Authoritarian Personality Research Articles

Racializing human rights: political orientation, racial beliefs, and media use as predictors of support for human rights violations – a case study of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

ABSTRACT To what extent do political orientation, racial beliefs, and media use contribute to explaining support for human rights violations? To address these question, we draw on Adorno's “authoritarian personality” theory by proposing the concept of “racial syndrome,” resulting in affinity for expressions of support for right-wing ideologies. Using a public opinion survey conducted among Jewish-Israeli adults (N = 1,001), we show that political orientation and racial beliefs contribute to explaining support for human rights violations and that racial beliefs mediate the association between political orientation and support for human rights violations, measured as support for child arrest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moreover, the use of mainstream media moderates the association of political orientation with both racial beliefs and support for human rights violations, but the use of digital media does not. This study calls upon journalists, activists, and policymakers to engage responsibly in reducing racialized beliefs and promoting justice and human rights.

How the Fascist and Non-Fascist Self May Develop

In the context of several authoritarian regimes around the world, there is growing interest in explain­ing these processes of change. This article follows the tradition of the social sciences in striving to understand the social mechanisms of motivational structures of the self in interaction with societal contexts. The author draws on the qualitative contributions to the studies on fascism by the Berkeley University Group, published in 1950 as ‘The Authoritarian Personality’ by Theodor W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel J. Levinson and R. Nevitt Sanford (1950). This article analyses the quali­tative sections of the Study presented by Else Frenkel-Brunswik and compares these with the results of selected studies on resisters. Based on this analysis, the article discusses the results of the com­parison and the relevance of Frenkel-Brunswik’s contribution, as well as the implications for further research.

Logical Positivism or Critical Theory as the Methodological Foundation of The Authoritarian Personality?

In this paper, the central research question discusses to what extent logical positivism or critical theory forms the methodological core of the seminal work on the authoritarian personality. A central thesis is that due to her background in psychology, logical positivism and psychoanalysis and her neglected but central role in the authoritarian personality study, Else Frenkel-Brunswik has had a much more lasting and productive influence on authoritarianism research than Adorno as the rep­resentative of critical theory. This was certainly not reflected in the public discourse or in intellectual discussions, at least in Europe. This article shows how the original F-Scale was changed in subse­quent research and how the application of psychometric techniques improved. However, by employ­ing Lakatos’ concept of the research programme, I analyse how authoritarianism research developed in a degenerative way by reducing the number of factors from nine to three and giving up the psy­choanalytic explanation of the underlying mechanisms, a systematic test of sociological and contex­tual factors, and the original mixed method approach of combining surveys and qualitative inter­views. Finally, the issue of the effects of idealisation of parents on the measurement of the items and the use of typologies were not tackled in later research. Employing data from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), I describe how some of Frenkel-Brunswik’s central methodological and theoretical ideas have been tested using confirmatory factor analyses and structural equation mod­els. Finally I summarise the way in which the research programme can be developed more fruitfully by integrating developmental psychology, sociology, political science, psychoanalysis and statistical generalised latent variable models.

Allowing for Ambiguity in the Social Sciences

This paper gives a micro-sociological view on the methodology used by Else Frenkel-Brunswik in the famous study The Authoritarian Personality (Adorno et al. 1950). A thorough reconstruction of the theoretical and methodological concepts of Else Frenkel-Brunswik eventually allows for a full appreciation of her works from a today’s social research perspective, especially of her role in the field of authoritarianism-research. The paper deals with (i) Else Frenkel-Brunswik’s role in the research team of The Authoritarian Personality, (ii) the way she followed up on her earlier work, (iii) the question of in which ways her parts of the study were object of criticism by the numerous critics of TAP, and (iv) the ways she herself responded to these critics. The material basis for such an approach is the archival material available in the “Archive for the History of Sociology in Austria (AGSO)” in Graz, Austria, which holds parts of the estate of Else Frenkel-Brunswik, most of all her correspondence and unpublished typoscripts of later publications, as well as at the Institute for Jewish Research (YIVO) in New York, which holds the papers of the American Jewish Committee, i.e., draft reports, memoranda, and some interview protocols of the TAP study.

Else Frenkel Brunswik and Contemporary Sociologists

The article presents and discusses an unpublished critical remark written by Robert K Merton which addressed Else Frenkel Brunswik's contribution to The Authoritarian Personality. The author contextualizes both Merton’s remarks and the book’s reception by other contemporary sociologists.

Magical realism and romance in Asia: Avenuesfor understanding?

