We all have
impulses
and desires which are at times hard to control but which we try to keep in check.
Adorno-T-Authoritarian-Personality-Harper-Bros-1950
However, the variables which express an intra- ceptive mode of dealing with such behavior (n Cognizance, n Succorance, n Abasement) are also given considerably less weight by Mack than by our unprejudiced subjects.
In Mack's stories we find an excessive amount of n Affiliation and n Rec- ognition, two variables which in our total group have higher mean scores for unprejudiced than for prejudiced subjects. However, Mack in contrast to Larry tends to express these variables through statements of relationship or status rather than through the description of personal interaction or active striving. In Mack's stories Affiliation is very rarely found in combination with n Nurturance or n Succorance or with n Recognition or n Cognizance.
Neither of these two men refers to more than a minimum amount of physical press. However, much of the n Abasement scored for Mack re- flects story content that appears to describe submission to implied environ- mental demands.
From the stories told in response to Picture 1, we get the first indications of the differences in the quality of the fantasies of the two men. Although both express, through their heroes, strong underlying hostile feelings toward the world, Larry identifies more closely with these feelings and makes stronger attempts to understand them. Mack, on the other hand, describes a more primitive type of aggressive fantasy and tends to reject the hero of the story (although not directly enough to warrant the scoring of "object needs"), thereby disowning responsibility for the expression of hostility. In contrast to Larry, who attempts to understand the reasons for antisocial be-
? 1. Variables of Interpersonal Relationships:
n Affiliation p Affilication n Deference
p Deference
n Dominance
p Dominance
n Nurturance
p Nurturance
n Recognition n Succorance
p Succorance
2. Variables of Rebellion: n Aggression
n Autonomy
n Rejection
3. Variables of Positive Con- structive Activit,r:
n Cognizance
n Construction n Expression
n Understanding p Task
4. Variables of Sensuality: n Excitance
L a r r y
9 9 5 3 0 9
12 5 3 19 2
15 3 3
8 0 4 1 6
0
Unprejudiced Men
Mean Score
6. 8 5. 6 4. 9 2. 6 2. 1 9. 2 5. 55 4. 75 4. 55 7. 6 2. 5
7. 65 6. 55 5. 45
6. 05 . 45 4. 15 1. 85 4. 30
1. 25 2. 95 3. 05 5. 70 3. 50
7. 90 1. 75 1. 95
2. 75 . 10 1. 55
3. 6
Prejudiced Mack Men
Mean Score
10 5. 3 11 5. 15 6 5. 25
2 1. 9 6 2. 85 9 9. 8 8 4. 4
10 5. 25 7 3. 95
10 8. 2 2 2. 25
8 5. 70 2 5. 90 0 2. 90
2 3. 75 1 . 45 2 2. 85 1 . 45 6 3. 20
2 1. 05 2 2. 25 4 1. 65 3 3. 80 2 . 90
11 10. 00 4 3. 20 0 2. 95
2 3. 65 0 1. 15 3 2. 75 6 4. 2
n Passivity
nPlay 0 nSex 4
n Sentience
5. Variables of Moral Control and Withdrawal. :
n Abasement
n Blamavoidance n Seclusion
6. Variables of Environmental Press:
p Affliction
p Bad Luck
p Death of hero
p Death of object
7
0
14 6 3
0 2 0
15
THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST TABLE 6 (XIV)
539
COMPARISON OF THE SCORES OF MACK AND LARRY ON THE THEMATIC APPERCEPI'ION TEST WITH THE MEAN SCORES . OF PREJUDICED AND UNPREJUDICED MEN
? 540
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
havior, i. e. , why his own impulses cause him to have unacceptable thoughts, Mack seems to express the feeling that thinking about things too much causes a person to lose control of himself. He calls the hero a "deeply brooding type . . . who might do violence if pushed too far. ""
Mack is more sympathetic with the older man than with the younger one. The older man is a stronger individual who is able to withstand the stress of a difficult situation; the younger man is weak and dependent upon the direc- tion of the older one. When Larry's hero gets into trouble, he seeks comfort and guidance from the father, but he nevertheless accepts the responsibility for his own acts. Larry fantasies a dependent relationship with the father that is based on respect and a need for sympathy, and he describes guilt resulting from action that is displeasing to the father. It is a dependence on love, not on power as in the case of Mack's story. The problem of the son and of the father is a mutual one for Larry; for Mack the responsibility for the impulsive act and the responsibility for restraint are separated. The one is "bad" and the other is "good," and there appears to be little reconciliation of the two.
In response to Picture 3, Larry describes the common "low" thema of mutual sympathy resulting from a crucial situation. He seems to identify with a nurturant father figure who is deeply concerned over his wife and family. However, Larry's tendency to exaggerate the morbid, as well as his preoc- cupation with self-destruction, is revealed in the description of the son who is killed in battle.
The story of Mack expresses little of the sensitivity and desire to be under- stood that is found in Larry's story. Rather, this subject describes in cliche phraseology the age and character of each of the people in his story. He iden- tifies with the son, who is given a role of heroic bravery. In his story, as well as in Larry's, a man is killed in battle. However, concern about the dangers of war is restricted to the woman. The man is idealized as a "strong individual" behaving fearlessly, "like most men would. "
The main difference between the stories told by Larry and by Mack to Picture 5 lies in the fact that the former accepts responsibility for his actions, whereas the latter projects most of the blame onto the woman. Both of these subjects reject the woman who freely enters into a sexual relationship. How- ever, Larry appears to condemn her because she deceives the hero, with whom he is closely identified. The hostility that is directed at the woman does not appear to reflect a lack of respect for her as appears to be true in Mack's story, but rather it is the result of despair over her ability to frus- trate him. Mack not only manifests a decided lack of respect for the woman in his story, but he blames her for causing his hero to act in an unbecoming manner; at the same time he defends the man's position and describes him as an individual with "depth of character," who allows himself to become a part of this "sordid" scene because of urges beyond a man's control.
? THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST
54I
These stories differ somewhat from the more common themes produced by low- and high-scoring men in response to Picture 5? The story of Larry is more hostile than those of most of his group. Mack is more rejecting of heterosexuality, and he projects more blame onto women, than is usually the case with high-scoring men. However, the lack of concern for the woman, and for her part in a sexual relationship, that we see in Mack's story, as contrasted with the more personal relationship in Larry's, fits closely the general difference in themes between high and low scorers described earlier.
The differing types of dependence expressed by these two subjects in their stories to Picture 7 are typical of those described by low and high scorers generally. Larry's hero seeks understanding and support, while Mack describes a hero who is dependent on external forces to direct his ac- tivity within acceptable channels.
Larry, however, refrains from giving the most common "low" theme of striving to act independently of the demands of the mother. Instead, he fantasies about a hero who performs unusual and wonderful deeds that please the mother and cause her to admire him.
Mack describes a theme commonly told by high-scoring men, one in which the son displeases the mother. She rejects him and he becomes de- pendent on her "good advice," forgiveness, and reassurance that he did not really do wrong. It is interesting how this man, who deprecates women in some of his other stories, and who usually describes his male heroes as "strong characters," describes a submissive relationship of son to mother. However, this relationship is as lacking in warmth as are the others. The forgiveness by the mother at the end lacks any real feeling of affiliation or nurturance.
In his story to Picture 8, Larry approaches a theme often produced by high-scoring men, the intense amount of hostility being more typical of high than of low scorers. The components that are consistent with the trends common to stories of low scorers are found in the extensive description of the feelings of each man and in the mtionalization of the crime.
