authoritarian personality theory of prejudice

The world is filled with enemies and the superego demands their compliance based on the prejudice that has developed over time because of the weaker ego. All the items are worded positively, so that agreement indicates authoritarian tendencies. Extreme need to submit to those in higher authority. Nevertheless, the authoritarian personality theory has inspired a broad spectrum of research on the relationship between personality traits, behavior, and political beliefs. Projectivity, intraception, and superstition or stereotyping are all traits that are seen in those who see prejudice through the rose-colored glasses of authoritarianism. There is no empathy, thoughts of equality, or an effort to create something to the mutual benefit of all. 2. But research repeatedly shows that the syndrome is preponderantly found among those on the political right. You’re either “with” that person or you’re “against” them. Authoritarian Personality. It was such a broken time, so disconnected and strange, that the academic world was asking how racism, prejudice and authoritarianism could have gotten the world to this point. Realistic Conflict Theory - Robbers Cave. 1. as contrasted to "authoritarian personality" theory as a better descriptioln of the causes ot prejudice. American social psychologists soon demonstrated the syndrome in the United States. (Eds.) The authoritarian personality emerges out of an inability to generate such individual coping strategies. Developed early in  life, authoritarianism later leads to conditions and behaviors that  in turn  generate intergroup prejudice. Is this consistent with the fact that the years between 1923 and 1933 saw an enormous rise in the level of anti-Semitism in huge sections of the German population? The impetus of The Authoritarian Personality was the Holocaust, the attempted genocidal extinction of European Jews by Adolf Hitler 's National Socialist party. Adorno had been a member of the " Frankfurt School ", a group of philosophers and Marxist theorists who fled Germany when Hitler shut down their Institute for Social Research. For example, the clinical evaluators were not blind to the F Scale scores of their interviewees. Sales, (1973) Threat as a Factor in Authoritarianism: An Analysis of Archival Data. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. This would mean in its attempt to remove bias, it created a new bias toward those who have political ambitions. Following the Holocaust, several influential theorists came to regard prejudice as pathological, and they searched for personality syndromes associated with racism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of prejudice. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, pp. Its Freudian foundation is difficult to test directly. Critics immediately disparaged the work on political,  methodological,  and  theoretical grounds. Er behauptete einen fundamentalen Zusammenhang zwischen autoritärer Triebunterdrückung und faschistischer Ideologie. (Eds.) In The Authoritarian Personality, one of the most influential and widely debated works in the history of social science, Theodor W. Adorno, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel J. Levinson, and R. Nevitt Sanford (Adorno, et al. Authoritarian personality theory (APT), based in psychodynamic theory, was developed to explain these behaviors and their psychological underpinnings. Although this type of personality can be seen in the workplace, especially when there is a hierarchal chain of command, it is most commonly seen in family structures. Fromm, E. (1941) Escape from Rinehart, New York. An early formulation appeared in Erich Fromm’s (1941) Escape from Freedom. Theories of Prejudice. On one side, the “correct” side, is the individual with the authoritarian personality. Three personality traits in particular characterize the syndrome: deference to authorities, aggression toward out groups, and rigid adherence to cultural conventions. And why does it universally predict prejudice against a variety of outgroups? Likewise, authoritarian personalities may take to social media to admonish anyone who doesn't follow perceived rules. 139 70. The authoritarian personality describes a type of person who prefers a social system with a strong ruler—the authoritarian person is comfortable being the strong ruler but if the individual is not the strong ruler then he or she will demonstrate complete obedience to another strong authority figure. Many of these criticisms have merit. Examples of Discrimination Examples of Discrimination. For example, authoritarians more often feel politically powerless (‘‘political inefficacy’’) and that modern life is too complex and bewildering (‘‘anomia’’) – both predictors of  prejudice. Additional rules regarding social behaviors are enforced with the same rigidity, which then fosters characteristics of the authoritarian personality within the child as well, so the cycle repeats itself. And they tend to avoid contact with outgroup members – a major means for reducing prejudice. This is why a logical argument, filled with facts, can be completely ignored. This theory explains how extreme prejudice is a personality trait of certain individuals. claims that prejudice is a tool used by the powerful to divide and control. An authoritarian personality may find many ways to establish social dominance by enforcing rules, norms and values. On the other side, the “wrong” side, are the individuals or groups that have been prejudged. The volume offered both clinical and questionnaire evidence. The harsh treatment creates aggression and resentment within the child, but those feelings are repressed because the child has been taught to view the authoritarian world with reverence. Adorno argued that deep-seated personality traits predisposed some individuals to be highly sensitive to totalitarian and antidemocratic ideas and therefore were prone to be highly prejudicial. 238 SOCSIL FORCES JlABLE 1. Crises invoke authoritarian leadership and encourage equalitarians to accept such leadership. Methodological critics unearthed a host of problems. Analyses of cognition are closely related to those of personality and therefore personality theories are influential approaches to the study of prejudice, one such theory is The Authoritarian Personality (Augoustinos, Walker & Donaghue, 2006). Writers often erroneously employ it to explain societal phenomena – a compositional fallacy that assumes societal processes are mere composites of individual behavior. ), Handbook of Political Psychology. To be sure, the Berkeley investigators were politically liberal, and the syndrome exists on the left. It was he … The conflict between the strict superego and the weak ego would create insecurities, which then created the prejudice seen in people with an authoritarian personality type. People who have an authoritarian personality and have outward prejudice tend to exhibit four specific character traits. Three  personality traits in particular characterize the syndrome: deference to  authorities, aggression toward out groups, and rigid adherence to cultural conventions. The original Berkeley study viewed it as a personality type with particular character istics.

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