Measures of collective narcissism

Most instruments that are designed to measure narcissism explore the attempts of individuals to boost their personal status. Rather than boost personal status, some individuals may instead attempt to boost collective status. That is, they want to perceive their collectives—such as their ethnicity, nationality, or field of study—as superior. This inclination of some individuals to inflate the status of their collectives is called collective narcissism (De Zavala, 2011).

De Zavala (2011), while an academic at Middlesex University in England, developed and validated a measure that assesses collective narcissism. The measure comprises the following items

I wish other groups would more quickly recognise the authority of my group.
My group deserves special treatment.
I will never be satisﬁed until my group gets all it deserves.
I insist upon my group getting the respect that is due to it. It really makes me angry when others criticize my group.
If my group had a major say in the world, the world would be a much better place.
I do not get upset when people do not notice achievements of my group (reverse-scored).
Not many people seem to fully understand the importance of my group.
The true worth of my group is often misunderstood.

Researchers can substitute references to the group with more specific terms, such as the discipline or field. Some research has corroborated the validity of this scale (for a review, see De Zavala, 2011). For example

collective narcissism is positively associated with social dominance orientation—the inclination of people to assume that some groups are inherently superior to other groups,
collective narcissism is positively related to the inclination of some people to glorify their nation.

Distinction between collective narcissism and similar traits or states

Researchers have defined and measured a range of traits, states, or mindsets that resemble collective narcissism. The following table, derived from Golec De Zavala (2023), delineates and differentiates these concepts. This table may clarify how collective narcissism may diverge from similar traits, states, or mindsets. As this table highlights, collective narcissism tends to blend two previous concepts:

ingroup glorification: a belief in which individuals perceive their group as superior,
group entitlement: a belief in which individuals feel their groups does not receive the recognition or privileges they deserve.

Collective narcissism	A belief in which individuals assume their groups or communities are superior—but do not receive the special privileges they deserve
Insecure ingroup identity	A state in which individuals feel their fate greatly depends on the success of the group to which they feel strongly affiliated in a very competitive setting—such as a political party or sporting team (Jackson & Smith, 1999)
Secure ingroup identity	A state in which individuals strongly affiliated with a group—but do not feel their fate depends on the success of this group in a competitive setting (Jackson & Smith, 1999)
Private collective self- esteem	The judgment of individuals on the status, value, or quality of their group or community (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992)
Public collective self-esteem	The judgment of individuals on the degree to which they believe that other people evaluate their group favourably (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992)
Membership collective self-esteem	The degree to which individuals perceive themselves as beneficial to their group or community (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992)
Identity collective self-esteem	The extent to which individuals regard their group or community as central to their perception of themselves (Luhtanen & Crocker, 1992)
Collective self-esteem contingent competition	The degree to which individuals derive a sense of worth from the status of their group relative to other groups (Amiot & Hornsey, 2010)
Ingroup glorification	A belief in which individuals perceive their group, such as their nation, as superior to other groups—and a respect towards their group (Roccas et al., 2006)
Ingroup attachment	The extent to which individuals feel a sense of emotional attachment or alliance to their group, combined with a motivation to contribute towards this group (Roccas et al., 2006)
Group or racial entitlement	A belief in which individuals feel their groups does not receive the recognition or privileges they deserve (Endevelt et al., 2021; Reyna et al., 2022)
Ingroup satisfaction	The positive feelings that people feel towards the group and their membership of this group (Leach et al., 2008)