Aleksandra Cichocka

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka

@alekscichocka.bsky.social

5.3K followers 590 following 73 posts

Political psychologist at the University of Kent.

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Psychology 38%

Sociology 19%

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Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Nov 17

Hi all! I’m a political psychologist working on identity, ideology, conspiracy beliefs, support for democracy, collective action and online political engagement. I’m fascinated by the role narcissism plays in politics.

Currently on mat leave so expect irregular posts with typos from my night feeds😴

Reposted by Mark J. Brandt, Aleksandra Cichocka

ISPP @polpsyispp.bsky.social · Oct 1

ISPP Small Grants are back for 2026! 💡 $50k total available; request up to $5k for research or network/workshop projects. Open to current ISPP members. Proposals due Dec 1, 2025. Selection uses a lottery among proposals that meet all criteria. Apply: ispp.org/funding/smal...

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Sep 15

Thank you so much for having me @hansalves.bsky.social et al.! Always great fun to hang out with German social psychologists!

Hans Alves @hansalves.bsky.social · Sep 15

Keynote by Aleksandra Cichocka at #FGSP2025
What an impressive research program, @alekscichocka.bsky.social !

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Hans Alves @hansalves.bsky.social · Sep 15

Keynote by Aleksandra Cichocka at #FGSP2025
What an impressive research program, @alekscichocka.bsky.social !

Reposted by Serge Guimond, Aleksandra Cichocka, Kristof Dhont

Jim AC Everett @jimaceverett.bsky.social · Jul 17

The 2025 EASP Summer School at the University of Kent is kicking off in just a few days and we are SO excited to welcome 80 brilliant early-career researchers from across Europe for 10 days of collaboration, community, and cutting-edge social psychology 🙏

Find out more: blogs.kent.ac.uk/easp2025/

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

PsyPost @psypost.bsky.social · Jul 15

Moral outrage spreads petitions online—but doesn’t always inspire people to sign them

Posts expressing moral outrage were more likely to go viral but did not lead to more petition signatures, while posts using agentic, group identity, or prosocial language attracted more signatures despite receiving less online engagement.

www.psypost.org

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Political Psychology at Kent @polpsychkent.bsky.social · Jul 5

Spending your weekend with @polpsyispp.bsky.social in Prague? Join us for these talks:

SAT, July 5
11:05am – 12:20pm
S93: @alekscichocka.bsky.social The energy island: Texan collective narcissism predicts support for an independent power grid

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Political Psychology at Kent @polpsychkent.bsky.social · Jul 4

Don’t miss our lab’s Friday talks at @polpsyispp.bsky.social in Prague:

10:15 AM - 11:30 AM
S53
Tamino Konur: Does Gender Identity Compensate for Ethnic Discrimination?
Alessia Bacigalupo: Women, Borders and the Nation: How Sexism Predicts Nationalism and Immigration Policy Support

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · Jul 3

Just like individual narcissists, who have an exaggerated sense of self-importance and grandiosity, national narcissists believe that their nation is exceptional and entitled to special treatment.

We explain the dark side of social identity in our latest newsletter: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Healthy vs Harmful National Identities

Issue 171: This July 4th, we explore different forms of national identity and how they shape democracy, solidarity, and collective responsibility in profoundly different ways.

substack.com

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Political Psychology at Kent @polpsychkent.bsky.social · Jul 2

Heading to @polpsyispp.bsky.social in Prague? Check out these awesome talks from our lab tomorrow (Thu, Jul 3):

11:40 AM - 12:55
S21: Daniel Toribio-Flórez: Examining the political consequences of conspiracy theories around general elections: Evidence from the UK, France and US

Reposted by Mark J. Brandt, Aleksandra Cichocka

Social Psychology - Hogrefe @socpsyjournal.bsky.social · Jun 12

New:

Adamczyk & colleagues compared national identification to national narcissism & found that the former is related to support for democracy & voting intentions, while the latter was associated with anarchism & lower voting intentions.

doi.org/10.1027/1864...

