A Test of the Approaches of Adorno et al., Lederer and Altemeyer of Authoritarianism in Belgian Flanders: A Research Note

Abstract

A main theoretical and empirical question in the field of authoritarianism and modem political racism research was answered in a large survey of 900 Flemish high school students. This research question was, Which of the authoritarianism concepts and scales performs better in a theoretical and empirical sense: that of Adorno et al. (1950), Lederer (1983) or Altemeyer (1988)? The results show, contrary to what has been suggested by some authors, that the various operationalizations of authoritarianism have no superiority over one another: the scales have similar relations with the main variables they are supposed to predict, like antiminorities ethnocentrism, national ingroup favoritism. anti-Semitism, antifeminism, pro-Apartheid attitudes, submissive behavior, social punitiveness, trust in authorities, and sympathy and voting preference for a racist party, and no relation with directiveness. This is not really a surprise as the various F scales are relatively highly intercorrelated. The results also support the existence of an attitudinal and behavioral syndrome of authoritarianism.