Mack appears severely disturbed by this picture. It is not the type of distress often evidenced in stories of low-scoring men, who apparently find it dif- ficult to respond to the aggressive aspect of the picture. A real concern over homosexual attack appears to be expressed here, although it is perhaps not consciously recognized as such by the story-teller. The question, "Do people keep their clothes on while receiving hypnotic treatment? ," the annoyance at being questioned by friends, as well as the symbolic description of the patient, are strongly suggestive of personally determined fantasies of a homo- sexual nature.
The concreteness of thinking exhibited in Mack's st'ory in response to Picture w, compared with the more intense creativity of Larry's expression, demonstrates well the difference with respect to this factor found in our two groups of subjects and described eariier in this chapter. Although Mack in-
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THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
tellectualizes about the impression that the vision makes on the boy, he never describes what it actually means to him. Larry, on the other hand, discusses in detail his hero's problem, and his thoughts and feelings about the solution.
To Pictures 2, 4, 6 and 9 Larry tells stories of more intensity than does Mack. The former is able to identify more closely with the heroes drawn from minority groups and to describe their thoughts and feelings. In stories to Pictures 2 and 9 he identifies with the antisocial behavior of the character, and attempts to rationalize the action as he does in his story to Picture I.
Mack makes no positive identifications with the "minority" heroes. In general, his stories consist of a statement of the immediate situation, the en- vironmental surroundings, and the age, status, and costumes of the charac- ters. The stories are almost completely devoid of any indications of the thoughts or feelings of the heroes.
Both Larry and Mack reject the man captured by the police in Picture 6. Larry rejects him because he is unworthy of his family and does not ade- quately care for them; Mack rejects him because he is weak, and at the same time dangerous and to be feared. Larry's story again expresses a strong empathy-in other individuals; in this case, the concern is for the woman.
Larry's T. A. T. stories then are essentially consistent with his low E score, although the patterning of scores in some instances deviates from that most commonly found in the records,for unprejudiced men. However, as has been pointed out, these discrepancies reflect this individual's personal con- flicts which he deals with in a manner distinctly representative of the unprej- udiced men.
The features of stories of low scorers-intensity of story content, close identifications with the characters portrayed, description of personal inter- action, and of reflective feelings and thoughts of the characters about their behavior-all are present in Larry's stories. However, it should be emphasized that the strength of the dependence upon. sources of love, as described in this man's stories, and the intensity of reaction to frustration, is most extreme for our low-scoring men.
We would expect Larry to be sensitive to the feelings and thoughts of others, and capable of empathizing with them. At the same time he is prob- ably unusually sensitive to signs of rejection from others. He appears to be a person who attempts to understand his own behavior, and to keep this be- havior in line with a code of ethics that he has set up for himself despite impulses that are contradictory.
Mack's record reveals many of the trends that we have previously pointed out as being commonly found in stories of high-scoring men. The record is comparatively meager; there is a lack of intensity of identification, and partial rejections of story characters often occur in his stories. A dichotomy of roles characterizes the relationships depicted in his stories. Father, mother, hus-
? THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST
543 band are depicted as dominant and as determining the behavior of the wife or son, who are pictured in submissive roles. Little reference is made to in- trospectiveness or to consideration of underlying motivation. Behavior is often attributed to innate tendencies within the individual, over which he
has no control.
Mack appears to be a person bound to conventional standards, attempting
to ignore or deny unacceptable desires by projecting them onto others. He is unable to admit his own weakness, and he defends himself rigidly against re- vealing any feelings of inadequacy. This guarding causes a restriction of spon- taneity and a limitation of the environmental stimuli to which he can allow himself to respond.
D. SUMMARY
We can conclude from the above discussion of data that certain types of expression in T. A. T. stories tend to differentiate our two groups of subjects. Although the differences can be considered as no more than trends, each variable having at least some degree of overlap between the two groups, a large percentage of our subjects demonstrate a sufficient number of these trends so that it is possible, by considering the content of their T. A. T. stories alone, to identify them as prejudiced or unprejudiced individuals.
We find that low scorers, as compared with high scorers, identify more closely with the heroes in their stories, and attribute to them more creative activity, more enjoyment of sensual pleasures, and more congenial relation- ships with other individuals. Aggression is expressed in more sublimated forms, most often being in the service of a goal of creativity, nurturance, or autonomy from imposed coercion. The activity described is more often determined by inner rational decision rather than by external forces. These subjects tend to emphasize autonomous behavior, and they often reject dom- ination by authoritarian figures suggested by the pictures. Although the heroes in their stories often seek advice and sympathy from parents and friends, the ultimate decision is usually one of the hero'sown choosing. Status relationships between man and woman, parent and child, or Negro and white, are more nearly equal in their stories than in those of high scorers.
The high scorers, as compared with the low scorers, tend to describe be- havior of a less constructive nature. Expression of aggression is more often of a primitive, impulsive sort; it is condemned by the story-teller and is fol- lowed by an outcome of punishment of the hero.
High scorers tend more often to describe the motivation for the actions of their heroes in terms of external influence or innate tendencies over which the individual has no control. Their heroes more often appear as dependent upon the demands and rules and regulations of authority and are more often activated by parental demands and social custom. They are more frequently victimized by affiiction or death.
? 544
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
Contrasting status relationships are more marked in the stories of high scorers. The male and female roles tend to be dichotomized, the man as the master, the woman as weak, dependent, and submissive. Parents are more often described as domineering and demanding, and their children as submis- sive and compliant.
? CHAPTER XV
PROJECTIVE QUESTIONS IN THE STUDY OF PERSONALITY AND IDEOLOGY Daniel J. Levinson
A. INTRODUCTION
The Projective Question technique is an application of the general prin- ciples of projective techniques to the questionnaire method and to the study of the dynamics of ideology. A Projective Question is an open-ended ques- tion which is answered in a few words or lines and which deals with unusual events or experiences likely to have emotional significance for the individual. Care is taken to give the question a "homey," even humorous wording; also, an emphasis on the universal nature of certain emotional experiences (e. g. , moods, embarrassment) may make the subject feel freer in giving an answer. The following eight questions were used in the present research:1
1. We all have times when we feel below par. What moods or feelings are the most unpleasant or disturbing to you?
2.
We all have impulses and desires which are at times hard to control but which we try to keep in check. What desires do you often have diffi- culty in controlling?
3? What great people, living or dead, do you admire most?
1 These questions were selected from among an original set of some thirty questions given to several groups of college students. The criteria for selection included statistical differentiation, theoretical significance, and nonduplication of content. It was necessary, for practical reasons, to eliminate many items which showed much promise. For example: What are your greatest weaknesses? Your greatest assets? What would you most like people to say of you after you have lived your life? What do you find most disgusting? Most annoying? As a parent, what would you try most to instill in your child? What would you protect your child against? What makes you lose your temper? What do you most admire in a person? Most dislike? Worst thing that could happen to anyone? In- genious ways of committing murder? Why might a person commit suicide?
The instructions in all cases were as follows: The following questions give you a chance to express your ideas and opinions in your own way. Please answer them all as fully as possible.
We wish to thank the Graduate School of Western Reserve University for a grant-in- aid to cover certain phases of the analysis of data in this chapter,
545
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
4? There is hardly a person who hasn't said to himself, "If this keeps up, I'll go nuts! " What might drive a person nuts?
5. What do you consider the worst crimes a person could commit?
6. It seems that no matter how careful we are, we all sometimes have em- barrassing moments. What experiences make you feel like sinking through the floor?
7? If you knew you had only six months to live, but could do just as you pleased during that period, how would you spend your time?
8. We get a feeling of awe when something seems to us wonderful, or im- pressive, or really important. What things would give you the greatest feeling of awe?