The classical Greeks believed that Eros was about erotic love. When we forsake the object of our love, it becomes relegated to the dustbin of memories, which makes it difficult to recover or retrieve. This article discusses how romantic love has been celebrated in works of magical realism in Asia that have evolved to include a range of emotions, political resistance (and questioning state authority and authoritarian personalities), fantasy, delusion, illusion, and fiction. One of the most pronouncedly celebrated works on magical realism was Gabriel GarcaMárquez’sLove in the Time of Cholera(1985) (1), which was about patience, perseverance, and emotional endurance. It is a frequent reminder of the need to preserve the memory of the object of one’s love, as it appears to be the only way to ensure that the dead never die. Three years later, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses(1988) (2) analyzed censorship and religious violence in India (and Pakistan), but incurred the wrath of religious fundamentalists in Iran. Gabriel Garca Márquez’s work was translated from Spanish to English and another 56languages; it became so influential that many scholars used to believe that magical realism originated from LatinAmerica and from the work of Gabriel Garca Márquez. Others believed that it was from several other Latin Americanscholars, including George Borges. Before Márquez and Borges, western European scholars said that magicalrealism originated in Germany between 1919 and 1933, i.e., the Neue Sachlichkeit (or Post-Expressionist) inter-war years, in the work of art critic and historian Franz Roh. Neue Sachlichkeit represented a new but unsettling depiction of a society devastated by war. But this claim is not entirely accurate, as there are other, much earlier claims. Nevertheless, for purposes of this article, magical realism began in Latin America and Mexico, most notably with the work of Gabriel Garca Márquez, who would eventually win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. This articleis particularly partial to the influences of Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera(1985) (1), which pedestalizes the memory of being devoted to the object of first love and the fragility of life. In one sense, the confusion, massacres, and plagues of Márquez’s narrative reveal the decadent human desire to plot, plan, and massacre fellow human beings, as we are naturally driven by a God-given desire to destroy the things that we create. Exactly as Goddoes to man, the article asks us to think about the literature of Asian magical realism in general and of Southeast Asian magical realism in particular. What patterns can be gleaned from a brief survey of how magical realism works in Southeast Asia, and what can those patterns tell us about our strengths and desires within streams of consciousness?

Magical Realism and Romance in Asia: Avenues for Understanding?

The classical Greeks believed that Eros was about erotic love. When we forsake the object of our love, it becomes relegated to the dustbin of memories, which makes it difficult to recover or retrieve. This article discusses how romantic love has been celebrated in works of magical realism in Asia that have evolved to include a range of emotions, political resistance (and questioning state authority and authoritarian personalities), fantasy, delusion, illusion, and fiction. One of the most pronouncedly celebrated works on magical realism was Gabriel Garca Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), which was about patience, perseverance, and emotional endurance. It is a frequent reminder of the need to preserve the memory of the object of one’s love, as it appears to be the only way to ensure that the dead never die. Three years later, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1988) analyzed censorship and religious violence in India (and Pakistan), but incurred the wrath of religious fundamentalists in Iran. Gabriel Garca Márquez’s work was translated from Spanish to English and another 56 languages; it became so influential that many scholars used to believe that magical realism originated from Latin America and from the work of Gabriel Garca Márquez. Others believed that it was from several other Latin American scholars, including George Borges. Before Márquez and Borges, western European scholars said that magical realism originated in Germany between 1919 and 1933, i.e., the Neue Sachlichkeit (or Post-Expressionist) inter-war years, in the work of art critic and historian Franz Roh. Neue Sachlichkeit represented a new but unsettling depiction of a society devastated by war. But this claim is not entirely accurate, as there are other, much earlier claims. Nevertheless, for purposes of this article, magical realism began in Latin America and Mexico, most notably with the work of Gabriel Garca Márquez, who would eventually win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. This article is particularly partial to the influences of Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera (1985), which pedestalizes the memory of being devoted to the object of first love and the fragility of life. In one sense, the confusion, massacres, and plagues of Márquez’s narrative reveal the decadent human desire to plot, plan, and massacre fellow human beings, as we are naturally driven by a God-given desire to destroy the things that we create. Exactly as God does to man, the article asks us to think about the literature of Asian magical realism in general and of Southeast Asian magical realism in particular. What patterns can be gleaned from a brief survey of how magical realism works in Southeast Asia, and what can those patterns tell us about our strengths and desires within streams of consciousness

AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY LEADERSHIP, SYCOPHANCY AND THE CRISIS OF DEVELOPMENT IN BAYELSA STATE, NIGERIA

Leadership is an unavoidable part of life in organizations. It’s a must-have for any organization that wants to coordinate the actions of its members to achieve its objectives. Therefore, leadership is crucial for human survival, development, and transformation. Leaders in all realms of life make several commitments to strengthen their leadership, enable their societies to improve, survive, and progress. Who has been in charge of our country exactly? We have been affected by numerous leaders, who lack moral power and unfortunately, the public has come to accept these ways of thinking and behaving as the standard. The culture that has emerged since the creation of Bayelsa State in 1996 is the authoritarian personality character of political leadership. Also, the culture of sycophancy and praise-singing has further exacerbated authoritarian leadership style among the leaders that have emerged in the State; an ugly form of hero or demigod worship. This paper uses the Theodor Adorno’s Authoritarian Personality Theory as a guide in explaining authoritarianism and the development challenges in Bayelsa State.

