987; Raskin & Hall, 1979) attributed to narcissism a suite of characteristics
that included (a) a grandiose sense of importance, (b) lack of empathy, (c) need for excessive
admiration, and (d) a belief of uniqueness and entitlement. These characteristics are of
obvious potential relevance to the circumstances of the pandemic. They suggest, for example,
that, in comparison to those low in narcissism, high narcissists (a) regard the pandemic as an
especially potent threat to themselves, (b) perceive themselves as deserving of priority in
administrations of vaccines or drugs, and (c) are especially likely to engage in pandemic-
linked hoarding behaviors.
However, this relatively straightforward picture of narcissists and the pandemic has
been complicated by contemporary developments advocating that narcissism comes in
different forms (Herman et al., 2018; Sedikides, 2021). Collective narcissism, focusing on the
group or national level, is one such form (Golec de Zavala et al., 2009, 2023). It reflects group
exceptionality in the agentic domain. Items, for example, of the Collective Narcissism Scale
(Golec de Zavala et al., 2009) express such beliefs as “Not many people seem to fully
understand the importance of my group” and “My group deserves special treatment.” Due to
these beliefs, collective narcissists are especially sensitive to ingroup threat (Guerra et al.,
2021; Marchlewska et al., 2020) and strive to maintain values and practices that protect the
ingroup (Eker et al., 2022; Golec de Zavala & Keenan, 2021).
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 4
However, collective narcissism has more recently been subdivided into two forms
(Żemojtel-Piotrowska et al., 2023). In this subdivision, the original conceptualization and
measurement of collective narcissism (Golec de Zavala et al., 2009; see also Cichocka, 2016),
now labeled agentic collective narcissism (ACN), was supplemented by a communal form,
communal collective narcissism (CCN). Characteristics of communal collective narcissism, as
measured via the Communal Collective Narcissism Inventory (Żemojtel-Piotrowska,
Piotrowski, Sedikides, et al., 2021), are strong ingroup identification, unrealistically positive
beliefs about the ingroup's communal contributions, entitlement about the group's communal
worth, and experienced grievance for lack of ingroup recognition. Psychometric testing
indeed indicated that scores from the Communal Collective Narcissism Inventory and the
scale that assesses agentic collective narcissism (Collective Narcissism Scale; Golec de
Zavala et al., 2009) assess two distinct forms of collective narcissism, CCN and ACN.
Further, ACN was a better predictor of agentic outcomes, like threat and intergroup hostility,
whereas CCN was a better predictor of communal outcomes, like trust and intergroup
prosocialness (Żemojtel-Piotrowska et al., 2021, 2023). Therefore, ACN and CCN could be
considered parallel, albeit distinct, forms of collective narcissism, similar to agentic and
communal individual narcissism (Gebauer & Sedikides, 2018 ; Gebauer et al., 2012).
Variables Predicted by Collective Narcissism
We examined whether and how each collective narcissism form predicted several
pandemic-related outcomes. We selected outcome variables that would allow us to replicate
and extend past research on responses to the pandemic. These variables were: (a) level of fear
induced by COVID (Ahorsu et al., 2022; Sawicki et al., 2022); (b) endorsement of both
COVID-related conspiracy beliefs and unfounded COVID-related health beliefs (Brzóska et
al., 2023; Imhoff & Lamberty, 2020; Pennycook et al., 2022); (c) enactment frequency of
COVID-related behaviors, such as preventions (e.g., handwashing), hoarding (Baddeley,
2020; Dinic & Bodroza, 2021), and prosocial behavior (i.e., helping others; Nowak et al.,
2020; Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Piotrowski, Sawicki, et al., 2021).
In one set of analyses, we tested (a) the extent to which the two narcissism forms
independently predicted the target emotions, thoughts, or behaviors, and (b) whether these
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 5
predictive effects varied across forms. We expected associations between measured
narcissism and all outcome variables, such that greater levels of collective narcissism would
be related to (a) high levels of COVID-prompted fear, (b) high endorsement of COVID-linked
conspiracy beliefs, (c) high endorsement of unfounded COVID-linked health beliefs, (d)
frequent enactment of handwashing, (e) frequent enactment of hoarding behavior, and (f)
frequent enactment of helping behavior.
Possible Novel Contributions of Our Research
As mentioned above, these outcomes would all replicate prior findings (for examples,
see Federico et al., 2021; Nowak et al., 2020; Sternisko et al., 2023; Żemojtel-Piotrowska,
Piotrowski, Sawicki, et al., 2021). However, our research also has the potential for novel
contributions.
One such contribution would be made if results obtained for participants high in ACN
were duplicated by those high in CCN. Such results would be especially noteworthy if they
emerged from analyses in which ACN and CCN were simultaneously entered as predictors,
with each construct independently predicting the outcome variables. Moreover, if their utility
in explaining different outcomes differed, such results would further indicate that ACN and
CCN are both valid but conceptually distinct forms of collective narcissism.