These items, considered as a technique, are similar in principle to the most intensive clinically used projective techniques such as the Thematic Apper- ception Test and the Rorschach, and to the various paper and pencil tech- niques. In general, all such techniques involve a standardized test situation uniform for all subjects, and a set of materials which (a) present a problem to be worked out, (b) are designed to bring out wide individual differences in response (that is, in the way the problem is worked out), and (c) elicit responses that are rich in meaning and in implications for deep-lying per- sonality dynamics. The Projective Questions are sometimes called "indirect questions" because the subject is seldom aware of the implications of his responses and because the interpretations do not take the answers at face value, but rather go beyond the literal meaning of the response to look for deeper dynamic sources. The justification for such interpretation lies in the very nature of the technique; when the many psychologically important aspects of the situation and the problem-material are held uniform for all . subjects, individual differences are attributed to characteristics in the subject, and the materials are so selected that the main difference-producing variables are likely to be personality trends of considerable importance in the indi- vidual's psychological functioning.
The various projective techniques differ in at least the following important respects: in the intensity of the relation of subject to tester, in the degree of structuring of the material as presented to the subject, and, as a result of these, in the interindividual variability of response and the intraindividual richness of response (expression of inner affect, impulses, deep-lying trends and con- flicts). In traditional psychoanalytic therapy which is, in a sense, the model for all projective techniques, the relation of subject to therapist is the most intense and plays the greatest role in eliciting emotionally significant behavior. In the psychoanalytic technique, furthermore, the materials are as unstruc- tured as possible; they include only the standardized situation and instruc- tions, designed to produce a maximum of spontaneity, and the person of the analyst, who might also be considered an unstructured material on whom the
? PROJECTIVE QUESTIONS
547
subject can project whatever he wishes. Since transference and resistance are so crucial in psychoanalysis, the course of therapy might be regarded as a series of manipulations of the therapist by the subject, in much the same way as other projective materials are manipulated.
The use of the standardized play situation as a therapeutic projective tech- nique probably comes closest to psychoanalysis with respect to the role of the therapist in eliciting and handling transference and resistance, and with respect to the range of self-expression stimulated by the relatively unstruc- tured but behavior-inducing materials. It is possible here not only to elicit but also to record many aspects of the verbal and motor behavior of the subject. The major projective techniques used clinically for diagnostic rather than for therapeutic purposes, such as the T. A. T. and Rorschach, are more limited with regard to the role of the tester and the range of expression ob- served and recorded, but they have been of considerable value in clinical practice and personality research.
While the Projective Question technique involves almost none of the "rela- tion between subject and tester" aspects of the therapeutic techniques, and while it is less intensive and more structured than the diagnostic clinical techniques, it has nevertheless a number of important advantages for large- scale sociopsychological research. The items are easily understood, they can be filled out quickly (8 items require only 10 to 15 minutes), and they require no "props" or detailed instructions. For these and other reasons they are ideally suited for questionnaire use.
One great value of the Projective Questions is that the variables derived from the scoring, as shown in the Scoring Manual which follows, are directly related to the variables expressed by many of the scale items in the question- naire, especially those in the F scale. Thus, this technique not only adds important material about the individual, but it also partially validates the scale results, since the undirected, spontaneously given responses to the Projective Questions reflect trends similar to those involved in the channel- ized, agree-disagree responses to the scale items.
The Projective Questions were included in each form of the questionnaire (see Chapter IV). They contributed to the study of relationships between personality and ethnocentrism, and they were an important source of ideas for F-scale items. The high and low quartiles on the E scale were the groups compared. (The middle scorers constitute an important group for future study; preliminary perusal of their responses suggests that their intermediate position is more a matter of conflicting high and low trends than of simple neutrality or indifference. ) The term "highs" or "high scorers" will be used to refer to the high quartile as measured on the Ethnocentrism scale, and conversely for the "lows," who constitute the low quartile on E.
As far as the writer is aware, this is the first attempt at systematic, "quan- titative" analysis of Projective Questions as a formal technique. They were
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
used previously in a nonquantitative manner on the Harvard Growth Study of School Children (106), and their use in the present research was sug- gested by R. N. Sanford, a member of that Study. Some of the questions as used here are taken directly from the Harvard Growth Study of School Children. Some of them were used subsequently by the United States Office of Strategic Services in their assessment program (II6). 2 The content of the questions is, of course, hardly new; they have been asked, in one form or another, by clinical psychologists and others for some time.
B. QUANTIFICA TION BY MEANS OF SCORING CA TEGORIES
The problem of quantification has plagued everyone who works with projective tests, personal documents or other qualitative clinical material. Attempts at precise measurement and complex statistical treatment have usually resulted in quantification at the expense of meaning, in reliability without validity. Any quantitative mode of analysis, focusing as it does on aspects of response that occur with some frequency in larger groups, can hardly help but overlook those aspects which are more idiosyncratic, even though the latter may be crucial for understanding a given individual. More- over, the more subtle and abstract qualities of response are difficult to formu- late in a concrete, specific manner. These difficulties are particularly great when, as in the present case, one is interested in the primary psychological content of the response-in what the individual strives for or feels or values or expenences.
It seemed, however, that some middle ground between precise quantifica- tion and the total clinical gestalt might be found. The compromise chosen was scoring by means of qualitative categories. While each category is scored only in terms of present-absent-scoring in terms of quantitative degrees may yet be attempted-a measure of quantification is obtained by summing an individual's (or group's) scores on the several items. This method, while lacking a high degree of precision,3 can, at the least, attempt to meet neces- sary standards of rigorous definition, controlled scoring, and scoring re- liability. And, while neglecting much that the clinician may see intuitively in any single response, the categories can include numerous major trends
2 See also Sanford and Conrad (108, 109), and Franck, K. (29) for other uses of the Projective Questions. A similar technique is that of Incomplete Sentences, as described by Rohde (97), Rotter (10o) and Stein (114). For an example of the use of a slightly modified Projective Question technique in the study of antidemocratic personality trends -with results similar to those obtained here-see McGranahan (78).
3 By "precision" is meant merely "the number of significant figures" in a score, e. g. , the value 2. 3689 is more precise than 2. 4. However, a scoring system can be relatively impre- cise, e. g. , a wall clock as compared with a stop-watch, and yet be accurate and valid. Personality researchers may have to tolerate a low degree of precision until we are be- yond the initial stage where significance and validity present the greatest methodological problems.
? PROJECTIVE QUESTIONS
549
that define the dynamic framework within which further clinical differenti- ation is possible.
Thus the scoring of Projective Questions, like the scoring of interviews (see Chapter IX), requires a set of qualitative categories that meet various theoretical and technical standards. The categories should be carefully de- fined and illustrated to facilitate communication and interpretation. They should be literal enough to permit highly reliable scoring, yet sufficiently
interpretive to have clinical significance and theoretical implications. A limited number of categories per item, preferably between two and six, is desirable and a minimum of responses should be ambiguous (unscorable) in terms of these categories. The degree to which these standards have been met can better be judged at the end of this chapter. Since the main per- sonality trends of concern in the present research were those differentiating highs and lows on ethnocentrism, high categories and low categories were sought. The high categories incorporated those psychological qualities which were found to characterize the responses of the ethnocentric subjects, while the low categories appeared to characterize the anti-ethnocentric sub- jects.
The procedure in determining the specific categories for each item was as follows. The responses of the low scorers to that item were transposed by typing onto one or a few sheets, thus permitting easy inspection of group material; and similarly for the high scorers. Closer examination of the re- sponses of each quartile as a whole revealed a few major trends characteristic of each group and differentiating it from the other group. These trends were formalized into categories which seemed both empirically differentiating and theoretically meaningful. The final step involved the preparation of a Scoring Manual (see below) in which each category is defined, discussed briefly, and illustrated with examples from the groups on which the Manual is based. The Manual, formed through examination of the first few groups studied, and on the basis of our over-all theory and results, was used with only minor modifications on all subsequent groups.
