The authoritarian personality was a concept introduced by Theodor W. Adorno and his colleagues in their 1950 book The Authoritarian Personality. Their work emerged from research into the psychological underpinnings of prejudice and fascism. The question they were trying to answer was, “Why did so many millions of Germans follow—and love—Hitler?”
Their conclusions? According to Adorno and his colleagues at U.C. Berkeley, individuals with authoritarian tendencies tend to share specific qualities, particularly in their attitudes and behaviors. Here are the main qualities they identified:
Conventionalism
A strong adherence to conventional values and social norms, a belief in traditional ways of life as inherently correct, and suspicion of deviation from these norms.
Authoritarian Submission
A submissive and uncritical attitude toward authority figures.
Authoritarian Aggression
A tendency to be hostile toward individuals or groups seen as deviating from conventional norms or threatening the social order, often expressed as scapegoating or targeting minorities.
Anti-Intraception
Rejection of introspection, imagination, and emotional expression and a preference for “hard-headed” thinking over reflection.
Superstition and Stereotypy
A belief in fate or supernatural forces, a tendency to think in rigid, oversimplified categories, and a reliance on stereotypes and generalizations about people or groups.
Power and Toughness
A preoccupation with dominance, strength, and power and an admiration for authority figures who display toughness or ruthlessness.
Destructiveness and Cynicism
A generalized hostility toward humanity, often manifesting as a negative view of human nature, and a tendency to blame others or to externalize problems.
Projectivity
A tendency to project one’s own negative impulses or desires onto others and the belief that the world is dangerous and that others are likely to behave immorally or aggressively.
Sexual Obsession
An exaggerated concern with sexual morality and behaviors, often accompanied by repression of one’s own sexual impulses and rigid attitudes about proper gender roles and sexuality.
Sound familiar?
Adorno and his team argued that these traits were rooted in a personality structure developed during childhood, particularly in households characterized by strict, punitive parenting. This environment would, they hypothesized, lead to repressed hostility that was then displaced onto weaker or marginalized groups.
I have no idea if Adorno’s psychoanalytic hypotheses hold water or why these authoritarian followers exist by the hundreds of millions. What I do know is that they are who they are, not some kinder, gentler version of themselves.
We are being bombarded with the message to play nice with “people who don’t agree with us”—that is, with these authoritarian followers. I don’t agree. They are dangerous—always have been, always will be. Better to watch your back than to bend over backwards.
—
This Post is republished on Medium.
—
Photo credit: Unsplash
