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New research indicates that perceiving one’s social group as possessing inner spiritual strength can drive members to extreme acts of self-sacrifice. This willingness to suffer for the group appears to be fueled by collective narcissism, a belief that the group is exceptional but underappreciated by others. The findings suggest that narratives of spiritual power may inadvertently foster dangerous forms of group entitlement. The study was published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
History is replete with examples of smaller groups overcoming larger adversaries through sheer willpower. Social psychologists have termed this perceived inner strength “spiritual formidability.” This concept refers to the conviction in a cause and the resolve to pursue it regardless of material disadvantages. Previous observations of combatants in conflict zones have shown that spiritual formidability is often a better predictor of the willingness to fight than physical strength or weaponry.
The authors of the current study sought to understand the psychological mechanisms behind this phenomenon. They aimed to determine why a perception of spiritual strength translates into a readiness to die or suffer for a group. They hypothesized that this process is not merely a result of loyalty or love for the group. Instead, they proposed that it stems from a demand for symbolic recognition.
The researchers suspected that viewing one’s group as spiritually powerful feeds into collective narcissism. Collective narcissism differs from simple group pride or satisfaction. It involves a defensive form of attachment where members believe their group possesses an undervalued greatness that requires external validation. The study tested whether this specific type of narcissistic belief acts as the bridge between spiritual formidability and self-sacrifice.
“Previous research has shown that perceiving one’s group as spiritually strong—deeply committed to its values—predicts a willingness to fight and self-sacrifice, but the psychological mechanisms behind this link were still unclear,” said study author Juana Chinchilla, an assistant professor of social psychology at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) in Spain.
“We were particularly interested in understanding why narratives of moral or spiritual strength can motivate extreme sacrifices, especially in real-world contexts marked by conflict and behavioral radicalization. This study addresses that gap by identifying collective narcissism as a key mechanism connecting spiritual formidability to extreme self-sacrificial intentions.”
The research team conducted a series of five investigations to test their hypothesis. They began with a preliminary online survey of 420 individuals from the general population in Spain. Participants completed measures assessing their satisfaction with their nation and their levels of national collective narcissism. They also rated their willingness to engage in extreme actions to defend the country, such as going to jail or dying.
A central component of this preliminary study was the inclusion of ingroup satisfaction as a control variable. Ingroup satisfaction represents a secure sense of pride and happiness with one’s membership in a group. It is distinct from the defensive and resentful nature of collective narcissism. By statistically controlling for this variable, the researchers aimed to isolate the specific effects of narcissism.
The data from this initial survey provided a baseline for the researchers’ theory. The results showed that collective narcissism predicted a willingness to sacrifice for the country even after accounting for the influence of ingroup satisfaction.
“One striking finding was how reliably collective narcissism explained self-sacrificial intentions even when controlling for more secure forms of group attachment, such as ingroup satisfaction,” Chinchilla told PsyPost. “This suggests that extreme sacrifice is not always driven by genuine concern for the group’s well-being, but sometimes by defensive beliefs about the group’s greatness and lack of recognition. We were also surprised by how easily these processes could be activated through shared narratives about spiritual strength.”
Following this preliminary work, the researchers gained access to high-security penitentiary centers across Spain for two field studies. Study 1a involved 70 male inmates convicted of crimes related to membership in violent street gangs. Study 1b focused on 47 male inmates imprisoned for organized property crimes and membership in delinquent bands. These populations were selected because they are known for engaging in costly actions to protect their groups.
In these prison studies, participants used a dynamic visual measure to rate their group’s spiritual formidability. They were shown an image of a human body and adjusted a slider to change its size and muscularity. This visual metaphor represented the inner strength and conviction of their specific gang or band. They also completed questionnaires measuring collective narcissism and their willingness to make sacrifices, such as enduring longer prison sentences or cutting off family contact.