Another potentially novel contribution lies in the nature of the sample: The sample
size was large and contained participants from many countries. Thus, significant results ought
to be thought of as (a) highly trustworthy and (b) highly generalizable.
An additional potentially novel contribution lies in our consideration of whether and
how the relation between an individual's fear level and the outcome variables depends on the
individual's level of collective narcissism. Let us note, first, that we expected fear to
positively predict the outcome variables. For example, the higher the fear of COVID-19, the
more individuals should endorse unfounded beliefs about COVID-19. However, we
speculated that this relation might itself depend on an individual's level of collective
narcissism. There are at least two views of the form that this moderation might take.
The first view assumes that collective narcissists already have a highly active self-
protective system in place (Cichocka et al., 2022; Douglas et al., 2017; Golec de Zavala et al.,
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 6
2020), so they will exhibit greater levels of base rate activity on the outcome variables (e.g.,
will be especially likely to engage in self-protective actions, will be especially likely to
endorse unfounded beliefs). This leads to the prediction that adding fear to this already active
system will have less of an impact on those high in collective narcissism than on those low in
collective narcissism. Thus, for example, this view suggests that the relation between fear
level and the endorsement of unfounded beliefs about COVID should show less elasticity
(i.e., should evince a flatter slope) for those high in collective narcissism than for those low in
collective narcissism. However, a second possibility is that, because of their greater need for
self-protection, those high in collective narcissism may be especially sensitive to situational
dangers such as the pandemic. Fear may act to enhance this heightened sensitivity. Thus, for
example, this view suggests that the relation between fear level and the endorsement of
unfounded beliefs about COVID-19 should evince more elasticity (i.e., should evince a
steeper slope) for those high in collective narcissism than for those low in collective
narcissism.
The final potentially novel contribution stems from our examination of how the fear
level in the country in which an individual resides might be linked to the relations between an
individual's collective narcissism levels and the outcome variables. As before, two lines of
reasoning lead to different predictions about the form these relations might take.
The first line assumes that fear prompts self-protective responses. Imagine that
COVID-19 fear is very high among those who live in the fictional country of Cardassia but
very low among those who live in the fictional country of Alderaan. Given the high fear level
among Cardassians, there might be a high baseline tendency in the entire populace to engage
in self-protective actions and thoughts, such as endorsing unfounded COVID-19 conspiracy
beliefs. This will produce considerable shared reality among the populace (Cichocka et al.,
2022; Sternisko et al., 2023). Hence, because of the high baseline level of self-protective
thoughts and actions in Cardassia, variations in collective narcissism levels across individuals
in Cardassia would not have as much of a relation to the endorsement of unfounded COVID-
19 conspiracy beliefs as among residents of Alderaan, where the baseline tendency to engage
in self-protective thoughts and actions will be weaker. More generally, self-protective
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 7
thoughts and actions will evince greater elasticity in response to variations in fear of COVID-
19 levels among residents of low-fear countries (e.g., Alderaan) than among residents of high-
fear countries (e.g., Cardassia).
The second line of reasoning leads to a different prediction. This line relies on the idea
that heightened fear may prompt collective narcissists to especially desire to believe and act in
accordance with their group (be 'good' group members). We further assume that high fear in a
country prompts a general trend in the country's population toward a heightened likelihood of
endorsing unfounded COVID-19 beliefs and toward more frequent engagement in various
COVID-related actions. Given these assumptions, it seems plausible that there could be
heightened elasticity in the relations between collective narcissism and the outcome variables
(e.g., a steeper slope) in high-fear countries than in low-fear countries. To return to our
example, variations in collective narcissism levels across individuals in high-fear Cardassia
would have a stronger relation (e.g., greater slope) to endorsement of unfounded COVID-19
conspiracy beliefs than among residents of low-fear Alderaan.
Assorted Project Details
The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose. The project received ethical
approval from the first author’s institution (KEiB – 32/2020). We follow the Declaration of
Helsinki rules for studies involving humans. We report all relevant measures and all data
exclusions, and we follow Journal article reporting standards (Kazak, 2018). The authors
declare that, following the national law of several countries, there was no direct collaboration
between researchers from conflicting countries (where applicable). Datasets, codes, and
Supplementary Material (which includes the research protocol) can be found at
https://osf.io/m9atn/?view_only=8363457afcfe40fe93d6df2f5c2711b6.
Method
Participants
As part of the international project [MASKED1] spanning 61 countries, we collected
all data online in 2020 between April 24th and November 20th. We recruited participants via
email or posts on Facebook forums devoted to pandemic-related topics. These forums
1 The project was preregistered. We do not provide the relevant link, because the preregistration was eponymous.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 8
included a link to the project's website. We recruited in each country’s official language. Most
participants (M = 96.17%, SD = 6.46%) selected their country's official language as their
preferred mode of communication (e.g., Italians selected Italian). Latvians were the exception:
Only 64.90% selected Latvian. We did not offer remuneration except to participants from
either the Republic of South Africa or the United Kingdom (2GBP/≈2.5USD)2.