It should be noted that the determination and use of categories is not a purely mechanical and atheoretical procedure. The importance of an over- all personality theory, especially as applied to the understanding of differ- ences between highs and lows, can hardly be overestimated as an aid in dealing with projective items. With regard to category determination, the general theory provides hypotheses before one sees the Projective Question material, and it is crucial in the selection of aspects of response which dif- ferentiate lows from highs. Furthermore, it gives the categories deeper and broader meaning by relating them to a larger theoretical frame and to results gained by other techniques. With regard to scoring, the general personality theory acts as a background factor making it easier for the scorer to decide
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
55?
on the appropriate category for a given response; it also facilitates the scoring of some idiosyncratic responses which do not directly fit any of the scoring categories used but which express low or high personality trends. Finally, by means of the over-all personality theory the categories of several items can be integrated into a single pattern involving several trends, thus per- mitting a more complex description of the high or low groups or of any individual subject. It is therefore of great value for the scorer to be familiar with the general personality theory involved, as a basis for competent scoring as well as for contributions to new theory, categories, and procedures.
C. SCORING MANUAL: CA TEGORIES OF PROJECTIVE QUESTION RESPONSE
There are three types of scores: low (L), high (H), and neutral (N). A neutral score is given when the question is left blank (Nb),4 when the re- sponse is ambiguous with respect to the high and low categories (Na), or when high and low trends are present to equal degrees (Nhl). For the groups studied thus far there were relatively few Na and Nhl scores (8. 8 per cent); the presence of many Na scores in future groups would necessitate modi- fication or expansion of the present Manual. Each scorer assigns one of the above scores to each response. The scoring procedure will be discussed below
(Section D). We may turn now to the Scoring Manual. It should be noted that the Scoring Manual has not only a methodological function but also a descriptive function, since it presents and even helps to interpret the differ- ences between the responses of the ethnocentric and nonethnocentric groups.
QuESTION 1. WHAT Mooos ARE UNPLEASANT oR DisTURBING?
Low Categories
1. Conscious conflict and guilt. Feelings of self-criticism, depression, frus- tration, insecurity, inadequacy, hopelessness, despair, lack of s~lf-worth, re- morse. The main conflict or sense of remorse is over violation of values referring to achievement, love-giving (nurturance), understanding, friend- ship, self-expression, and social contribution. This system of values, which the lows express in various forms in several of the projective questions, will be called achievement values. Important underlying variables are intrapuni- tiveness (the tendency to blame oneself rather than the world when things go wrong) and a well-internalized set of ethical standards. There is an inner orientation, an emphasis on the needs, strivings, and inner state of the indi- vidual; related to this is an intraceptive approach, a concern with self-under- standing, and an acceptance of personal moral responsibility for one's actions.
4 As it turned out, omissions on certain items, while recorded as Nb, were converted to scores of H in the statistical treatment. This was based on the discovery that the highs made appreciably more omissions than the lows (see below, Section D).
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551
Examples: "Those times when I would like to give myself a swift kick in the pants. " "A feeling of futility and pessismism. " "When I don't do as well as I know I am capable of doing. " "So much to do, so little time. "
A response is scored here when external factors such as "lack of housing" or "lack of economic opportunity" are mentioned, as long as these external forces are represented as frustrating inner needs or achievement values. Thus, the lows refer to external difficulties as obstacles to self-expression and secu- rity, whereas the highs refer to external difficulties in themselves merely as a sign of general dissatisfaction, without indicating what inner needs or values are frustrated (see below).
2. Focal dependency and love-seeking. These responses reflect a desire for close personal relationships involving emotional warmth and exchange. The sense of lack of love and of focal relationships, often found in love (cf. Chapter XI), must be distinguished from the highs' feeling of aloneness and isolation in a generally barren world (see below). The loneliness of the highs represents, as it seems, underlying dependency which must remain ego-alien and which finds little or no positive, ego-satisfying expression.
Examples: "Moods where you feel like pouring out your soul to a person. " "To love someone and not be loved back. " "To feel alone when in the company of others; this can occur even after a period of congeniality. " Feelings of rejection are scored low: "to appear ridiculous"; "to love but not be loved"; "to be laughed at unjustly. " (However, a response is scored high if it involves a sense of active threat-rather than merely loss or lack of love-as well as extrapunitiveness and feelings of perse- cution. For example: "to be made a fool of"; "when a friend turns against me. ") The dependency, self-blame, and depressive affect in lows may also take a more "cosmic" form ( W eltschmerz): "When I feel what fools all we humans are. " The highs are disturbed by the supposed stupidity or immorality of others rather than by any ideas of these trends in themselves; nor do they have a "world-identification. "
3? Open hostility, by self or others, toward love objects. The lows are upset by feelings of hostility in themselves and by hostility and exploitiveness in others. The disturbing hostility may take two forms, ideological and inter- personal.
Ideologically, we find references to fa~lts in our social system and social authority: discrimination, exploitation, insecurity, violations of democratic values.
Examples: "Thinking of the rotten, ruthless practices that go on under the name of rugged individualism and unrestricted initiative in the U. S. A. " "Concern over the shortcomings of Americans and thus the nation. " "The slowness of social prog- ress; the stupidity of the powers that be. " "Unemployment and lack of security for the average man or veterans. "
In the sphere of interpersonal relations, hostile impulses or acts directed toward friends and love objects are a source of disturbing moods in low scorers.
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Examples: "When I feel I have hurt a friend. " "Envy, hatred, revenge, resent- ment. " "When I feel a general dislike towards friends and the world in general. " "Intolerance; cruelty to people. " "Resentment toward parents. " (It is characteris- tically low that ambivalence toward parents is more accessible to consciousness, though often conflict-producing. ) "Anger" when it is the total response is scored Na. In connection with the thesis, presented in earlier chapters, that psychological themes can be found in the specific content of the individual's ideology, it is inter- esting to note that similar psychological content characterizes both the "ideological" and the "interpersonal" responses to this question.
In summary, the main trends expressed in the above categories are: viola- tion of achievement values, resulting in conscious conflict, remorse, and self- criticism; intrapunitiveness; intraception; libidinized interpersonal relation- ships; focal, ego-assimilated dependency strivings; depressive affect focused on lack of achievement and on rejection by love objects; open ambivalence toward love objects and family members.
High Categories (Question z)
1. Violations of conventional values. This category is the high equivalent to the "conscious conflict and guilt" category for the lows. These values are concerned with activity, success, upward mobility, and rugged masculinity in men, and with "sweetness and light" femininity in women. They also involve certain behavior formulae regarding etiquette and interpersonal rela- tions, and an emphasis on conformity per se.
Examples: "Not making a success of life. " "Not advancing in life. " "Not doing something useful. " "Lack of purpose" (i. e. , not having aims, in contrast to the frus- tration of aims in lows). It is sometimes difficult to distinguish the high masculin- ity-status values, with their external criterion of success, from the low achievement values, with their inner orientation and their emphasis on self-expression. The dif- ference in the examples above is in the use of the word "advancing" rather than "accomplishing," or "useful" rather than "contributing to the welfare of others. " Another characteristic of certain high responses is their concern with externally imposed tasks or duties rather than with inner strivings. For example: "Not meeting expected requirements. " What is implied here is shame over being caught and social anxiety over nonconformity, rather than guilt over value violations (viola- tions that are felt internally whether 'Or not they are observed by others).