The findings from the prison samples were consistent with the initial hypothesis. Inmates who perceived their gang or band as spiritually formidable reported higher levels of collective narcissism. This sense of underappreciated greatness was statistically associated with a higher willingness to make severe personal sacrifices. Mediation analysis indicated that collective narcissism explains why spiritual formidability leads to self-sacrifice.
The researchers then extended their investigation to a sample of 88 inmates convicted of jihadist terrorism or proselytizing in prison. This sample included individuals involved in major attacks and thwarted plots. The procedure mirrored the previous studies but focused on the broader ideological group of Muslims rather than a specific criminal band. Participants rated the spiritual formidability of Muslims and their willingness to sacrifice for their religious ideology.
The researchers conducted additional statistical analyses to ensure the robustness of these findings. These models explicitly controlled for the gender of the participants. This step ensured that the observed effects were not simply due to differences in how men and women might approach sacrifice or group perception.
The results from the jihadist sample aligned with those from the street gangs. Perceptions of spiritual strength within the religious community were associated with higher collective narcissism regarding the faith. This defensive pride predicted a greater readiness to suffer for the ideology. The relationship remained significant even when controlling for gender. The study demonstrated that the psychological mechanism operates for large-scale ideological values just as it does for small, cohesive gangs.
Finally, the researchers conducted an experimental study with 457 Spanish citizens to establish causality. This study took place during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of heightened threat and social uncertainty. The researchers provided false feedback to a portion of the participants. This feedback stated that most Spaniards viewed their country as possessing high spiritual formidability.
Participants in the control group received no information regarding how other citizens viewed the nation. All participants then completed measures of collective narcissism and willingness to sacrifice to defend the country against the pandemic. The manipulation was designed to test if simply hearing about the group’s spiritual strength would trigger the proposed psychological chain reaction.
The experiment confirmed the causal role of spiritual formidability. Participants led to believe their country was spiritually formidable scored higher on measures of collective narcissism. They also expressed a greater willingness to endure extreme hardships to fight the pandemic. Statistical analysis confirmed that the manipulation influenced self-sacrifice specifically by boosting collective narcissism.
The study provides evidence that narratives of spiritual strength can have a double-edged nature. While such beliefs can foster cohesion, they can also trigger a sense of entitlement and resentment toward those who do not recognize the group’s greatness. This defensive mindset appears to be a key driver of extreme pro-group behavior.
“Our findings suggest that believing one’s group is spiritually formidable can motivate extreme self-sacrifice not only through loyalty or love, but also through a sense that the group is undervalued and deserves greater recognition,” Chinchilla explained. “This illustrates that people may engage in risky or extreme progroup actions to achieve symbolic recognition. Importantly, it also highlights how seemingly positive narratives about spiritual strength can have unintended and potentially dangerous consequences.”
However, “it would be a mistake to interpret spiritual formidability as inherently dangerous or as a direct cause of violence. On its own, perceiving the ingroup as morally committed and spiritually strong can promote loyalty, trust, and cohesion. The problematic consequences may arise only under severe threat or when perceptions of spiritual formidability become intertwined with collective narcissism.”
Future research is needed to determine when exactly these beliefs turn into narcissistic entitlement. The authors note that a key challenge is clarifying the boundary conditions under which spiritual formidability gives rise to collective narcissism. This distinction might depend on whether individuals see violence as morally acceptable.
“We plan to examine whether similar mechanisms operate in non-violent movements, such as environmental or human rights activism, where strong moral commitment is critical,” Chinchilla said. “Another important next step is identifying interventions that can decouple spiritual formidability from collective narcissism, for example by promoting narratives that frame cooperation and peace as markers of true moral strength.”
“One of the strengths of this research is the diversity of the samples, including populations that are rarely accessible in psychological research. Studying these processes in real-world, high-stakes contexts helps bridge the gap between laboratory findings and the dynamics underlying radicalization, intergroup conflict, and extreme collective behavior.”
The study, “Spiritual Formidability Predicts the Will to Self-Sacrifice Through Collective Narcissism,” was authored by Juana Chinchilla and Angel Gomez.