We included in the final data set only responses from participants over the age of 18
and only from those who responded to all measures and who answered correctly all three
attention-check items (e.g., “This item aims to check your attention. Please mark 2”). As we
were interested in exploring country-level effects, we included a given country in our dataset
only if more than 40 residents of that country responded (Snijders, 2005).
Characteristics of the final sample, presented by country, appear in Supplementary
Material, Table S1. The sample comprised 15,039 participants (65.66% women, 34.34% men)
ranging in age from 18 to 87 years (M = 31.68, SD = 12.35). Their highest education levels
varied: Primary school = 0.80%, Secondary school = 30.53%, Bachelor’s degree = 38.97%,
Master’s degree = 23.32%, Ph.D. = 6.39%. We also assessed socioeconomic status (“How
would you describe the economic status of your family?”: 1 = much lower than average, 4 =
average, 7 = much higher than average; M = 4.32, SD = 1.15).
Procedure and Measures
Participants responded to several questionnaires online. They were invited (in their
local language) to engage in the study via either email or an announcement on Facebook
forums devoted to COVID-related topics that included a link to the project's website, where
they could select the link to the survey in their preferred language (out of 35 options)3.
Therefore, all information was presented in the participant's preferred language.
Whenever possible, we used existing translations. When a new translation was needed,
team members who spoke the needed language translated the questionnaire from the original
2 We lacked funding for data collection. We successfully relied on volunteers in all countries, except for the
Republic of South Africa and United Kingdom where local collaborators secured fundings from their home
institutions.
3 Most participants in each country (M = 96.17%, SD = 6.46%) selected the country’s official language (e.g.,
Italians selected Italian). Latvians were the exception: Only 64.90% of them selected Latvian. We distributed
invitations and announcements in official languages.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 9
language to the desired language using a back-translation procedure (Brislin, 1970). The
questionnaires appeared in a random order, separately determined for each participant.
Collective Narcissism: Agentic and Communal
We worded all collective narcissism items such that the participant’s nation was the
target group. We assessed agentic collective narcissism using the 8-item Collective
Narcissism Scale (Golec de Zavala et al., 2009; 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree; α =
.89)4. We assessed communal collective narcissism with the 7-item Communal Collective
Narcissism Inventory (Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Piotrowski, Sedikides, et al., 2021; 1 = strongly
disagree, 7 = strongly agree; α = .87).
Fear of COVID-19
We assessed fear of COVID-19 with the 7-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S,
Ahorsu et al., 2022; Sawicki et al., 2022). Sample items are “I am most afraid of Coronavirus-
19” and “I am afraid of losing my life because of Coronavirus-19” (1 = strongly disagree, 7 =
strongly agree; α = .90).
Endorsement of Unfounded Beliefs About COVID-19
We assessed the endorsement of unfounded beliefs about COVID-19 with the 8-item
COVID-19 misperceptions scale (Brzóska et al., 2023; Pennycook et al., 2022; 1 = strongly
disagree, 7 = strongly agree). Four items refer to conspiracy (e.g., “Coronavirus was created
to be a bio-weapon”; α = .85) and four to health (e.g., “Eating garlic cures the coronavirus”; α
= .86). We treated these sets of four in analyses as separate subscales, each of which referred
to a different construct.
Likelihood of Having Enacted Pandemic-Linked Behaviors During COVID-19
We assessed the likelihood with which people enacted pandemic-linked behaviors
during COVID-19 with the modified 10-item Nowak et al. (2020) scale. Participants indicated
whether they enacted these behaviors within the week preceding data collection (1 = definitely
not, 4 = definitely yes). Four behaviors reflected prevention (e.g., “more frequent washing of
hands”; α = .73), three reflected hoarding (e.g., “buying food products, like rice, flour, milk,
4 We deleted the item “If my group had a major say in the world, the world would be a much better place,” as per
prior practice (Sternisko et al. 2022; Żemojtel-Piotrowska et al., 2023; Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Piotrowski,
Sedikides, et al., 2021): This item overlaps, at least partially, with communal collective narcissism.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 10
canned goods”; α = .72), and three reflected prosociality (e.g., “provide emotional help to
those in need”; α = .59). We treated in analyses these three sets of items as separate subscales,
referring to different constructs.
Data Handling and Analysis Evaluation Notes
We employed R software in all analyses. We inspected the data via simple descriptive
statistics and then conducted factor analyses via the “lavaan” package (Roseell, 2012) and
multilevel modeling via the “lme4” package (Bates et al., 2015). In the factor analyses, we
used the Robust Maximum Likelihood estimator to account for deviations from normality
(Yuan & Bentler, 2000) and relied on the following thresholds of fit indices: CFI > .90,
RMSEA < .08, SRMR < .08 (Brown, 2015; Byrne, 1994). In the cross-cultural Multigroup
Confirmatory Factor Analysis, we relied on the following thresholds to test metric invariance:
ΔCFI < -.02, ΔRMSEA < .03 (Rutkowski & Svetina, 2004). We compared the effect sizes of
multilevel models by comparing their confidence intervals, with lack of overlap between them
as indicator of significant difference.
