ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理科学进展 ›› 2022, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (9): 2100-2116.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2022.02100

• 研究前沿 • 上一篇    下一篇

集体自恋:群际冲突的催化剂

徐步霄1,2, 白洁3, 李晔4, 郭永玉3()   

  1. 1绍兴文理学院心理学系, 浙江 绍兴 312000
    2绍兴文理学院大脑、心智与教育研究中心, 浙江 绍兴 312000
    3南京师范大学心理学院, 南京 210097
    4华中师范大学心理学院, 武汉 430079
  • 收稿日期:2021-12-08 出版日期:2022-09-15 发布日期:2022-07-21
  • 通讯作者: 郭永玉 E-mail:yyguo@njnu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家社科基金重点项目(20AZD084);绍兴文理学院科研启动项目(20206029)

Collective narcissism: A catalyst for intergroup conflicts

XU Buxiao1,2, BAI Jie3, LI Ye4, GUO Yongyu3()   

  1. 1Department of Psychology, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China
    2Center for Brain, Mind and Education, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China
    3School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, China
    4School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
  • Received:2021-12-08 Online:2022-09-15 Published:2022-07-21
  • Contact: GUO Yongyu E-mail:yyguo@njnu.edu.cn

摘要:

集体自恋是将自恋延伸到群体水平的一个经典构念, 目前被界定为对于“自身所属群体是卓越的并值得优待, 却未充分被他者承认”的信念。现有研究发现它对群际敌对性有较强解释力, 因为集体自恋者对内群体形象、地位或身份所受威胁高度敏感, 容易高估威胁和怀疑外群体, 而缺乏自我价值感及控制感是集体自恋的重要根源。鉴于现有研究一般都预设了集体自恋的脆弱性和消极性, 而集体自恋的属性不必然如此, 未来研究应在充分厘清集体自恋内涵及结构的基础上探索其消极与积极后效, 揭示其多元成因及干预方法, 并推进跨文化研究。

关键词: 集体自恋, 群体自恋, 集体自尊, 群体认同, 群际冲突

Abstract:

Collective narcissism is the group-level equivalent of individual narcissism and is currently defined as the belief that one's own group is exceptional and entitled to privileged treatment but it is not sufficiently recognized by others. Current research findings show that it has relatively strong explanatory power for intergroup hostility, because collective narcissists are hypersensitive to threats to their in-group image, status, or identity, and are prone to overestimate threats and suspect out-groups; and that lacking sense of self-worth and personal control is one important source of collective narcissism.

After reviewing the past research on collective narcissism, combined with latest progress in the field of individual narcissism, this paper proposes several important questions that remain to be investigated in the field of collective narcissism.

First, does collective narcissism necessarily entail vulnerability? Currently, collective narcissism tends to be understood as collective self-esteem that is contingent on admiration and recognition from others. This suggests that collective narcissists are generally conceived to be fragile internally, in that it is because of the vulnerability implicit in their own beliefs—or in other words, their own lack of confidence in their in-group's exceptional image—that they are prone to demand external affirmation or recognition. However, vulnerability may not be a necessary attribute of collective narcissism because there may be collective narcissism that is not fragile, just as there may be individual narcissism that is not fragile. Therefore, researchers may consider appropriately narrowing the connotation of collective narcissism to expand its denotation so as to explore more diverse forms of collective narcissism, such as collective narcissism with and without vulnerability.

Second, is the structure of collective narcissism one-dimensional? If not, what dimensions does it have? Although the most widely used collective narcissism scale has a one-dimensional structure, recent studies have developed and validated collective narcissism scales with a multidimensional structure. These studies are preliminary, however, and only suggest it is necessary to carry out multidimensional exploration. As for the exact structure of collective narcissism, further exploration is needed. And future research should not only explore the dimensions of collective narcissism, but also explore the sub-dimensions of both of vulnerable collective narcissism and grandiose collective narcissism.

Third, are the consequences of collective narcissism always negative? The vast majority of current research has focused on revealing the negative effects of collective narcissism, and very few studies have directly examined and found positive effects of collective narcissism. However, according to E. Fromm's classical theoretical view, collective narcissism may also have its benign forms within certain limits, just as individual narcissism may also have an adaptive side. Therefore, future research should explore the effects of collective narcissism from a more complete theoretical perspective, and especially, examine more the positive effects of collective narcissism.

Finally, does collective narcissism stem simply from frustrated individual needs? Although studies in recent years have begun to investigate the causes of collective narcissism, these studies largely focus on individual motivational factors and fail to examine them together with factors such as cognitions and sociocultural contexts. Future research may draw on ideas from theories such as system justification theory, social identity theory, and self-categorization theory to explore a more complete explanation for the phenomenon of collective narcissism.

In summary, after more than a decade of research, there are still many theoretically meaningful questions in the field of collective narcissism that deserve further exploration. And in today's world, such exploration also has profound practical significance, and it may bring a wealth of insights into how to deal with the struggles of various social groups for recognition.

Key words: collective narcissism, group narcissism, collective self-esteem, group identification, intergroup conflicts

中图分类号: