Collective Narcissism and Perceptions of the Severity of Racism Among White and Black Americans

What explains variation in Americans’ willingness to acknowledge racism? Across two studies, we examined how national and racial collective narcissism (CN), inflated concern with recognition of one’s ingroup, relates to reluctance to recognize racism among White and Black Americans. In Study 1, national CN predicted greater unawareness of racism, stronger beliefs that White Americans face more discrimination than Black Americans, and greater opposition to teaching about racism among White respondents, with similar patterns among non-White respondents. In Study 2, national CN predicted reduced willingness to acknowledge racism among both White and Black Americans. Racial CN, however, predicted unwillingness to acknowledge racism only among White Americans; among Black Americans, racial CN was unrelated or negatively associated with racism denial once national CN was considered. National and racial CN were also more strongly associated among Whites, clarifying why racial CN displaced national CN as the primary predictor in this group.