Results
Confirming Factor Structures of Measures Across Countries
One step in our analyses was establishing the cross-country comparability of the
assessed constructs. First, to test whether the measures provided structurally valid data, we
conducted Confirmatory Factor Analyses on the data from those 50 countries in which n >
100 (Sawicki et al., 2022). Second, to establish the level of measurement invariance (and, by
extension, the potential range of our inferences) in the data, we conducted Multigroup
Confirmatory Factor Analyses. Given that at least a metric level of invariance was necessary
to test our hypotheses, we allowed for partial metric invariance and, in some cases, excluded
items.
Our factor analytic examinations and occasional measure alterations (via item
deletions) led us to decide that the measures we collected were usable in subsequent analyses.
For a more detailed description of our approach, see the Factor Analyses section in
Supplementary Material. We report descriptive statistics for all measures in Supplementary
Material, Table S2.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 11
The Multilevel Modeling Analyses
We tested many of our hypotheses about relations between collective narcissism
(ACN, CCN) and the outcome variables via multilevel model analyses, which took into
account cross-country variability in effects observed and controlled for country-level
variables in effects obtained. We carried out the analyses in a series of steps in which we
consecutively added predictive variables to each model. We constructed these additional steps
to facilitate the examination of the issues of interest. We present results in Supplementary
Material, Tables S3 through S8. We summarize the results from the final step of each model
in Table 1.
Issue #1: Do Agentic Collective Narcissism and Communal Collective Narcissism Predict
Fear of COVID-19, Endorsement of Unfounded Beliefs About COVID-19, and COVID-
Linked Behavior Likelihood?
Our analytic approach allowed testing of whether ACN and CCN independently
predicted an individual’s emotions, thoughts, or behaviors, and whether these predictive
effects varied across the two collective narcissism forms. We obtained initial insight into this
issue by examining correlations among the various measures (for correlations across all
measures, see Supplemental Material, Table S2). Both ACN and CCN predicted the outcome
variables in similar way: Higher levels of narcissism predicted greater (a) fear of COVID-19,
(b) endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, (c) endorsement of unfounded
COVID-19 health beliefs, (d) likelihood of recently enacting COVID-19 pandemic-linked
prevention behaviors, (e) likelihood of recently enacting COVID-19 pandemic-linked
hoarding behaviors, (f) likelihood of having recently engaged in COVID-19 pandemic-linked
prosocial behaviors.
The tests of whether the predictive effects of ACN and CCN on these outcome
variables were independent of each other come from our multilevel model analyses. The
relevant results appear in the Model 2 column of Tables S3 through S8, Supplemental
material. In Model 2, we simultaneously entered ACN and CCN into the last step of the
model. The results are clear: ACN and CCN always significantly and positively predicted
each outcome variable. Sizes of their effects differed, however (Supplementary Table S10).
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 12
Specifically, ACN was more strongly related than CCN to unfounded beliefs, and CCN was
more strongly related then ACN to prosocial behaviors. Moreover, those differences were
robust and remained significant after controlling for fear of COVID-19 in the model.
Thus, not only do increases in each form of collective narcissism significantly predict
increases in each outcome variable, but the predictive effects of the two collective narcissism
forms are independent of each other. Moreover, their relative predictive strength is congruent
with expectations derived from prior research.
Issue #2: Narcissism Level as a Moderator of Fear of COVID-19-Outcome Variable
Relations
We reclassified the fear of COVID-19 measure from an outcome variable to a
predictor variable. This reclassification occurred because one of our interests was to explore
the possibility that fear was a moderator of the relation between an individual’s narcissism
level and each of the remaining belief and/or behavior outcome variables.
Results appear in the Model 4a (ACN interaction examined) and Model 4b (CCN
interaction examined) columns of Tables S4 through S8 in the Supplemental Material. The
fear effects of relevance are the Level 1 (L1) interaction effects in each column; in the
multilevel model, these are the fear effects as they are modeled at the level of the individual
participant. The standardized coefficients for the two final model runs for each variable, one
examining the interaction with ACN and the other examining the interaction with CCN,
appear in Table 1. To clarify our terminology, in Table 1, by “individual level of fear” we
refer to participants’ results relative to the average score in their country (group-mean
centered scores); by “national level of fear” we refer to the nation’s average relative to the
average score of all countries (grand-mean centered scores).
As expected, both simple correlations (Supplemental Material, Table S2) and the
multilevel analysis modeling results (Supplemental Material, Tables S4 through S8) showed
that individual fear of COVID-19 was positively associated to all the outcome variables.
