When the sun goes down: low political knowledge and high national narcissism predict climate change conspiracy beliefs

The present research empirically examines the links between political knowledge, national narcissism, and climate change conspiracy beliefs. National narcissism (i.e., an unrealistic belief about in-group’s greatness which is maladaptive both from the perspective of intra- and inter-group processes) was previously linked to conspiracy beliefs. In this research, we hypothesized that low theoretical political knowledge would boost national narcissism and further lead to adopting climate change conspiracy theories. Methods: This hypothesis was tested in a two-wave study conducted among Polish participants (N = 558). Results: We found negative effect of political knowledge on climate change conspiracy beliefs. Moreover, national narcissism mediated between theoretical political knowledge and conspiracy beliefs. Conclusion: People having low political knowledge are prone to believe in climate change conspiracy theories. Moreover, those less informed about the way political system works in their country are more narcissistically identified with their nation and, thus, deny the climate change.