Personality and emotional correlates of right-wing authoritarianism

Authoritarianism, or the tendency to be hierarchical, conventional, and intolerant, has been implicated as an extreme feature of general right-wing ideology. The relationship between this ideological pattern and variables of personality and emotion was investigated in 3 studies. In studies 1 and 2 personality traits were assessed in terms of the 5-factor model, as well as right-wing authoritarianism, conservatism, and a battery of other political attitude measures. In study 3 the positive and negative affect of individuals with differing levels of authoritarianism was examined. The results demonstrate that the authoritarian syndrome is primarily characterized by low openness to experience, and that it is unrelated to self-reported measures of emotion.

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