However, the multilevel modeling results produced evidence that this association was, indeed,
sometimes moderated by an individual's level of ACN or CCN. For example, the results
depicted in Figure 1 (see Table 1 for coefficients) illustrate that the association between fear
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 13
of COVID-19 and endorsement of unfounded conspiracy beliefs about COVID-19 was not
moderated either by an individual’s level of ACN or by their level of CCN. In contrast, Figure
2 depicts significant moderation of the association between individual fear of COVID-19 and
endorsement of unfounded health beliefs by both an individual’s level of ACN and their level
of CCN (see Table 1 for coefficients; see Table S9, Supplemental Material, for slopes). For
both ACN and CCN, the higher the level of collective narcissism, the steeper the slope of the
relation between individual fear of COVID-19 and endorsement of unfounded health beliefs.
This inconsistency of moderation also emerged across the behavioral responses.
Figure 3 depicts significant moderation of the relation between individual fear of COVID-19
and the reported COVID-19 prevention behaviors by an individual's level of ACN or CCN
(see Table 1 for coefficients; see Table S9, Supplemental Material, for slopes). The
moderation effect was significant for both ACN and CCN. Figure 3 shows that the slope of
the relation between an individual’s level of COVID-19-related fear and the reported COVID-
19 prevention behaviors flattened as an individual’s ACN level or CCN level increased.
Figure 4 depicts the relation between individual fear of COVID-19 and reported
COVID-19 related hoarding behaviors by an individual’s level of ACN or CCN (see Table 1
for coefficients; see Table S9, Supplemental Material, for slopes). The interaction depicted for
ACN was significant, but the interaction depicted for CCN was not. Figure 4, depicting the
significant ACN interaction, shows that the slope of the relation between an individual’s level
of COVID-19 related fear and reported COVID-19 pandemic-linked hoarding behaviors
flattened as an individual’s ACN level increased.
Figure 5 portrays the relation between individual fear of COVID-19 and reported
COVID-19 pandemic-linked prosocial behaviors by an individual’s level of ACN or CCN
(see Table 1 for coefficients; see Table S9, Supplemental Material for slopes). The interaction
was not significant for either ACN or CCN.
Issue #3: Fear Level in a Country as a Possible Moderator of Collective Narcissism-
Outcome Variable Relations
This issue is novel in that it refers to how associations among COVID-19-related
responses might be altered by societal context. Here, the context is the fear level in the
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 14
country in which an individual resides. The multilevel modeling analyses used participants’
country of residence to estimate the fear of COVID-19 level associated with each country
(high fear always positively predicted the outcome variables: see Table S2 for simple
correlations, and Tables S4 through S8 for multilevel model results, Supplemental Material).
The estimate of country-level COVID-19 fear could be used as a group-level variable in
multilevel modeling to test whether the relations between an individual's collective narcissism
level and the outcome variables are moderated by the fear level characterizing one’s country
of residence. The results appear in Table 1 and in Tables S4 through S8, Supplemental
Material (see interaction results that include the label "Fear [L2]).
First, we consider the relation between individual collective narcissism levels and the
endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs. The results of the multilevel
modeling analyses showed that this relation was, indeed, moderated by fear levels in a
country. The results in Figure 6 depict the moderation effects for both ACN and CCN. The
ACN moderation effect shows that the relation between ACN and endorsement of COVID-19
conspiracy beliefs flattens out as fear levels in a country increase. The patterning for CCN is
similar, but the slope of the relation between ACN and endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy
beliefs reverses (i.e., higher CCN predicts lower endorsement) in high fear countries.
However, this moderation effect did not emerge for the other kind of beliefs. The
country-level fear of COVID-19 did not moderate the relation between collective narcissism
level (either ACN or CCN) and endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 health beliefs (Figure
7). In contrast, a moderation effect occurred for preventive behaviors. However, this
moderation effect occurred only for ACN, not CCN (Figure 8). The results showed that ACN
only predicted preventive behaviors when there was a high level of fear in countries. In
contrast, CCN always predicted the likelihood of having engaged in pandemic-linked
preventive behaviors, regardless of level of fear on countries. Thus, in these results, the
patterns of the predictive relations between ACN and outcome variables and CCN and
outcome variables manifested substantial differences.
The absence of the moderation effects extended to one of the behavioral responses, as
well. The country-level variable of fear of COVID-19 did not moderate the relation between
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 15
collective narcissism level (either ACN or CCN) and the likelihood of having enacted
COVID-19 hoarding behaviors (Figure 9). In contrast, moderation effects for both ACN and
CCN emerged for one of the other behavior (Figure 10). Fear level in a country altered the
form of the predictive relation between collective narcissism levels and prosocial behavior,
such that the slope of the relation steepened with increases in collective narcissism levels.
