Authoritarianism, moral realism, and President Kennedy's death.

Abstract

Questionnaire data were gathered on two questions: What are the characteristics of those who are most interested in ‘justice being served’ when a strongly held common value is violated? Are the attitudes toward morality and justice of the authoritarian adult the same as those of the young child? Forty‐nine high authoritarian adult leaders in conservative organizations expressed more concern for affixing blame and meting out punishment following President Kennedy's death, than did 65 low authoritarian (F scale) liberal arts undergraduates. When compared to the low authoritarian student sample, the responses of high authoritarian adults were more similar to 9 statements which Piaget has found to characterize the conceptions of morality and justice of the young child.A second study showed that those scoring high in authoritarianism tended to recommend the use of punishment as a problem‐solving technique, and they recommended expiatory punishment more than punishment by reciprocity.