Authoritarianism and prejudice: What have we achieved? — A note

Abstract

Abstract The underlying hypotheses of “The Authoritarian Personality” (Adorno, et al., 1950) states that the holding of prejudicial attitudes is dependent upon the personality dynamics of the individual. In a South African study Orpen (1970) adminestered the authoritarianism stale (F) measuring personality trends to 100 Afrikaans-speaking students at the University of Stellenbosch together with the ethnocentrism scale (E) tapping prejudiced attitudes. The correlation was significant (p < ,001) and on these grounds Orpen (1970) concluded chat ‘...Afrikaners have to a large extent internalized where they form part of their basic personality structure which in turn makes them especially receptive to the prejudiced ideas current in their culture’ (p.120).