Violations of conventional values (immorality) by others are included here. For example: "Seeing crude sexual behavior. " "Drinking, breaking the law. " "Anyone who displays bad habits publicly irritates all. " "Disgust over filth and smut.
In Mack's stories we find an excessive amount of n Affiliation and n Rec- ognition, two variables which in our total group have higher mean scores for unprejudiced than for prejudiced subjects. However, Mack in contrast to Larry tends to express these variables through statements of relationship or status rather than through the description of personal interaction or active striving. In Mack's stories Affiliation is very rarely found in combination with n Nurturance or n Succorance or with n Recognition or n Cognizance.
Neither of these two men refers to more than a minimum amount of physical press. However, much of the n Abasement scored for Mack re- flects story content that appears to describe submission to implied environ- mental demands.
From the stories told in response to Picture 1, we get the first indications of the differences in the quality of the fantasies of the two men. Although both express, through their heroes, strong underlying hostile feelings toward the world, Larry identifies more closely with these feelings and makes stronger attempts to understand them. Mack, on the other hand, describes a more primitive type of aggressive fantasy and tends to reject the hero of the story (although not directly enough to warrant the scoring of "object needs"), thereby disowning responsibility for the expression of hostility. In contrast to Larry, who attempts to understand the reasons for antisocial be-
? 1. Variables of Interpersonal Relationships:
n Affiliation p Affilication n Deference
p Deference
n Dominance
p Dominance
n Nurturance
p Nurturance
n Recognition n Succorance
p Succorance
2. Variables of Rebellion: n Aggression
n Autonomy
n Rejection
3. Variables of Positive Con- structive Activit,r:
n Cognizance
n Construction n Expression
n Understanding p Task
4. Variables of Sensuality: n Excitance
L a r r y
9 9 5 3 0 9
12 5 3 19 2
15 3 3
8 0 4 1 6
0
Unprejudiced Men
Mean Score
6. 8 5. 6 4. 9 2. 6 2. 1 9. 2 5. 55 4. 75 4. 55 7. 6 2. 5
7. 65 6. 55 5. 45
6. 05 . 45 4. 15 1. 85 4. 30
1. 25 2. 95 3. 05 5. 70 3. 50
7. 90 1. 75 1. 95
2. 75 . 10 1. 55
3. 6
Prejudiced Mack Men
Mean Score
10 5. 3 11 5. 15 6 5. 25
2 1. 9 6 2. 85 9 9. 8 8 4. 4
10 5. 25 7 3. 95
10 8. 2 2 2. 25
8 5. 70 2 5. 90 0 2. 90
2 3. 75 1 . 45 2 2. 85 1 . 45 6 3. 20
2 1. 05 2 2. 25 4 1. 65 3 3. 80 2 . 90
11 10. 00 4 3. 20 0 2. 95
2 3. 65 0 1. 15 3 2. 75 6 4. 2
n Passivity
nPlay 0 nSex 4
n Sentience
5. Variables of Moral Control and Withdrawal. :
n Abasement
n Blamavoidance n Seclusion
6. Variables of Environmental Press:
p Affliction
p Bad Luck
p Death of hero
p Death of object
7
0
14 6 3
0 2 0
15
THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST TABLE 6 (XIV)
539
COMPARISON OF THE SCORES OF MACK AND LARRY ON THE THEMATIC APPERCEPI'ION TEST WITH THE MEAN SCORES . OF PREJUDICED AND UNPREJUDICED MEN
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THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
havior, i. e. , why his own impulses cause him to have unacceptable thoughts, Mack seems to express the feeling that thinking about things too much causes a person to lose control of himself. He calls the hero a "deeply brooding type . . . who might do violence if pushed too far. ""
Mack is more sympathetic with the older man than with the younger one. The older man is a stronger individual who is able to withstand the stress of a difficult situation; the younger man is weak and dependent upon the direc- tion of the older one. When Larry's hero gets into trouble, he seeks comfort and guidance from the father, but he nevertheless accepts the responsibility for his own acts. Larry fantasies a dependent relationship with the father that is based on respect and a need for sympathy, and he describes guilt resulting from action that is displeasing to the father. It is a dependence on love, not on power as in the case of Mack's story. The problem of the son and of the father is a mutual one for Larry; for Mack the responsibility for the impulsive act and the responsibility for restraint are separated. The one is "bad" and the other is "good," and there appears to be little reconciliation of the two.
In response to Picture 3, Larry describes the common "low" thema of mutual sympathy resulting from a crucial situation. He seems to identify with a nurturant father figure who is deeply concerned over his wife and family. However, Larry's tendency to exaggerate the morbid, as well as his preoc- cupation with self-destruction, is revealed in the description of the son who is killed in battle.
The story of Mack expresses little of the sensitivity and desire to be under- stood that is found in Larry's story. Rather, this subject describes in cliche phraseology the age and character of each of the people in his story. He iden- tifies with the son, who is given a role of heroic bravery. In his story, as well as in Larry's, a man is killed in battle. However, concern about the dangers of war is restricted to the woman. The man is idealized as a "strong individual" behaving fearlessly, "like most men would. "
The main difference between the stories told by Larry and by Mack to Picture 5 lies in the fact that the former accepts responsibility for his actions, whereas the latter projects most of the blame onto the woman. Both of these subjects reject the woman who freely enters into a sexual relationship. How- ever, Larry appears to condemn her because she deceives the hero, with whom he is closely identified. The hostility that is directed at the woman does not appear to reflect a lack of respect for her as appears to be true in Mack's story, but rather it is the result of despair over her ability to frus- trate him. Mack not only manifests a decided lack of respect for the woman in his story, but he blames her for causing his hero to act in an unbecoming manner; at the same time he defends the man's position and describes him as an individual with "depth of character," who allows himself to become a part of this "sordid" scene because of urges beyond a man's control.
? THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST
54I
These stories differ somewhat from the more common themes produced by low- and high-scoring men in response to Picture 5? The story of Larry is more hostile than those of most of his group. Mack is more rejecting of heterosexuality, and he projects more blame onto women, than is usually the case with high-scoring men. However, the lack of concern for the woman, and for her part in a sexual relationship, that we see in Mack's story, as contrasted with the more personal relationship in Larry's, fits closely the general difference in themes between high and low scorers described earlier.
The differing types of dependence expressed by these two subjects in their stories to Picture 7 are typical of those described by low and high scorers generally. Larry's hero seeks understanding and support, while Mack describes a hero who is dependent on external forces to direct his ac- tivity within acceptable channels.
Larry, however, refrains from giving the most common "low" theme of striving to act independently of the demands of the mother. Instead, he fantasies about a hero who performs unusual and wonderful deeds that please the mother and cause her to admire him.
Mack describes a theme commonly told by high-scoring men, one in which the son displeases the mother. She rejects him and he becomes de- pendent on her "good advice," forgiveness, and reassurance that he did not really do wrong. It is interesting how this man, who deprecates women in some of his other stories, and who usually describes his male heroes as "strong characters," describes a submissive relationship of son to mother. However, this relationship is as lacking in warmth as are the others. The forgiveness by the mother at the end lacks any real feeling of affiliation or nurturance.
In his story to Picture 8, Larry approaches a theme often produced by high-scoring men, the intense amount of hostility being more typical of high than of low scorers. The components that are consistent with the trends common to stories of low scorers are found in the extensive description of the feelings of each man and in the mtionalization of the crime.
Mack appears severely disturbed by this picture. It is not the type of distress often evidenced in stories of low-scoring men, who apparently find it dif- ficult to respond to the aggressive aspect of the picture. A real concern over homosexual attack appears to be expressed here, although it is perhaps not consciously recognized as such by the story-teller. The question, "Do people keep their clothes on while receiving hypnotic treatment? ," the annoyance at being questioned by friends, as well as the symbolic description of the patient, are strongly suggestive of personally determined fantasies of a homo- sexual nature.