Discussion
Summary of Findings and Implications
Higher ACN and CCN independently predicted greater (a) fear of COVID-19, (b)
endorsement of unfounded COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, (c) endorsement of unfounded
COVID-19 health beliefs, (d) likelihood of recently enacting COVID-19 pandemic-linked
prevention behaviors, (e) likelihood of recently enacting COVID-19 pandemic-linked
hoarding behaviors, and (f) likelihood of having recently engaged in COVID-19 pandemic-
linked prosocial behaviors. We highlight the utility of these findings below.
To begin, the findings attest to the discriminant validity of ACN and CCN in a specific
social context, that is, in countries dealing with the COVID-19 disaster. Such validity adds
momentum to claims of different forms of collective narcissism. These points are especially
notable given the relatively large sample size and the cross-country character of the data.
An additional implication of the findings belies the simplistic notion that high
narcissists will behave in ways that are largely selfish and anti-social. Rather, whether
collective narcissists will behave in an anti-social or pro-social manner depends on where a
researcher looks. Participants high in ACN and CCN, indeed, reported that they were more
likely to have engaged in hoarding behavior, but they both also reported that they were more
likely to have engaged in COVID-19 preventive behavior and prosocial behavior (though the
effects were observed more strongly among CCNs). Obviously, the latter two behavior
tendencies are desirable in that they can help ward off the spread of the pandemic and/or ease
the burdens of others who are confronted with it. Moreover, these findings fit our theoretical
expectations. We expected that the predictive power of ACN and CCN would be especially
likely to differ for communal behaviors, with CCN being the more powerful predictor for
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 16
such behaviors (though both would positively predict prevention behavior and prosocial
behavior, and negatively predict hoarding).
However, these moderation effects did not consistently emerge, which could reflect
an alternative idea. It has been argued that acceptance of pandemic-related conspiracy beliefs
involve the denying of the existence of the virus, whereas acceptance of unfounded health
beliefs aims at controlling the threat posed by the pandemic (Brzóska et al., 2023;
Pennycoock et al., 2023). Given these proposals, it makes sense that unfounded health-related
beliefs would be especially endorsed by ACNs, as such collective narcissists are especially
likely to feel the need to effectively combat the threats posed by the pandemic (Żemojtel-
Piotrowska, Piotrowski, Sawicki et al., 2021; Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Piotrowski, Sedikides, et
al., 2021).
Also, we observed significant moderation by an individual’s level of both ACN and
CCN on the relation between individual fear of COVID-19 and (a) endorsement of unfounded
COVID-19 health beliefs, (b) reported COVID-19 prevention behaviors, and (c) reported
COVID-19-linked hoarding (but only for ACN, not for CCN). These findings make
theoretical sense if one assumes that, because collective narcissists employ strong self-
protective systems, those systems will be relatively inelastic to further changes induced by
high fear. Instead, participants low in ACN or CCN, who do not have strong self-protective
systems, will be the ones manifesting thoughts and behaviors especially responsive to
different levels of fear. The emerging moderation effects fit these ideas.
Moreover, we explored how individual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic are
related to the fear level characterizing an individual’s country of residence. One explanation
for such a relation lies in the notion that high fear in a country produces strong self-protective
systems in the residents of that country. Hence, in this high fear context (e.g., a country
evincing high chronic fear levels), individuals’ self-protective systems will be relatively
inelastic to other variables, such as an individual’s ACN and CCN levels, that might also be
expected to influence the production and use of self-protective systems. In contrast, the self-
protective systems of those living in low-fear countries will manifest more elasticity.
However, there is an alternative view. Collective narcissists could be especially sensitive to
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 17
the beliefs and responses that are popular in their group. This tendency could be especially
strong when fear levels are high. This reasoning suggests stronger relations between collective
narcissism and responses to the pandemic in countries with higher levels of fear.
Some of our findings fit the first explanation. For example, the relation between ACN
and endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs flattened out as fear levels in a country
increased. The patterning for CCN was similar, but the slope of the relation between ACN and
endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs reversed (i.e., higher CCN predicted lower
endorsement) in high-fear countries. This last finding may be congruent with the prediction
that communal (but not agentic) CNs are more sensitive to the collective interpretation of
reality. Given that in the countries with greater fear it was hard to deny the existence of
coronavirus, communal CNs adopted beliefs congruent with the official narrative of their
governments, which could be explained by the CCN’s greater trust (Żemojtel-Piotrowska et
al., 2021).
Country-level moderation effects for both ACN and CCN also emerged for two of the
behaviors, but these effects fit the second (popular responding) explanation. For example, fear
levels in a country altered the form of the predictive relation between collective narcissism
levels and prosocial behavior such that the slope of the relation steepened with increases in
collective narcissism levels. A similar moderation effect also occurred (but only for ACN, not
CCN) for reported COVID-19 preventive behaviors. ACN only predicted this variable in the
case of high levels of fear in countries.
