The paradox of in-group love: differentiating collective narcissism advances understanding of the relationship between in-group and out-group attitudes

The article looks at the relation between positive in-group regard (“in-group love”) and out-group negativity (“out-group hate”), a subject of ongoing controversy. Five studies performed in different cultural and national contexts, using different samples (including an adult representative sample) and different inter-group contexts examined the relationship between narcissistic versus genuine positive group regard and out-group negativity. Results reveal that collective narcissism (Golec de Zavala et al., 2009) and positive group regard have opposite effects on out-group hostility. Moreover, they function as mutual suppressors. Controlling for their shared variance strengthens the positive relationship between collective narcissism and out-group negativity and reveals the significant negative association between out-group hostility and genuine positive group regard operationalized as high collective self-esteem (Study 1), positive in-group identification (Studies 2, 3 and 5) or constructive patriotism (Study 4). These results corroborate earlier findings differentiating between constructive and destructive forms of in-group favoritism. They also parallel at the inter-group level findings indicating that mature and stable, personal self-esteem and individual narcissism differentially predict interpersonal aggressiveness

The paradox of in-group love: Differentiating collective narcissism advances understanding of the relationship between in-group and out-group attitudes.

WOS:000313914400002 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)Objective The present studies test the hypothesis that the overlap between collective narcissism and positive in-group identification conceals the opposite relationships these variables have with out-group derogation. Method Five surveys were conducted in different cultural and national contexts, using different samples and different intergroup contexts (Study 1, Polish student sample, N = 85; Study 2, British student sample, N = 81; Study 3, Polish representative sample, N = 979; Study 3, Polish student sample, N = 267 and Study 5, British student sample, N = 241). Results The results of suppression analyses systematically indicate that when the positive relationship between collective narcissism and in-group positivity is controlled for, the non-narcissistic in-group positivity predicts less out-group negativity, whereas collective narcissism predicts more out-group derogation. Conclusions The results advance our understanding of constructive and destructive forms of in-group positivity and their different consequences for intergroup attitudes

Threats to Feminist Identity and Reactions to Gender Discrimination

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11199-013-0272-5The 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 support for non-feminist victims. The study was conducted among 96 young Polish female professionals and graduate students from Gender Studies programs in Warsaw who self-identified as feminists (M age  = 22.23). Participants were presented with a case of workplace gender discrimination. Threat to feminist identity and worldview of the discrimination victim (feminist vs. conservative) were varied between research conditions. Results indicate that identity threat caused feminists to show conditional reactions to discrimination. Under identity threat, feminists perceived the situation as less discriminatory when the target held conservative views on gender relations than when the target was presented as feminist. This effect was not observed under conditions of no threat. Moreover, feminists showed an increase in compassion for the victim when she was portrayed as a feminist compared to when she was portrayed as conservative. Implications for the feminist movement are discussed

Belief in conspiracy theories: Looking beyond gullibility

In this chapter, we consider the factors that attract people toward conspiracy theories and also consider whether or not belief in conspiracy theories is a sign of gullibility. We first review the framework of Douglas, Sutton, and Cichocka (2017), which explains that belief in conspiracy theories is driven by epistemic, existential, and social motives. In reviewing the literature on the psychology of conspiracy belief, we conclude that people who believe in conspiracy theories will not simply believe anything they hear. Instead, people appear to believe conspiracy theories that appeal to these three important psychological motives. Conspiracy believers can therefore not be dismissed as gullible and researchers should not characterize them as such. In the remainder of the chapter, we highlight some of the social consequences of conspiracy theories. To date, research reveals that while conspiracy theories may seem attractive to people when they are seeking to satisfy their psychological motives, unfortunately they may sometimes do more harm than good

Nanomotion technology in combination with machine learning: a new approach for a rapid antibiotic susceptibility test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Nanomotion technology is a growth-independent approach that can be used to detect and record the vibrations of bacteria attached to cantilevers. We have developed a nanomotion-based antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) protocol for Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). The protocol was used to predict strain phenotype towards isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RIF) using a leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) and machine learning techniques. This MTB-nanomotion protocol takes 21 h, including cell suspension preparation, optimized bacterial attachment to functionalized cantilever, and nanomotion recording before and after antibiotic exposure. We applied this protocol to MTB isolates (n = 40) and were able to discriminate between susceptible and resistant strains for INH and RIF with a maximum sensitivity of 97.4% and 100%, respectively, and a maximum specificity of 100% for both antibiotics when considering each nanomotion recording to be a distinct experiment. Grouping recordings as triplicates based on source isolate improved sensitivity and specificity to 100% for both antibiotics. Nanomotion technology can potentially reduce time-to-result significantly compared to the days and weeks currently needed for current phenotypic ASTs for MTB. It can further be extended to other anti-TB drugs to help guide more effective TB treatment

The psychology of conspiracy theories

What psychological factors drive the popularity of conspiracy theories that explain important events as secret plots by powerful and malevolent groups? What are the psychological consequences of adopting these theories? We review the current research, and find that it answers the first of these questions more thoroughly than the second. Belief in conspiracy theories appears to be driven by motives that can be characterized as epistemic (understanding one’s environment), existential (being safe and in control of one’s environment) and social (maintaining a positive image of the self and the social group). However, little research has investigated the consequences of conspiracy belief, and to date, this research does not indicate that conspiracy belief fulfills people’s motivations. Instead, for many people conspiracy belief may be more appealing than satisfying. Further research is needed to determine for whom, and under what conditions, conspiracy theories may satisfy key psychological motives