The concreteness of thinking exhibited in Mack's st'ory in response to Picture w, compared with the more intense creativity of Larry's expression, demonstrates well the difference with respect to this factor found in our two groups of subjects and described eariier in this chapter. Although Mack in-
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THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
tellectualizes about the impression that the vision makes on the boy, he never describes what it actually means to him. Larry, on the other hand, discusses in detail his hero's problem, and his thoughts and feelings about the solution.
To Pictures 2, 4, 6 and 9 Larry tells stories of more intensity than does Mack. The former is able to identify more closely with the heroes drawn from minority groups and to describe their thoughts and feelings. In stories to Pictures 2 and 9 he identifies with the antisocial behavior of the character, and attempts to rationalize the action as he does in his story to Picture I.
Mack makes no positive identifications with the "minority" heroes. In general, his stories consist of a statement of the immediate situation, the en- vironmental surroundings, and the age, status, and costumes of the charac- ters. The stories are almost completely devoid of any indications of the thoughts or feelings of the heroes.
Both Larry and Mack reject the man captured by the police in Picture 6. Larry rejects him because he is unworthy of his family and does not ade- quately care for them; Mack rejects him because he is weak, and at the same time dangerous and to be feared. Larry's story again expresses a strong empathy-in other individuals; in this case, the concern is for the woman.
Larry's T. A. T. stories then are essentially consistent with his low E score, although the patterning of scores in some instances deviates from that most commonly found in the records,for unprejudiced men. However, as has been pointed out, these discrepancies reflect this individual's personal con- flicts which he deals with in a manner distinctly representative of the unprej- udiced men.
The features of stories of low scorers-intensity of story content, close identifications with the characters portrayed, description of personal inter- action, and of reflective feelings and thoughts of the characters about their behavior-all are present in Larry's stories. However, it should be emphasized that the strength of the dependence upon. sources of love, as described in this man's stories, and the intensity of reaction to frustration, is most extreme for our low-scoring men.
We would expect Larry to be sensitive to the feelings and thoughts of others, and capable of empathizing with them. At the same time he is prob- ably unusually sensitive to signs of rejection from others. He appears to be a person who attempts to understand his own behavior, and to keep this be- havior in line with a code of ethics that he has set up for himself despite impulses that are contradictory.
Mack's record reveals many of the trends that we have previously pointed out as being commonly found in stories of high-scoring men. The record is comparatively meager; there is a lack of intensity of identification, and partial rejections of story characters often occur in his stories. A dichotomy of roles characterizes the relationships depicted in his stories. Father, mother, hus-
? THE THEMA TIC APPERCEPTION TEST
543 band are depicted as dominant and as determining the behavior of the wife or son, who are pictured in submissive roles. Little reference is made to in- trospectiveness or to consideration of underlying motivation. Behavior is often attributed to innate tendencies within the individual, over which he
has no control.
Mack appears to be a person bound to conventional standards, attempting
to ignore or deny unacceptable desires by projecting them onto others. He is unable to admit his own weakness, and he defends himself rigidly against re- vealing any feelings of inadequacy. This guarding causes a restriction of spon- taneity and a limitation of the environmental stimuli to which he can allow himself to respond.
D. SUMMARY
We can conclude from the above discussion of data that certain types of expression in T. A. T. stories tend to differentiate our two groups of subjects. Although the differences can be considered as no more than trends, each variable having at least some degree of overlap between the two groups, a large percentage of our subjects demonstrate a sufficient number of these trends so that it is possible, by considering the content of their T. A. T. stories alone, to identify them as prejudiced or unprejudiced individuals.
We find that low scorers, as compared with high scorers, identify more closely with the heroes in their stories, and attribute to them more creative activity, more enjoyment of sensual pleasures, and more congenial relation- ships with other individuals. Aggression is expressed in more sublimated forms, most often being in the service of a goal of creativity, nurturance, or autonomy from imposed coercion. The activity described is more often determined by inner rational decision rather than by external forces. These subjects tend to emphasize autonomous behavior, and they often reject dom- ination by authoritarian figures suggested by the pictures. Although the heroes in their stories often seek advice and sympathy from parents and friends, the ultimate decision is usually one of the hero'sown choosing. Status relationships between man and woman, parent and child, or Negro and white, are more nearly equal in their stories than in those of high scorers.
The high scorers, as compared with the low scorers, tend to describe be- havior of a less constructive nature. Expression of aggression is more often of a primitive, impulsive sort; it is condemned by the story-teller and is fol- lowed by an outcome of punishment of the hero.
High scorers tend more often to describe the motivation for the actions of their heroes in terms of external influence or innate tendencies over which the individual has no control. Their heroes more often appear as dependent upon the demands and rules and regulations of authority and are more often activated by parental demands and social custom. They are more frequently victimized by affiiction or death.
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THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
Contrasting status relationships are more marked in the stories of high scorers. The male and female roles tend to be dichotomized, the man as the master, the woman as weak, dependent, and submissive. Parents are more often described as domineering and demanding, and their children as submis- sive and compliant.
? CHAPTER XV
PROJECTIVE QUESTIONS IN THE STUDY OF PERSONALITY AND IDEOLOGY Daniel J. Levinson
A. INTRODUCTION
The Projective Question technique is an application of the general prin- ciples of projective techniques to the questionnaire method and to the study of the dynamics of ideology. A Projective Question is an open-ended ques- tion which is answered in a few words or lines and which deals with unusual events or experiences likely to have emotional significance for the individual. Care is taken to give the question a "homey," even humorous wording; also, an emphasis on the universal nature of certain emotional experiences (e. g. , moods, embarrassment) may make the subject feel freer in giving an answer. The following eight questions were used in the present research:1
1. We all have times when we feel below par. What moods or feelings are the most unpleasant or disturbing to you?
2.
We all have impulses and desires which are at times hard to control but which we try to keep in check. What desires do you often have diffi- culty in controlling?
3? What great people, living or dead, do you admire most?
1 These questions were selected from among an original set of some thirty questions given to several groups of college students. The criteria for selection included statistical differentiation, theoretical significance, and nonduplication of content. It was necessary, for practical reasons, to eliminate many items which showed much promise. For example: What are your greatest weaknesses? Your greatest assets? What would you most like people to say of you after you have lived your life? What do you find most disgusting? Most annoying? As a parent, what would you try most to instill in your child? What would you protect your child against? What makes you lose your temper? What do you most admire in a person? Most dislike? Worst thing that could happen to anyone? In- genious ways of committing murder? Why might a person commit suicide?
The instructions in all cases were as follows: The following questions give you a chance to express your ideas and opinions in your own way. Please answer them all as fully as possible.
We wish to thank the Graduate School of Western Reserve University for a grant-in- aid to cover certain phases of the analysis of data in this chapter,
545
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
4? There is hardly a person who hasn't said to himself, "If this keeps up, I'll go nuts! " What might drive a person nuts?
5. What do you consider the worst crimes a person could commit?
6. It seems that no matter how careful we are, we all sometimes have em- barrassing moments. What experiences make you feel like sinking through the floor?
7? If you knew you had only six months to live, but could do just as you pleased during that period, how would you spend your time?
8. We get a feeling of awe when something seems to us wonderful, or im- pressive, or really important. What things would give you the greatest feeling of awe?