If Not Democracy, Then What? On the Relationships Between National Identification Versus National Narcissism and Support for Different Visions of the Political World
Dominika Adamczyk
, Michalina Szczęsna
, Zuzanna Molenda
, Dagmara Szczepańska
, Marta Rogoza
, Radosław Rogoza
, Dominika Maison
, and Marta Marchlewska

Abstract: The current paper examines the relationships between different types of national identity and democracy, anarchism, and pacifism. In two studies (UK, N = 402; Poland, N = 799), national narcissism was negatively related to pacifism and, in Study 2, to democracy, while positively linked to anarchism. National identification, however, was related to lower support for anarchism but higher support for democracy and pacifism (only in Study 2). Additionally, national narcissism was negatively linked to voting intentions, whereas national identification was positively associated with them, mediated by support for democracy. Our research showed that national identity is linked to support for different political visions of the world, which have distinct effects on the functioning of society.

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Jun 10

Proud to celebrate with @chiarazazzarino.bsky.social her fantastic PhD defense yesterday 🥂Chiara’s research funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk examined how leaders use national identity rhetoric to gain political support. Congratulations Dr Zazzarino 🎓

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka, Jeroen de Ridder

Mark Alfano @markalfano.bsky.social · Jun 5

A popularizing version of joint work with Liz Mancuso, @jayvanbavel.bsky.social , and others. psyche.co/guides/how-t...

How to cultivate collective intellectual humility | Psyche Guides

Being smart is knowing what you don’t know. From work meetings to book clubs, use these tips to boost your group’s thinking

psyche.co

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 15

Yes, awareness matters, and in fact we found that via virality, moral outrage was linked to more signatures (but when virality was controlled for, the direct effect of moral outrage became negative)

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 15

Summery of our recent SPPS paper, funded by @leverhulme.ac.uk

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 15

"At the same time though, the findings suggest that online moral outrage may sometimes fail to translate into other types of collective responses, such as petition signing, which can influence stakeholders and policymakers."

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 15

"Platforms are calibrated to capture attention by amplifying moralized and emotional content. This can have benefits, such as raising awareness of injustices by propagating expressions of outrage," explains @stefanleach.bsky.social phys.org/news/2025-05...

Examining the relationship between moral outrage on social media and activism

A new study published in Social Psychological and Personality Science examines how expressions of moral outrage on social media are linked to online activism, specifically petition-signing behavior.

phys.org

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka, Sarah J. Schoppe‐Sullivan

Gail Cornwall @gailcornwall.com · May 9

A new study finds that expressions of moral outrage increase the virality of online petitions but not signatures. Statements about helping others, on the other hand, do predict a greater number of signatures but aren’t linked to virality. @spspnews.bsky.social journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Moral Outrage Predicts the Virality of Petitions for Change on Social Media, But Not the Number of Signatures They Receive - Stefan Leach, Magdalena Formanowicz, Jan Nikadon, Aleksandra Cichocka, 2025

Social media is a powerful tool for activists to share their perspectives, but concerns persist that the viral spread of online moral outrage may undermine coll...

journals.sagepub.com

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 6

In contrast, expressions of agency, group identity, and prosociality were associated with more signatures but no more virality.

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 6

We found that expressions of outrage were uniquely associated with the number of times posts were liked and reposted (virality). Outrage was indirectly related to the number of signatures petitions received (via virality) but it was associated with fewer signatures when controlling for virality.

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · May 6

Social media is a great tool for activists but can the viral spread of moral outrage sometimes undermine collective causes?

We examined this in a new SPPS paper led by @stefanleach.bsky.social analyzing 1,286,442 posts on X with URLs to petitions on change.org journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Joe Phillips @polpsychjoe.bsky.social · Mar 25

Out now, open access at Psychology of Violence! How do authoritarianism and social dominance orientation affect attitudes toward collective violence in Lebanon? (with @ramziabouismail.bsky.social, @alekscichocka.bsky.social, and @sengupta.bsky.social) psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/202... 🧵

psycnet.apa.org

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Feb 18

The effects were mediated by perceived belief similarity. Their studies indicate that national narcissists might be inclined to support a nationalist outgroup leader and their violent actions, even if the latter may ultimately pose a threat to the ingroup.

