While research on conspiracy theorists continues, previous research has revealed that those with narcissistic personalities are more likely to form conspiracy theories. But this research did not address why narcissists are prone to forming conspiracy theories.
A new study has provided an answer to this problem. The research gave four reasons for narcissists’ predisposition to form conspiracy theories and linked them to three components that lead to narcissism. Accordingly, these individuals produced conspiracy theories because of their feelings of paranoia, their naivety towards claims about what is not true, and their need to dominate and be unique.
How do these four reasons lead to conspiracy theories?
The four reasons listed above paralleled the three components associated with narcissism. These three components were extroversion (attempting to strengthen the ego and gain admiration through attraction and daydreaming), antagonism (being arrogant, exploitative, and entitled), and neuroticism (experiencing low self-esteem and shame).
How the four reasons listed by the researchers pushed narcissists to produce conspiracy theories were shared as follows:
- Paranoia: The tendency for narcissists to believe that other people exist to get them and are deliberately trying to harm them.
- Need for dominance and control: Narcissists use a different group as a scapegoat for something wrong and may find conspiracy theories plausible as a way to change the blame.
- The need to be unique: Narcissists promise access to ‘privileged’ and ‘secret’ documents that are not publicly available through conspiracy theories, and this makes those who believe in them more private.
- Purity: Makes any person more susceptible to unreliable and manipulative information.
Worrying detail from researchers: Politicians are more inclined to be narcissistic:
The team behind the research also included an interesting explanation. According to researchers, politicians have a higher tendency to be narcissistic. This means that governments are in danger of becoming more susceptible to conspiracy theories.
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