These items, considered as a technique, are similar in principle to the most intensive clinically used projective techniques such as the Thematic Apper- ception Test and the Rorschach, and to the various paper and pencil tech- niques. In general, all such techniques involve a standardized test situation uniform for all subjects, and a set of materials which (a) present a problem to be worked out, (b) are designed to bring out wide individual differences in response (that is, in the way the problem is worked out), and (c) elicit responses that are rich in meaning and in implications for deep-lying per- sonality dynamics. The Projective Questions are sometimes called "indirect questions" because the subject is seldom aware of the implications of his responses and because the interpretations do not take the answers at face value, but rather go beyond the literal meaning of the response to look for deeper dynamic sources. The justification for such interpretation lies in the very nature of the technique; when the many psychologically important aspects of the situation and the problem-material are held uniform for all . subjects, individual differences are attributed to characteristics in the subject, and the materials are so selected that the main difference-producing variables are likely to be personality trends of considerable importance in the indi- vidual's psychological functioning.
The various projective techniques differ in at least the following important respects: in the intensity of the relation of subject to tester, in the degree of structuring of the material as presented to the subject, and, as a result of these, in the interindividual variability of response and the intraindividual richness of response (expression of inner affect, impulses, deep-lying trends and con- flicts). In traditional psychoanalytic therapy which is, in a sense, the model for all projective techniques, the relation of subject to therapist is the most intense and plays the greatest role in eliciting emotionally significant behavior. In the psychoanalytic technique, furthermore, the materials are as unstruc- tured as possible; they include only the standardized situation and instruc- tions, designed to produce a maximum of spontaneity, and the person of the analyst, who might also be considered an unstructured material on whom the
? PROJECTIVE QUESTIONS
547
subject can project whatever he wishes. Since transference and resistance are so crucial in psychoanalysis, the course of therapy might be regarded as a series of manipulations of the therapist by the subject, in much the same way as other projective materials are manipulated.
The use of the standardized play situation as a therapeutic projective tech- nique probably comes closest to psychoanalysis with respect to the role of the therapist in eliciting and handling transference and resistance, and with respect to the range of self-expression stimulated by the relatively unstruc- tured but behavior-inducing materials. It is possible here not only to elicit but also to record many aspects of the verbal and motor behavior of the subject. The major projective techniques used clinically for diagnostic rather than for therapeutic purposes, such as the T. A. T. and Rorschach, are more limited with regard to the role of the tester and the range of expression ob- served and recorded, but they have been of considerable value in clinical practice and personality research.
While the Projective Question technique involves almost none of the "rela- tion between subject and tester" aspects of the therapeutic techniques, and while it is less intensive and more structured than the diagnostic clinical techniques, it has nevertheless a number of important advantages for large- scale sociopsychological research. The items are easily understood, they can be filled out quickly (8 items require only 10 to 15 minutes), and they require no "props" or detailed instructions. For these and other reasons they are ideally suited for questionnaire use.
One great value of the Projective Questions is that the variables derived from the scoring, as shown in the Scoring Manual which follows, are directly related to the variables expressed by many of the scale items in the question- naire, especially those in the F scale. Thus, this technique not only adds important material about the individual, but it also partially validates the scale results, since the undirected, spontaneously given responses to the Projective Questions reflect trends similar to those involved in the channel- ized, agree-disagree responses to the scale items.
The Projective Questions were included in each form of the questionnaire (see Chapter IV). They contributed to the study of relationships between personality and ethnocentrism, and they were an important source of ideas for F-scale items. The high and low quartiles on the E scale were the groups compared. (The middle scorers constitute an important group for future study; preliminary perusal of their responses suggests that their intermediate position is more a matter of conflicting high and low trends than of simple neutrality or indifference. ) The term "highs" or "high scorers" will be used to refer to the high quartile as measured on the Ethnocentrism scale, and conversely for the "lows," who constitute the low quartile on E.
As far as the writer is aware, this is the first attempt at systematic, "quan- titative" analysis of Projective Questions as a formal technique. They were
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
used previously in a nonquantitative manner on the Harvard Growth Study of School Children (106), and their use in the present research was sug- gested by R. N. Sanford, a member of that Study. Some of the questions as used here are taken directly from the Harvard Growth Study of School Children. Some of them were used subsequently by the United States Office of Strategic Services in their assessment program (II6). 2 The content of the questions is, of course, hardly new; they have been asked, in one form or another, by clinical psychologists and others for some time.
B. QUANTIFICA TION BY MEANS OF SCORING CA TEGORIES
The problem of quantification has plagued everyone who works with projective tests, personal documents or other qualitative clinical material. Attempts at precise measurement and complex statistical treatment have usually resulted in quantification at the expense of meaning, in reliability without validity. Any quantitative mode of analysis, focusing as it does on aspects of response that occur with some frequency in larger groups, can hardly help but overlook those aspects which are more idiosyncratic, even though the latter may be crucial for understanding a given individual. More- over, the more subtle and abstract qualities of response are difficult to formu- late in a concrete, specific manner. These difficulties are particularly great when, as in the present case, one is interested in the primary psychological content of the response-in what the individual strives for or feels or values or expenences.
It seemed, however, that some middle ground between precise quantifica- tion and the total clinical gestalt might be found. The compromise chosen was scoring by means of qualitative categories. While each category is scored only in terms of present-absent-scoring in terms of quantitative degrees may yet be attempted-a measure of quantification is obtained by summing an individual's (or group's) scores on the several items. This method, while lacking a high degree of precision,3 can, at the least, attempt to meet neces- sary standards of rigorous definition, controlled scoring, and scoring re- liability. And, while neglecting much that the clinician may see intuitively in any single response, the categories can include numerous major trends
2 See also Sanford and Conrad (108, 109), and Franck, K. (29) for other uses of the Projective Questions. A similar technique is that of Incomplete Sentences, as described by Rohde (97), Rotter (10o) and Stein (114). For an example of the use of a slightly modified Projective Question technique in the study of antidemocratic personality trends -with results similar to those obtained here-see McGranahan (78).
3 By "precision" is meant merely "the number of significant figures" in a score, e. g. , the value 2. 3689 is more precise than 2. 4. However, a scoring system can be relatively impre- cise, e. g. , a wall clock as compared with a stop-watch, and yet be accurate and valid. Personality researchers may have to tolerate a low degree of precision until we are be- yond the initial stage where significance and validity present the greatest methodological problems.
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549
that define the dynamic framework within which further clinical differenti- ation is possible.
Thus the scoring of Projective Questions, like the scoring of interviews (see Chapter IX), requires a set of qualitative categories that meet various theoretical and technical standards. The categories should be carefully de- fined and illustrated to facilitate communication and interpretation. They should be literal enough to permit highly reliable scoring, yet sufficiently
interpretive to have clinical significance and theoretical implications. A limited number of categories per item, preferably between two and six, is desirable and a minimum of responses should be ambiguous (unscorable) in terms of these categories. The degree to which these standards have been met can better be judged at the end of this chapter. Since the main per- sonality trends of concern in the present research were those differentiating highs and lows on ethnocentrism, high categories and low categories were sought. The high categories incorporated those psychological qualities which were found to characterize the responses of the ethnocentric subjects, while the low categories appeared to characterize the anti-ethnocentric sub- jects.
The procedure in determining the specific categories for each item was as follows. The responses of the low scorers to that item were transposed by typing onto one or a few sheets, thus permitting easy inspection of group material; and similarly for the high scorers. Closer examination of the re- sponses of each quartile as a whole revealed a few major trends characteristic of each group and differentiating it from the other group. These trends were formalized into categories which seemed both empirically differentiating and theoretically meaningful. The final step involved the preparation of a Scoring Manual (see below) in which each category is defined, discussed briefly, and illustrated with examples from the groups on which the Manual is based. The Manual, formed through examination of the first few groups studied, and on the basis of our over-all theory and results, was used with only minor modifications on all subsequent groups.
