Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
@alekscichocka.bsky.social
Political psychologist at the University of Kent.
Pinned
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😴
Currently on mat leave so expect irregular posts with typos from my night feeds😴
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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...
October 1, 2025 at 7:39 PM
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...
Thank you so much for having me @hansalves.bsky.social et al.! Always great fun to hang out with German social psychologists!
Keynote by Aleksandra Cichocka at #FGSP2025
What an impressive research program, @alekscichocka.bsky.social !
What an impressive research program, @alekscichocka.bsky.social !
September 15, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Thank you so much for having me @hansalves.bsky.social et al.! Always great fun to hang out with German social psychologists!
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
Moral outrage spreads petitions online—but doesn’t always inspire people to sign them
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
July 15, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Moral outrage spreads petitions online—but doesn’t always inspire people to sign them
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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/
Find out more: blogs.kent.ac.uk/easp2025/
July 17, 2025 at 7:44 PM
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/
Find out more: blogs.kent.ac.uk/easp2025/
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
SAT, July 5
11:05am – 12:20pm
S93: @alekscichocka.bsky.social The energy island: Texan collective narcissism predicts support for an independent power grid
July 5, 2025 at 6:42 AM
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
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 Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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-...
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
July 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM
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-...
We explain the dark side of social identity in our latest newsletter: substack.com/home/post/p-...
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
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
July 4, 2025 at 5:16 AM
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
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 Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
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
July 2, 2025 at 9:20 AM
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
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 Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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...
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...
June 12, 2025 at 2:00 PM
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...
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...
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 🎓
June 10, 2025 at 8:53 AM
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 Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
June 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
A popularizing version of joint work with Liz Mancuso, @jayvanbavel.bsky.social , and others. psyche.co/guides/how-t...
"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
May 15, 2025 at 7:14 AM
"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...
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
May 9, 2025 at 3:28 PM
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/...
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/...
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
May 6, 2025 at 8:01 AM
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/...
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/...
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
March 25, 2025 at 6:41 PM
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... 🧵
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....
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
February 18, 2025 at 12:01 PM
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....
rips-irsp.com/articles/10....
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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-...
Please refer to this thread, ResearchGate, and PsyArXiv for details!
psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...
February 14, 2025 at 2:37 PM
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-...
Please refer to this thread, ResearchGate, and PsyArXiv for details!
psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-...
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
February 6, 2025 at 7:31 PM
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
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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
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
January 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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
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
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
📢 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
January 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
📢 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
Reposted by Prof Aleksandra Cichocka
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.
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.
January 27, 2025 at 10:00 AM
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.
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.
Next on my “when the baby sleeps on me” reading list!
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...
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 ...
www.annualreviews.org
January 26, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Next on my “when the baby sleeps on me” reading list!
Can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I was watching Trail of Dead’s “The rest will follow” video on MTV. Now I’m married to their bassist and hoping our newborn will inherit his music talents rather than mine 😂
These albums by LCD Soundsystem, Bright Eyes, Low, the Chemical Brothers, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy & Matt Sweeney, Geto Boys, M83, and ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead turn 20 years old this weekend. 💿
Which is your fave?
Which is your fave?
January 26, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Can’t believe it’s been 20 years since I was watching Trail of Dead’s “The rest will follow” video on MTV. Now I’m married to their bassist and hoping our newborn will inherit his music talents rather than mine 😂
Another illustration of diplomacy of collective narcissism - a belief that one’s country is exceptional and entitled to special treatment.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Donald Trump says he believes the US will 'get Greenland' - BBC News
The president told reporters the island's 57,000 residents "want to be with us".
www.bbc.co.uk
January 26, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Another illustration of diplomacy of collective narcissism - a belief that one’s country is exceptional and entitled to special treatment.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Politics of collective narcissism: "These changes reaffirm the Nation's commitment to preserving the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensuring that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of its heroes and historic assets”
The Trump administration's Interior Department said it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali to Mount McKinley reut.rs/40yJ4VA
Trump administration says 'Gulf of America' name change now official
The Trump administration's Interior Department said on Friday it had officially changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and the Alaskan peak Denali to Mount McKinley.
reut.rs
January 25, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Politics of collective narcissism: "These changes reaffirm the Nation's commitment to preserving the extraordinary heritage of the United States and ensuring that future generations of Americans celebrate the legacy of its heroes and historic assets”