Why do fear levels in a country moderated differently pandemic-related beliefs and
pandemic-related behaviors? Observability of the outcome variable is an explanation. Overt
behaviors may be relatively uninfluenced by a country’s fear level, which would allow
considerable freedom for other variables that influence behaviors (e.g., an individual’s
communal narcissism level) to act. In contrast, responding in the less observable belief
domain may be driven largely by the shared beliefs and emotions prompted by a country’s
fear level, which would allow less freedom for other variables that influence beliefs
(communal narcissism) to act.
Limitations and Additional Empirical Pathways
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 18
We used convenience samples, and participants were mostly well-educated and
relatively affluent. These practices may cause a concern about generalizability across
participant types. Also, sample sizes differed across countries. Small sample sizes in a given
category can limit the power of the analyses conducted, even when a study overall evinces a
large sample size, and this is especially the case when the categories are used as a variable in
the analyses (Keppel, 1993; Parra-Frutos, 2013; Rusticus & Lovato, 2019).
Moreover, we relied on retrospective self-reported behaviors. Though these kinds of
self-reports are useful, their credibility may sometimes be questioned, especially when they
are expected to systematically differ across individuals. For example, some research streams
suggest that communal narcissists overestimate their prosociality (Nehrlich et al., 2019; Yang
et al., 2018; Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Piotrowski, Sedikides, et al., 2021). This concern might be
bypassed through momentary ecological assessment, measuring prosocial activities when they
occurred.
Further, many studies on collective narcissism partial out secure identity (Golec de
Zavala, 2023; Sternisko et al., 2023). We did not do so. We purposely excluded this variable
from our research program after results from extensive pilot studies in Poland and single-
country findings that employe two forms of collective narcissism (Nowak et al., 2023;
Żemojtel-Piotrowska et al., 2021, 2023) suggested that partialling out secure identity would
not alter our results.
Another possible concern lies in the fact that we assessed fear of COVID-19 with the
FCV-19S (Ahorsu et al., 2022; Sawicki et al., 2022). This measurement instrument relies on
general items referring to physical symptoms of fear due to COVID-19 or general death
anxiety due to COVID-19. These items pose a potential concern, because they do not
disentangle, but may even co-mingle, some of the alternative sources of threat (Guerra et al.,
2021; Kachanoff et al., 2021; Żemojtel-Piotrowska, Piotrowski, Sawicki, et al., 2021). For
example, people can be afraid of COVID-19 because of the extent to which it threatens them
personally, or they can be afraid of COVID-19 because of the extent to which it threatens
their group (e.g., family). This possible co-mingling is of obvious special concern in studies
that try to separate the effects of collective thought (e.g., in collective narcissists) from the
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 19
effects of individual thought (e.g., agentic narcissists). This concern can be rectified in future
research by separately assessing self-focused fear and collectively-focused fear.
Furthermore, the effects of social norms may differ (Drury, 2018) among individuals
evincing different forms of narcissism. The tendency of collective narcissists to engage in
undesirable COVID-19 pandemic-related thoughts and actions depends on the extent to which
these thoughts and actions reflect consensually accepted social norms (as opposed to legal
restrictions). For example, communal collective narcissists may be especially likely to adopt
beliefs and behaviors that reflect their social context. These can be a double-edged sword.
Unfounded beliefs may be more likely to be rejected when they reflect the cultural context,
but they may also be more likely to be accepted when they reflect belief in the cultural
context. Similarly, collective communal narcissists may be especially likely to be prosocial in
countries where prosocialness is of particular value, as in highly religious or interdependent
ones. We did not consider such possibilities here, as they do not directly fit into the scope of
our paper. We suggest that this issue be examined in follow-up investigations.
Lastly, the pandemic required collective responses to threats experienced both
individually and collectively. Many other threats, like climate change, war, terrorism, or
possible future pandemics, pose similar threats. Yet, we emphasize that our findings are
limited to the pandemic context. Given potential differences across emergencies, one needs to
be cautious about extending our findings to other contexts.
