The Other “Authoritarian Personality”

Publisher Summary It is noted with regard to the submissive personality, it is visualized that this personality structure, observable in early adulthood and better explained by social learning than by psychoanalytic theory, is thought to be developed during adolescence from earlier training in obedience, conventionalism, and aggression, as modified by the individual's subsequent experiences. On the other hand, in context to authoritarian personality, authoritarians harbor many double standards and hypocrisies, without realizing it. This chapter illustrates a part of an investigation of general public opinion concerning a variety of social issues. Adult authoritarians tend to be highly ethnocentric and users of the “consensual validation pill” (Newcomb, 1961). They travel in tight circles of like-minded people, they often think their views are commonly held in society, that they are the “Moral Majority” or the “Silent Majority.” Certain kinds of religious training have sometimes helped produce their ethnocentrism and authoritarianism.