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Feb 18

Seems timely to highlight recent work by @genaveebrown.bsky.social and @gaellemarinthe.bsky.social In two studies they found that national narcissism in France and the US was associated with more favourable views of Putin and seeing the war as less immoral

rips-irsp.com/articles/10....

We’re All the Same: Collective Narcissists’ Cross-National Support for Putin and Russian Military Attacks | International Review of Social Psychology

rips-irsp.com

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka

Mikey Biddlestone @mikeybiddlestone.bsky.social · Feb 14

Our meta-analysis "Reasons to believe: A systematic review and meta-analytic synthesis of the motives associated with conspiracy beliefs" is now published at Psychological Bulletin!
Please refer to this thread, ResearchGate, and PsyArXiv for details!
psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...

Landing page for our article "Reasons to believe: A systematic review and meta-analytic synthesis of the motives associated with conspiracy beliefs"

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka, Geneviève Gore

Stephan Lewandowsky @lewan.bsky.social · Feb 6

My latest column just appeared in Science, entitled "Free speech, fact-checking, and the right to accurate information”. (www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...) I use one of President Trump’s first executive orders to unpack the terrain between misinformation and claims to free speech 1/n

Free speech, fact checking, and the right to accurate information

True to his campaign promises, on 20 January 2025, US President Donald Trump signed a broad range of Executive Orders, the scope of which ranged from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” t...

www.science.org

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Jan 30

I like this Handbook edited by Danny Osborne and Chris Sibley www.cambridge.org/core/books/c...

The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology

Cambridge Core - Social Psychology - The Cambridge Handbook of Political Psychology

www.cambridge.org

Reposted by Aleksandra Cichocka, Yamil Velez, Sofia Stathi

Political Psychology @ispp-pops.bsky.social · Jan 30

Special Issue Alert!

How do digital & social media fuel alternative identities, extreme narratives & online communities in times of crisis?

Submit your work exploring their role in propaganda, misinformation, and reshaping society!

ispp.org/wp/wp-conten...

@polpsyispp.bsky.social #polisky

Call for papers for a special issue. Special issue title is Responding to socio-political challenges online through radical or extreme narratives and alternative forms of collective identities. Guest Editors: Theofilos Gkinopoulos (Behavior in Crisis Lab, Institute of Psychology,
Jagiellonian University), Malgorzata Kossowska (Behavior in Crisis Lab, Institute of
Psychology, Jagiellonian University), Ana Guinote (University College London), Jesper
Strömbäck (University of Gothenburg)

Reposted by Fabrizio Gilardi, Henning Finseraas, Aleksandra Cichocka , and 3 more Fabrizio Gilardi, Henning Finseraas, Aleksandra Cichocka, Damien Bol, Markus Wagner, Sandra González‐Bailón

Aina Gallego @ainagallego.bsky.social · Jan 28

📢 Our new paper in Political Analysis explains how to use LLMs like GPT-4o, Llama or Mistral to estimate the ideological and policy position of political texts. Our approach is fast, reliable, cost-effective and reproducible and works with texts written in different languages 1/7 cup.org/4axBEXo

Positioning Political Texts with Large Language Models by Asking and Averaging | Political Analysis | Cambridge Core

Positioning Political Texts with Large Language Models by Asking and Averaging

cup.org

Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · Jan 27

Auschwitz was at the end of a long process. It did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred was gradually developed by humans. From ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.

Prof Aleksandra Cichocka @alekscichocka.bsky.social · Jan 26

Next on my “when the baby sleeps on me” reading list!

Nour Kteily @nourkteily.bsky.social · Jan 26

New open-access paper in Annual Review of Psychology with @mjbsp.bsky.social: “Ideology: Psychological Similarities and Differences Across the Ideological Spectrum Reexamined”

www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Ideology: Psychological Similarities and Differences Across the Ideological Spectrum Reexamined | Annual Reviews

A key debate in the psychology of ideology is whether leftists and rightists are psychologically similar or different. A long-standing view holds that left-wing and right-wing people are meaningfully ...

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