Investigating the Moderating Role of Positive Intergroup Contact on the Association between Authoritarianism and Homophobia among Heterosexual Young Adults

Authoritarian personality traits are associated with compliance and obedience to prevailing social norms and values. In contexts where the political climate fuels homophobia, people with authoritarian personality traits display more homophobic attitudes and behaviors. On the other hand, positive intergroup contact can reduce problems between groups. This positive intergroup contact, which emphasizes similarities by weakening baseless information about the outgroup, has long been used to reduce intergroup conflicts. In a heterosexual sample, whether positive intergroup contact will have a moderating role in the relationship between authoritarianism and homophobia is an open question. To answer this question, 241 young adults (Mage = 22.0, SD = 2.04; 59.3% female, 40.7% male) from 47 different cities of Türkiye were reached. Participants completed the right-wing authoritarianism scale, the social contact form with sexual minorities, and the Hudson & Ricketts homophobia scale. In parallel with the hypotheses, the findings show that authoritarian personality score positively predicted homophobia (β = .49, SE = .05, z = 10.07, p < .001), while positive intergroup contact negatively predicted homophobia (β = -.66, SE = .08, z = -8.67, p < .001). However, contrary to the hypothesis, no moderating role of positive intergroup contact in the association between authoritarianism and homophobia was observed (β = -.03, SE = .05, z = -.53 p = .593). Simple slope analyzes showed that authoritarianism positively predicted homophobia at both high and low levels of positive intergroup contact. The findings are discussed in the context of intergroup contact theory.

Covid‐19‐Related Conspiracy Myths, Beliefs, and Democracy‐Endangering Consequences

Since late 2020, protests against government measures to contain the Covid‐19 pandemic have swept across Germany. At the forefront of these protests was the Querdenker Movement, a heterogeneous alliance of ordinary citizens, hippies, esotericists, opponents of conventional medicine, Christian fundamentalists, and right‐wing extremists bonded by their shared belief in conspiracy myths. This contribution draws upon the theoretical framework of the studies on the authoritarian personality to dissect the nature of this heterogeneous alliance and the democracy‐endangering potential of conspiracy myths. We present three key insights based on an analysis of representative public opinion surveys conducted by the Leipzig Authoritarianism Study. First, we demonstrate that susceptibility to conspiracy myths in the public mood occurs in waves that coincide with times of crisis. In this regard, the Covid‐19 pandemic is a catalyst of conspiracy myths as it has induced existential and epistemic insecurities amongst many citizens. Second, it is shown that there is an elective affinity between superstition, esotericism, and a conspiracy mentality, which can be cited as one explanation for the heterogeneous alliance during the protests. On the other hand, the nexus between religion and the conspiracy mentality depends on an individual’s interpretation of religion. It is literalist fundamentalism that fosters susceptibility to conspiracy myths. Third, we highlight the democracy‐endangering consequences of a conspiracy mentality. Its manifestations include resentment and hostility toward minorities, an alienation from democracy, an increased likelihood of voting for right‐wing authoritarian parties, and an affinity for violence.

Class Politics and the Authoritarian Personality

ABSTRACT The resurgence of authoritarianism worldwide has led to renewed interest in the Frankfurt School theory of the authoritarian personality. In this article, I clarify the role of that idea in a class-theoretical critique of fascism by showing how it supplements the Marxist analysis. I first outline the Marxist theory of fascism with reference particularly to the puzzles of fascist politics and ideology, before arguing that the authoritarian personality construct helps solve some of these. Then, I clarify the fit between the theory of the authoritarian personality and Marxist theory by explicating its origins in the research programme of the Frankfurt School. Finally, I propose that the authoritarian personality construct explains the nature of the elements in the fascist ideological “medley,” with reference to its key characteristics of rigid conventionalism, unquestioning obedience and authoritarian aggression.

