Describe the characteristics of the authoritarian personality; list three examples of authoritarian beliefs; explain how this personality is measured and how child rearing might lead to the development of this personality; and discuss Rokeach's use of the term dogmatism

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer will include that research suggests that prejudice can be a general personality characteristic. Theodore Adorno and his associates described what they called the authoritarian personality. These researchers started out by studying anti-Semitism. In the process, they found that people who are prejudiced against one group tend to be prejudiced against all out-groups. The authoritarian personality is marked by rigidity, inhibition, prejudice, and oversimplification (black-and-white thinking). Authoritarians also tend to highly value social conformity, a tendency that has been termed right wing authoritarianism. At the same time, authoritarians also tend to be very ethnocentric. Ethnocentrism refers to placing one's own group "at the center," usually by rejecting all other groups. Thus, authoritarians consider their own ethnic group superior to others. In fact, authoritarians think they are superior to everyone who is different, not just other ethnic groups, a tendency which is referred to as social dominance orientation. To measure these qualities, the F scale was created. The F stands for "fascism". This scale is made up of statements such as following ones to which authoritarians readily agree: "Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn"; "People can be divided into two distinct classes: the weak and the strong"; "If people would talk less and work more, everybody would be better off"; "What this country needs most, more than laws and political programs, is a few courageous, tireless, devoted leaders in whom the people can put their faith"; "Nobody ever learns anything really important except through suffering"; "Every person should have complete faith in some supernatural power whose decisions are obeyed without question"; and "Certain religious sects that refuse to salute the flag should be forced to conform to such patriotic action or else be abolished.". As one can see, authoritarians are rather close-minded. As children, most were severely punished. As a result, they learned to fear authority (and to covet it) at an early age. In general, people are more likely to express authoritarian beliefs when they feel threatened. An example would be calling for more severe punishment in schools when the economy is bad and job insecurities are high. It should be readily apparent from the list of authoritarian beliefs that the F scale is slanted toward politically conservative authoritarians. To be fair, psychologist Milton Rokeach noted that rigid and authoritarian personalities can be found at both ends of the political scale. Rokeach, therefore, preferred to describe rigid and intolerant thinking as dogmatism. Dogmatism is an unwarranted certainty in matters of belief or opinion. Dogmatic persons find it difficult to change their beliefs, even when the evidence contradicts them.