Thammasat University students interested in psychology, sociology, anthropology, behavioral science, history, political science, and related subjects may find a new book useful.
The Psychology of Collective Narcissism: Insights from Social Identity Theory is an Open Access book available for free download at this link:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781003296577/
It is by Associate Professor Agnieszka Golec de Zavala, who teaches in the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths, University of London, the United Kingdom.
In social psychology, collective narcissism is the tendency to exaggerate the positive image and importance of a group to which one belongs.
The Thammasat University Library collection includes several books about different aspects of social psychology.
The publisher’s description notes:
The Psychology of Collective Narcissism is a ground-breaking text that presents a new theory of collective narcissism, a belief that exaggerated greatness of one’s own group should be, but is not, sufficiently appreciated by others.
The book presents this concept against the background of social identity theory and research. It explores antecedent as well as social and political consequences of collective narcissism. The author discusses how this burgeoning theory and research can help to elucidate a wide range of psychological dynamics involved in pressing societal issues, such as the declining appeal of democracy, increasing populism, decreasing social solidarity, increasing societal polarization and prejudice, intergroup hostility and political violence, social inequality, and fake news and belief in conspiracy theories.
Also referring to societal problems exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, this highly topical work explores socially shared beliefs as risk factors when predicting responses to crises and highlights conditions in which collective narcissism can be expected. The author also reviews research on interventions reducing the link between collective narcissism, prejudice, and retaliatory intergroup hostility focusing on her recent research on mindfulness.
This is a valuable read for academics and students in psychology and the social sciences, those interested in societal processes as well as professionals dealing with the impact of collective narcissism.
Narcissism is a self–centered personality style characterized as having an excessive preoccupation with oneself and one’s own needs, often at the expense of others.
While many psychologists believe that a moderate degree of narcissism is normal and healthy in humans, there are also more extreme forms, observable particularly in people who are excessively self-absorbed, where the narcissistic tendency has become pathological.
The term narcissism derives from the Roman poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, written over two thousand years ago.
Book III of the poem tells the mythical story of a handsome young man, Narcissus, who rejects many potential lovers.
Finally, the gods punish him by making him fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.
Narcissus discovers that the object of his love, his own image, cannot love him back, so he is very disappointed.
Many Western artists over hundreds of years have depicted this theme about the dangers of excessive self-absorption.
Collective narcissism may apply to many groups. The author notes:
Collective narcissism is an evaluative, emotionally laden, and unrealistic (biased) belief about an ingroup (it can be any group we belong to). It pertains to overly positive evaluation of the ingroup, belief in its greatness, exceptionality, uniqueness, entitlements, and deservingness. It is laden with resentment because the ingroup’s entitlements are never seen as satisfactorily met and externally recognized.
The ingroup image is so unrealistically inflated that collective narcissists need others to help them buttress it. They need everyone else to confirm it and hold it with them. Thus, the ingroup’s assumed greatness is contingent on recognition of others, recognition that is never perceived as sufficient. The function of collective narcissism is not to adequately represent reality but to satisfy psychological needs. Thus, collective narcissism represents a case of motivated social cognition.
Dr. Golec de Zavala has posted online an analysis of collective narcissism in terms of historical events like the Russian invasion of Ukraine:
The one year anniversary of Russian invasion in Ukraine is approaching. While narcissism of Vladimir Putin has been blamed, it is more accurate to look for explanation of hate that moves societies to a war in collective narcissism of the followers rather than individual follower of the leaders.
Empirical findings strongly suggest that national collective narcissists support anti-democratic leaders who use aggression to assert their power even if this harms the ingroup members, destabilizes societies and the established status quo.
For example, national collective narcissism in 40 countries was associated with support for economic ties with Vladimir Putin’s Russia before Russian invasion on Ukraine on February, 24th, 2022 but after the Russian annexation Crimea in 2014.
Studies conducted in France and the United States after the Russian invasion on Ukraine showed that, national collective narcissism in both countries was associated with moral justification of the invasion. Moreover, this association persisted when participants were asked whether they would legitimize Russia invading their own country. […] National collective narcissism predicts shifting the blame for the invasion to Ukraine independently of right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation that were two other significant predictors.
In contrast, Polish national ingroup satisfaction predicted refusal to blame Ukraine for the invasion. It also predicted feeling proud for Polish support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.
In another online post, she observed:
It was already expected that identification with a group plays a role in how members of minority or disadvantaged groups to cope with distress of discrimination. What was not known was how this fits with findings systematically indicating that members of disadvantaged groups experience greater distress than members of advantaged groups. We clarified that collective narcissism accounts for group members’ distress in face of discrimination. This means that when group members focus on how their group is great but not recognized by others, negative consequences are more likely.
Collective narcissism is associated with exaggerated perception of intergroup threat and bias against other groups. When collective narcissism is taken out of the equation, what is left – non-narcissistic positive identification with the group – is associated with group members’ wellbeing, among advantaged and disadvantaged groups alike.
In other words, when group members focus on pride and satisfaction of being a member of valuable groups this protects their wellbeing when they are faced with discrimination. […] One of the directions we are taking this forward is examining how collective narcissism is related to ideologies and actions that challenge group inequalities.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)