Conclusion
We examined and found out that, across cultures, ACN and CCN largely responded
differently to the pandemic emotionally, cognitively, and behaviorally. Also, we showed that
collective narcissists can behave both anti-socially and pro-socially, depending on the
assessed outcome variable. We look forward to replications and extensions of our findings,
advancing our understanding of why individuals differ in their responses to events such as the
COVID-19 pandemic.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 20
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Table 1
Standardized Coefficients of Multilevel Models
Beliefs About COVID-19
Behaviors in Response to COVID-19
Predictors
Conspiracy
Health
Prevention
Hoarding
Prosociality
Fixed Effects
Intercept
0.01
0.01
0.04
0.04
0.01
0.01
0.00
0.00
0.03
0.03
Gender (men)
-0.01
-0.01
0.02
0.02
-0.16***
-0.16***
0.02
0.02
-0.04*
-0.04*
Age
-0.05***
-0.05***
0.03
0.03**
0.01
0.01
-0.00
-0.00
0.10**
0.10***
Education level
-0.09***
-0.09***
-0.04**
-0.04***
0.04***
0.05***
0.02*
0.02*
0.03***
0.03***
SES
-0.05***
-0.05***
-0.03***
-0.03***
0.03***
0.03***
0.04***
0.04***
0.03***
0.03***
ACN
0.24***
0.24***
0.16***
0.16***
-0.00
0.00
0.05***
0.05***
0.05***
0.04***
CCN
0.03**
0.03**
0.11***
0.11***
0.06***
0.05***
0.06***
0.06***
0.12***
0.12***
GDP
-0.24***
-0.23***
-0.30***
-0.30***
-0.08
-0.08
-0.11***
-0.11***
-0.16***
-0.16***
Fear of Covid (L1)
0.06***
0.06***
0.09***
0.09***
0.18***
0.18***
0.16***
0.16***
0.09***
0.10***
Fear of Covid (L2)
-0.03
-0.03
0.08
0.08
0.39***
0.39***
0.25***
0.25***
0.11**
0.11**
ACN x Fear (L1)
0.01
0.02*
-0.04***
-0.02*
-0.00
ACN x Fear (L2)
-0.06***
-0.01
0.02*
0.01
0.04***
CCN x Fear (L1)
0.01
0.02**
-0.04***
-0.01
-0.01
CCN x Fear (L2)
-0.04***
0.01
0.00
0.02
0.02*
Random Effects
ICC
.11
.11
.15
.15
.18
.18
.06
.06
.07
.07
Country: intercept
0.12
0.13
.16
.16
.08
.08
.04
.04
.04
.04
Residual
0.99
0.99
.91
.91
.35
.35
.63
.63
.51
.51
Marginal R2
.209
.206
.235
.236
.209
.208
.133
.133
.096
.094
Conditional R2
.296
.296
.352
.353
.353
.352
.189
.189
.162
.161
Note. N = 15,039; Number of countries = 61; SES = socioeconomical status; ACN = agentic collective narcissism, CCN = communal collective narcissism;
*p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 27
Figure 1
Illustrating Non-significant Moderation of the Link Between Individual Fear of COVID-19
and Endorsement of Unfounded Conspiracy Beliefs for Both Agentic Collective Narcissism
and Communal Collective Narcissism
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .05.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 28
Figure 2
Illustrating Significant Moderation of the Link Between Individual Fear of COVID-19 and
Endorsement of Unfounded Health Beliefs for Both Agentic Collective Narcissism and
Communal Collective Narcissism
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .05.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 29
Figure 3
Illustrating Significant Moderation of the Link Between Individual Fear of COVID-19 and the
Rated Likelihood of Having Enacted COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors for Both Agentic
Collective Narcissism and Communal Collective Narcissism
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .01.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 30
Figure 4
Illustrating Moderation of the Link Between Individual Fear of COVID-19 and the COVID-
19-related Hoarding Behaviors for Both Agentic Collective Narcissism (Interaction
Significant) and Communal Collective Narcissism (Interaction Not Significant).
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .05.
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COLLECTIVE NARCISSISM AND RESPONSES TO THE PANDEMIC 31
Figure 5
Illustrating Non-significant Moderation of the Link Between Individual Fear of COVID-19
and the COVID-19-related Prosocial Behaviors for Both Agentic Collective Narcissism and
Communal Collective Narcissism.
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .05
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC 32
Figure 6
Illustrating Significant Moderation by Country Fear Level of the Link Between Individual
Collective Narcissism Levels (Both ACN and CCN) and the Endorsement of Unfounded
COVID-19 Conspiracy Beliefs.
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .05.
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC 33
Figure 7
Illustrating Non-Significant Moderation by Country Fear Level of the Link Between
Individual Collective Narcissism Levels (Both ACN and CCN) and the Endorsement of
Unfounded COVID-19 Health Beliefs.
Note. All simple slopes are significant, p < .001.
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC 34
Figure 8
Moderation By Country-Level Fear of COVID-19 of the Link Between Collective Narcissisms
and Preventive Behaviors
Note. All simple slopes for communal collective narcissism are significant, p < .05. Simple
slopes for agentic collective narcissism are not significant with the exception of countries low
in fear.
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC 35
Figure 9
Illustrating Non-Significant Moderation by County Fear Level of the Link Between Individual
Collective Narcissism Levels (Both ACN and CCN) and the COVID-19-Related Hoarding
Behaviors.
Note. All simple slopes, but agentic collective narcissism among countries low in fear of
COVID-19, are significant at p < .05.
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NARCISSISM IN TIME OF THE PANDEMIC 36
Figure 10
Illustrating Significant Moderation by County Fear Level of the Link Between Individual
Collective Narcissism Levels (Both ACN and CCN) and the Rated Likelihood of Having
Engaged on Prosocial COVID-19 Behaviors.
Note. All simple slopes, except agentic collective narcissism among countries low in fear of
COVID-19, are significant at p < .05.
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