Vulnerable Narcissism and Social Motivations for Conspiracy Belief: The Mediating Role of Need for Uniqueness

Conspiratorial beliefs, which attribute significant events to the secret machinations of malevolent groups, have far-reaching social consequences. Social motivations are outlined as a primary factor in conspiracy theory adoption. Similarly, vulnerable narcissism shows relationships with both increased conspiracy theorising, and an increased need for social approval. To explore social motivations, this study explores the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and conspiracy beliefs with specific regard to both need for uniqueness and need for belonging. It was expected that both an increased need for uniqueness and need for belonging would significantly account for unique variance in the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and conspiracy beliefs. Participants (N = 371) residing in the United States were included in the study. A parallel mediation model showed that although vulnerable narcissism was associated with both mediators, only need for uniqueness mediated the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and conspiracy beliefs (indirect effect, B = .007, 95% CI [.003, .012]); need for belonging did not (indirect effect, B = -.002, 95% CI [-.008, .004]). The findings provide clarity around social motivations in the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and conspiracy beliefs, and provide direction for future studies.