NCJ Number
121997
Date Published
1988
Length
378 pages
Annotation
This research provides important insights into the authoritarian personality, revealing how aggression, fear, and reverence for authority are the key ingredients that fuel rightwing authoritarian movements.
Abstract
The book will interest social psychologists and personality researchers, since it is shown that parents, religion, and early education affect the development of authoritarian attitudes in young adults. Political scientists who study rightwing movements, the interplay of personality and political party affiliation, and the way liberal and conservative forces in society are represented in legislatures may also find the book useful. The author defines rightwing authoritarianism as the combination of three attitudinal clusters in a person: submission, aggression, and conventionalism. He also considers how authoritarianism develops in a person, authoritarian aggression, and the connection between religion and rightwing authoritarianism. Evidence suggesting that authoritarianism is increasingly associated with political party preference as interest in politics rises is reviewed. Ways rightwing authoritarianism can be controlled in a democratic society are discussed. Supplemental information on the author's research is contained in six appendixes. 112 references, figures.