Collective narcissism and intergroup hostility: the dark side of 'in group love'.

This paper addresses the relationship between ‘in-group love’ and ‘out-group hate’ and integrates findings of psychology of intergroup relations with findings regarding psychological outcomes of narcissism. It reviews current research on intergroup consequences of collective narcissism – an emotional investment in an unrealistic belief in exaggerated greatness of an in-group - which indicates that the differentiation between narcissistic and genuine positive group regard uncovers the potential of genuine ‘in-group’ love to motivate positive out-group attitudes and intergroup tolerance. It also sheds new light on these aspects of positive group attachment that inspire intergroup hostility. Narcissistic idealization of an in-group is contingent on external validation and underlain by internal doubts. Collective narcissists are never fully satisfied with external acknowledgment of the in-group and they are sensitive to anything that may undermine the in-group’s exaggerated image. Collective narcissism is reliably related to defensive and retaliatory intergroup hostility

Negative evaluation of the group increases collective narcissism and intergroup hostility under intergroup threat.

Results of 3 experimental studies in two countries indicate that collective narcissism can be experimentally manipulated. Collective narcissism is an emotional investment in a belief in exaggerated greatness of an in-group (Golec de Zavala et al. 2009). It increases when people face negative evaluation of the in-group (e.g. national group or university peers). This effect is independent of initial identification with the group. Momentary increase in collective narcissism results in retaliatory out-group negativity under intergroup threat. Thus, the present results replicate and extend the previous findings that individual levels of narcissistic identification with an in-group increase sensitivity to and hostile responses to intergroup threat. Unlike collective self-esteem that does not change in response to in-group evaluations, collective narcissism is unstable and defensive positive regard for the in-group. Study 2 indicates that it increases because the negative evaluation of the in-group is perceived as offence. Study 2 also shows that pairing negative evaluation with positive assessment of the in-group on a different dimension prevents the increase in collective narcissism. Therefore, it reduces a chance of escalation of intergroup hostility

Collective narcissism and anti-semitism in Poland

Two survey studies examined the relationship between collective narcissism - an identification with an in-group linked to an emotional investment in an unrealistic belief about its unparalleled greatness (Golec de Zavala et al., 2009) - and anti-Semitism in Poland. The results indicate that this relationship is simultaneously mediated by (a) a belief that the in-group is constantly threatened by hostile intentions of other groups (the Polish siege beliefs; Bar-Tal & Antebi, 1992a, b) and (b) a belief that the Jewish out-group is particularly threatening because its members secretly aim to dominate the world (the conspiracy stereotype of Jews; Bergmann, 2008; Kofta & Sędek, 2005). The results confirm the earlier findings that collective narcissism is linked to increased sensitivity to intergroup threat which drives its association with intergroup hostility. The results also support earlier suggestions that Polish anti-Semitism is grounded in threatened national pride