Authoritarian personality

This article is about the psychological trait of authoritarianism. For the form of government that bears the same name, see Authoritarianism. For the book, see The Authoritarian Personality.

The authoritarian personality is a personality type characterized by a disposition to treat authority figures with unquestioning obedience and respect. Conceptually, the term authoritarian personality originated from the writings of Erich Fromm, and usually is applied to people who exhibit a strict and oppressive personality towards their subordinates.[1] Regardless of whether authoritarianism is more of a personality, attitude, ideology or disposition, scholars find it has significant influence on public opinion and political behavior.[2]

  1. ^ Baars, J. & Scheepers, P. (1993). "Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of the Authoritarian Personality". Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 29, pp. 345–353.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).