Narcissism—a conviction about one's superiority and entitlement to special treatment—is a robust predictor of belief in conspiracy theories. Recent developments in the study of narcissism suggest that it has three components: antagonism, agentic extraversion, and neuroticism. We argue that each of these components of narcissism might predispose people to endorse conspiracy theories due to different psychological processes. Specifically, we discuss the role of paranoia, gullibility, and the needs for dominance, control, and uniqueness. We also review parallel findings for narcissistic beliefs about one's social groups. We consider the wider implications this research might have, especially for political leadership. We conclude by discussing outstanding questions about sharing conspiracy theories and other forms of misinformation.

自恋——对一个人的优越感和特殊待遇的信念——是对阴谋论信仰的有力预测。自恋研究的最新进展表明它具有三个组成部分：对抗性、代理外向性和神经质。我们认为，由于不同的心理过程，自恋的这些组成部分中的每一个都可能使人们倾向于支持阴谋论。具体来说，我们讨论了偏执狂、轻信的作用，以及对支配、控制和独特性的需求。我们还回顾了关于一个人的社会群体的自恋信念的平行发现。我们认为这项研究可能产生更广泛的影响，尤其是对政治领导力。最后，我们讨论了有关共享阴谋论和其他形式的错误信息的悬而未决的问题。