The authoritarian personality is a psychological syndrome characterized by deference to authority, aggression toward outgroups, and strict adherence to cultural conventions. Authoritarian personality an overview sciencedirect topics. These traits include conventionalism, authoritarian submission, authoritarian aggression, antiintellectualism, antiintraception continue reading. Social influence the authoritarian personality flashcards. The term authoritarian personality was introduced by adorno et al. Authoritarian personality authoritarian personality. 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. While sanford and his team did not include an authoritarian dunzinario17 trait in their model of the prefascist personality to complement the au thoritarian submission trait that did appear, it is clear from several items on the fascism scale that the research team thought the authoritarian per. The entire book is available on this website in pdf format. Although since criticised on grounds of methodology, the continuing relevance of its findings gave rise to a new edition in 2019. This thesis began largely as an exploration into rightwing political ideology and its relationship to the authoritarian personality proposed by adorno, frenkelbrunswick, levinson and sanford 1950. The authoritarian personality revisited according to alan wolfe, the book the authoritarian personality by t.
The authoritarian personality book by adorno britannica. This authority could then be distributed through that figures subordinates as well. Pdf the authoritarian personality semantic scholar. In the authoritarian personality, one of the most influential and widely debated works in the history of social science, theodor w. One continuity with the 1930s was its premise that capitalism ultimately determines whether the authoritarian personality will have a chance to violently assert itself. Nazi germany inspired the initial conceptualizations in the 1930s, and a 1950 us study established the theory in academic psychology. Table 4 reports the authoritarian attitude differences between men and women. Methodological and conceptual criticisms of the original theory, however, lead to alternative theories and culminated in research suggesting two distinct.
Publication date 1950 topics authoritarianpersonality adorno collection opensource language english. As a collaborator and coauthor of the study, theodor w. The authoritarian personality studies in prejudice. It should be noted here that that the authors concluded that it had still to be demonstrated if the fscale actually did, in fact, measure fascist receptivity at a personality level. The california f scale f standing for fascist was used by adorno et al. They piloted and developed a questionnaire, which they called the fscale f for fascism. Three personality traits in particular characterize the syndrome. Other articles where the authoritarian personality is discussed. Authoritarian personality sociology of race iresearchnet. Popular front antifascism of the 1930s clearly informs the authoritarian personality, though the work also reflects the evolving nature of antifascist thought in the 1950s. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Projective questions in the study of personality and ideology the authoritarian personality, studies in prejudice series, volume 1. Authoritarian characteristics origins of authoritarian personality and procedures, findings and a03 criticisms on adornos fscale 1950.
The authoritarian personality by the frankfurt school figure theodor adorno was a milestone in the medicalization of dissent, aside from considerably more aggressive efforts in the soviet union where communists like him had unlimited power. The authoritarian personality much of the trouble facing our species involves misuse of power. The authoritarian personality 1950, reissued 1982, by theodor adorno and university of californiaberkeley psychologists else frenkelbrunswik, daniel levinson and nevitt sanford. Jan 16, 2017 description and evaluation of the authoritarian personality. Nevitt sanford bringing together the findings of psychoanalysis and social science, this book grew out of an urgent commitment to study the origins of antisemitism in the aftermath of hitlers germany. Authoritarian personality psychology oxford bibliographies. The authoritarian personality is a 1950 sociology book by theodor w. He found that those with high scores on the f scale were raised by authoritative parents. The authoritarian personality invented a set of criteria by which to define personality traits, ranked these traits and their intensity in any given person on what it called the f scale f for fascist. The authoritarian personality is a sociology book by theodor w. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. They were sure it measured something but not exactly sure what. Authoritarian personality article about authoritarian. The authoritarian personality was an attempt by a group of researchers to explain the conditions that allowed naziism to gain a foothold in europe.
Authoritarian personality theory of prejudice explained hrf. The developing idea of the authoritarian personality an. Adorno, else frenkelbrunswik, daniel levinson, and nevitt sanford, researchers working at the university of california, berkeley, during and shortly after world war ii. The theory of an authoritarian personality was an influential though controversial midtwentiethcentury theory to explain the mass appeal of fascism and ethnocentrism. The authoritarian personality is a personality type characterized by extreme obedience and unquestioning respect for and submission to the authority of a person external to the self, which is realized through the oppression of subordinate people. The most well known of these psychodynamic approaches is the authoritarian personality by adorno et al. A landmark study of the 60s countercultue era was a thousand page long volume, published in 1950, by theodore adorno, called the authoritarian personality. Authoritarianism adorno et al 1950 psychologyrocks. Table 3 shows the differences in the six factors of the authoritarian personality across the 1950, 1973, and current groups. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. An authoritarian personality is either an attitude or a mindstate that can be characterized through a belief of submission or total obedience to a specific authority figure. Critical theory, the frankfurt school, adorno and horkheimer, and the culture industries explained duration. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read.
The french political scientist maurice duvergers political parties 1951 is still highly. If your library doesnt have a subscription to overdrive or youre looking for some more free. Although this powerover, rather than powerwith paradigm like empire. May 01, 2017 the landmark 1950 study in social psychology the authoritarian personality represents a significant attempt to correlate rightwing political orientation with psychological or characterological dispositions. In the early postworld war ii years, antifascisms most intricate, intersectional analysis of the political right came from a highly influential work within the academic social sciences. Published soon after the end of the second world war, adorno et al. In 1950, harper and row published a book that had all the earmarks of a blockbuster in the field of psychology.
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