The Categorization Heuristic

The Categorization Heuristic

The (Persisting) American Authoritarian Personality

At a time, ‘American authoritarianism’ was considered an oxymoron; I argue that it has always been a national fairytale. Tracking increased ingroup-outgroup political affinity, antipathy, and affective polarization, this paper provides a scoping review of American authoritarianism since the late nineteenth century. I provide abbreviated cases analyses for the Reconstruction and Jim Crow authoritarian regimes, George Bush Jr.’s ‘War on Terror’, and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidency as authoritarianism personified. These cases underscore the growing propensity for authoritarianism in the post-Trump era. As a result, this research fills gaps in extant political and psychological scholarship, focusing on affinity, antipathy, and affective polarization in contemporary U.S. political culture. By using three elements of Adorno et al.’s (1950) nine-point scale to classify authoritarian personalities, this paper situates its analysis within Americans’ increasing submission to an acknowledged authority, aggression towards perceived outgroup members, and their belief in simple answers and polemics.

Authoritarian Personality vs Institutional Performance – Understanding Military Rule in Africa

ABSTRACT Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where democracy has encountered the most difficulties in establishing itself, where the most military coups have occurred and, in addition, where public demonstrations of support on the streets are common after a coup d’état. In fact, the last 15 years has seen growing popular support for military rule. This study aims to analyse the underlying reasons for the public approval of military rule in Africa. Two main explanatory theories are contrasted: the institutional performance approach versus the cultural approach. The research takes the form of a quantitative analysis, making extensive use of survey data to analyse the factors that explain the support for military rule in eleven African countries. The results indicate that in Sub-Saharan Africa institutional performance and authoritarian personality and values, are the main factors driving societal support for military rule.

Though Depleted, but Not Broken? Wounded Collective Identity in Hungary

The paper investigates how the narrative of Hungarian society based on historical traumas is related to other factors such as sense of regional betweenness, memory, well-being or even the respondent’s personality (sympathy for authoritarian personality traits, political orientation, religiosity). Network analysis is used to explore the interactions between the variables under investigation. The results show that the most significant relationship is between political orientation and self-description focusing on historical trauma, and between the latter and sympathy for authoritarian personality traits, but there is also a significant relationship between religiosity and political orientation.

Poor and Lazy: Understanding Middle-class Perceptions of Poverty in China

ABSTRACT In moving to address relative rather than absolute poverty, China will need to redistribute income from the middle class to persons experiencing poverty. The challenge is that policy rhetoric has recently prioritised laziness as causing poverty, a view seemingly shared by most of China’s middle class. Drawing on a convenience sample of 2,449 middle-class respondents, binomial and multinomial logisticregressions relate beliefs on the attribution of poverty to personality,and ideological and individual socialisation. When presented with twotypical response-options, most respondents chose laziness over unfair-ness but selected ‘modern progress’ when given more choice. Respondents prioritising laziness were prone to exhibit extravert andauthoritarian personalities and have more faith than others in government policies. They were less well educated and less likely to have studied social sciences. Respondents subsequently attributing poverty to modern progress had similar characteristics but were not extravert. Building support for redistributive policies could therefore prove difficult.

Ask a Political Scientist: A Conversation with Efrén Pérez about Political Psychology and the Study of Race and Ethnic Politics

Ask a Political Scientist: A Conversation with Efrén Pérez about Political Psychology and the Study of Race and Ethnic Politics

The Authoritarian Personalityand the Problematic Pathologization of Politics

Attempts to apply the methods and findings of The Authoritarian Personality to Chinese culture and politics reveal the limits of its cross-cultural reach. Additional qualms result from a considerat...

The Authoritarian Personality 2.0

This essay reframes the significance of the Authoritarian Personality study for the “fascism debates” and for the rapidly growing field of research on digitally mediated right-wing movements by rereading Theodor Adorno as a theorist of algorithms. Positing that the advent of “the society of algorithms” has transformed the nature of both authoritarianism and of personality, it returns to two empirical texts where Adorno analyzes two methods of classification and prediction: the “Types and Syndromes” chapter of The Authoritarian Personality, and Adorno’s content analysis of the Los Angeles Times astrology column, Stars Down to Earth. On the basis of these texts, this essay formulates some initial hypotheses about certain widely observed changes in the character of the right and sketches a program for a critical data science inspired by Adorno’s “critical typology” that could undertake further investigation. Finally, it proposes the “systems update” as a concept useful for understanding the relationship of contemporary right-wing movements to both digital media and historical fascism.

The Authoritarian Personality and the History of Fascism

Historians are often allergic to ideas of collective pathology. I do not disagree at all with these objections and concerns. And yet, this paper stresses the centrality of the book The Authoritaria...