It should be noted that the determination and use of categories is not a purely mechanical and atheoretical procedure. The importance of an over- all personality theory, especially as applied to the understanding of differ- ences between highs and lows, can hardly be overestimated as an aid in dealing with projective items. With regard to category determination, the general theory provides hypotheses before one sees the Projective Question material, and it is crucial in the selection of aspects of response which dif- ferentiate lows from highs. Furthermore, it gives the categories deeper and broader meaning by relating them to a larger theoretical frame and to results gained by other techniques. With regard to scoring, the general personality theory acts as a background factor making it easier for the scorer to decide
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
55?
on the appropriate category for a given response; it also facilitates the scoring of some idiosyncratic responses which do not directly fit any of the scoring categories used but which express low or high personality trends. Finally, by means of the over-all personality theory the categories of several items can be integrated into a single pattern involving several trends, thus per- mitting a more complex description of the high or low groups or of any individual subject. It is therefore of great value for the scorer to be familiar with the general personality theory involved, as a basis for competent scoring as well as for contributions to new theory, categories, and procedures.
C. SCORING MANUAL: CA TEGORIES OF PROJECTIVE QUESTION RESPONSE
There are three types of scores: low (L), high (H), and neutral (N). A neutral score is given when the question is left blank (Nb),4 when the re- sponse is ambiguous with respect to the high and low categories (Na), or when high and low trends are present to equal degrees (Nhl). For the groups studied thus far there were relatively few Na and Nhl scores (8. 8 per cent); the presence of many Na scores in future groups would necessitate modi- fication or expansion of the present Manual. Each scorer assigns one of the above scores to each response. The scoring procedure will be discussed below
(Section D). We may turn now to the Scoring Manual. It should be noted that the Scoring Manual has not only a methodological function but also a descriptive function, since it presents and even helps to interpret the differ- ences between the responses of the ethnocentric and nonethnocentric groups.
QuESTION 1. WHAT Mooos ARE UNPLEASANT oR DisTURBING?
Low Categories
1. Conscious conflict and guilt. Feelings of self-criticism, depression, frus- tration, insecurity, inadequacy, hopelessness, despair, lack of s~lf-worth, re- morse. The main conflict or sense of remorse is over violation of values referring to achievement, love-giving (nurturance), understanding, friend- ship, self-expression, and social contribution. This system of values, which the lows express in various forms in several of the projective questions, will be called achievement values. Important underlying variables are intrapuni- tiveness (the tendency to blame oneself rather than the world when things go wrong) and a well-internalized set of ethical standards. There is an inner orientation, an emphasis on the needs, strivings, and inner state of the indi- vidual; related to this is an intraceptive approach, a concern with self-under- standing, and an acceptance of personal moral responsibility for one's actions.
4 As it turned out, omissions on certain items, while recorded as Nb, were converted to scores of H in the statistical treatment. This was based on the discovery that the highs made appreciably more omissions than the lows (see below, Section D).
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Examples: "Those times when I would like to give myself a swift kick in the pants. " "A feeling of futility and pessismism. " "When I don't do as well as I know I am capable of doing. " "So much to do, so little time. "
A response is scored here when external factors such as "lack of housing" or "lack of economic opportunity" are mentioned, as long as these external forces are represented as frustrating inner needs or achievement values. Thus, the lows refer to external difficulties as obstacles to self-expression and secu- rity, whereas the highs refer to external difficulties in themselves merely as a sign of general dissatisfaction, without indicating what inner needs or values are frustrated (see below).
2. Focal dependency and love-seeking. These responses reflect a desire for close personal relationships involving emotional warmth and exchange. The sense of lack of love and of focal relationships, often found in love (cf. Chapter XI), must be distinguished from the highs' feeling of aloneness and isolation in a generally barren world (see below). The loneliness of the highs represents, as it seems, underlying dependency which must remain ego-alien and which finds little or no positive, ego-satisfying expression.
Examples: "Moods where you feel like pouring out your soul to a person. " "To love someone and not be loved back. " "To feel alone when in the company of others; this can occur even after a period of congeniality. " Feelings of rejection are scored low: "to appear ridiculous"; "to love but not be loved"; "to be laughed at unjustly. " (However, a response is scored high if it involves a sense of active threat-rather than merely loss or lack of love-as well as extrapunitiveness and feelings of perse- cution. For example: "to be made a fool of"; "when a friend turns against me. ") The dependency, self-blame, and depressive affect in lows may also take a more "cosmic" form ( W eltschmerz): "When I feel what fools all we humans are. " The highs are disturbed by the supposed stupidity or immorality of others rather than by any ideas of these trends in themselves; nor do they have a "world-identification. "
3? Open hostility, by self or others, toward love objects. The lows are upset by feelings of hostility in themselves and by hostility and exploitiveness in others. The disturbing hostility may take two forms, ideological and inter- personal.
Ideologically, we find references to fa~lts in our social system and social authority: discrimination, exploitation, insecurity, violations of democratic values.
Examples: "Thinking of the rotten, ruthless practices that go on under the name of rugged individualism and unrestricted initiative in the U. S. A. " "Concern over the shortcomings of Americans and thus the nation. " "The slowness of social prog- ress; the stupidity of the powers that be. " "Unemployment and lack of security for the average man or veterans. "
In the sphere of interpersonal relations, hostile impulses or acts directed toward friends and love objects are a source of disturbing moods in low scorers.
? 552 THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
Examples: "When I feel I have hurt a friend. " "Envy, hatred, revenge, resent- ment. " "When I feel a general dislike towards friends and the world in general. " "Intolerance; cruelty to people. " "Resentment toward parents. " (It is characteris- tically low that ambivalence toward parents is more accessible to consciousness, though often conflict-producing. ) "Anger" when it is the total response is scored Na. In connection with the thesis, presented in earlier chapters, that psychological themes can be found in the specific content of the individual's ideology, it is inter- esting to note that similar psychological content characterizes both the "ideological" and the "interpersonal" responses to this question.
In summary, the main trends expressed in the above categories are: viola- tion of achievement values, resulting in conscious conflict, remorse, and self- criticism; intrapunitiveness; intraception; libidinized interpersonal relation- ships; focal, ego-assimilated dependency strivings; depressive affect focused on lack of achievement and on rejection by love objects; open ambivalence toward love objects and family members.
High Categories (Question z)
1. Violations of conventional values. This category is the high equivalent to the "conscious conflict and guilt" category for the lows. These values are concerned with activity, success, upward mobility, and rugged masculinity in men, and with "sweetness and light" femininity in women. They also involve certain behavior formulae regarding etiquette and interpersonal rela- tions, and an emphasis on conformity per se.
Examples: "Not making a success of life. " "Not advancing in life. " "Not doing something useful. " "Lack of purpose" (i. e. , not having aims, in contrast to the frus- tration of aims in lows). It is sometimes difficult to distinguish the high masculin- ity-status values, with their external criterion of success, from the low achievement values, with their inner orientation and their emphasis on self-expression. The dif- ference in the examples above is in the use of the word "advancing" rather than "accomplishing," or "useful" rather than "contributing to the welfare of others. " Another characteristic of certain high responses is their concern with externally imposed tasks or duties rather than with inner strivings. For example: "Not meeting expected requirements. " What is implied here is shame over being caught and social anxiety over nonconformity, rather than guilt over value violations (viola- tions that are felt internally whether 'Or not they are observed by others).
Violations of conventional values (immorality) by others are included here. For example: "Seeing crude sexual behavior. " "Drinking, breaking the law. " "Anyone who displays bad habits publicly irritates all. " "Disgust over filth and smut.
