Their sinister plans validate our greatness! Need for uniqueness mediates the link between national narcissism and conspiracy beliefs

Conspiracy endorsement has previously been linked to national narcissism—an unrealistic belief in the greatness of the national in-group. In this research, we explore the role of the need for uniqueness in explaining why national narcissists seize on conspiracy theories. In Study 1 ( N = 1,000), we found that a self-attributed need for uniqueness mediated the link between national narcissism and conspiracy beliefs. In Study 2 ( N = 387), we introduced the novel concept in the form of a group-attributed need for uniqueness and found its role in explaining the relationship between national narcissism and conspiracy beliefs. In Study 3 ( N = 799), we considered both types of the need for uniqueness and observed only group-attributed need for uniqueness as a significant mediator of the relationship between national narcissism and conspiracy beliefs. In Study 4 ( N = 1,616), we experimentally increased national narcissism and observed its positive effect on conspiracy beliefs targeting in-group (vs. out-group) members. This effect was mediated by group-attributed need for uniqueness. Results shed light on psychological motives that may drive conspiracy beliefs among collective narcissists.