27 September 2024
How does overestimating one’s historical knowledge relate to national identification?
People who are narcissistically identified with their own nation often claim that if their nation ruled the world, it would be a much better place, and that they won’t rest until their nation receives the recognition it deserves.
But do these grandiose declarations go hand in hand with knowledge about their own nation?
In our latest article published in Current Issues in Personality Psychology, we discuss the connection between national narcissism and the tendency to "overclaim" one’s knowledge about their nation.
Using the overclaiming technique, we demonstrated that individuals who narcissistically identify with their nation often claim to have heard of nonexistent historical events or figures (e.g., the Mazovian Uprising, the Lublin War, Juliusz Krasiński), while at the same time, they are less familiar with real events or figures (e.g., the Kraków Uprising, the Battle of Cedynia, Władysław Łokietek).
The conclusions from our research suggest that national narcissism is merely a superficial style of self-presentation that doesn’t necessarily align with true knowledge about one’s nation.
The entire article can be accessed here: I “love” my country? The relationship between national narcissism and national knowledge overclaiming
