In an experiment that later won an Ig Nobel Prize, more than 360 adults in Poland took an intelligence test and were then told, at random, that they had scored above or below average. People told they were smart rated their own intelligence higher and reported a stronger sense of being special.
Now the same two psychologists are behind a 2026 paper on how narcissism may connect to belief in conspiracy theories and to finding deep meaning in statements that are actually empty. One of the key ideas they test comes from research that won its own Ig Nobel a decade ago.
