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

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 (including an adult representative sample) and different intergroup contexts.
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.