No More Learning

PREsUMABLY "Low" VARIANTs I. Objective appraisal of parents
2a. Principled open rejection
2b. Genuine positive affect: some reference to (positive) psycho- logical qualities; individualized
characterizations
2c. Blocked affect (Presumably
mutually exclusive with 2a) 3? Principled independence
4? Love-seeking succorance-nur- turance-affiliation toward par- ents
3a. Submission to parental author- ity and values: respect based on fear
3b. Capricious rebellion against parents; delinquency
4a. Ego -alien dependence- for - things and suppon on parents: essentially exploitive-manipula- tive-"getting"; an externalized relationship
4b. Sense of obligation-and-duty to
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
parents: Desire to "make it up
to them"
5? lngroup orientation to family as 5? Individualized approach to
a whole; e. g. , emphasis on fam- members of the family ily heredity and "background";
homogeneous-totalitarian fam-
ily vs. rest of world; aristocratic
superiority of family, etc.
In Table I (X), the results for both men and women interviewees are presented in the manner described in the concluding section of the preceding chapter. Abbreviated formulations of the categories just listed are presented, along with category numbers, for purposes of easier identification.
2. IDEALIZA TION VS. OBJECTIVE APPRAISAL OF P ARENTS
In view of their general tendency toward conventionality and submission toward ingroup members, it is not surprising to find in the prejudiced sub- jects a tendency toward "idealization of the parents. " This idealization is expressed characteristically in generalized and undifferentiated, convention- alized terms which primarily glorify external features of physical appear- ance or overt behavioral conduct rather than involving the more internal aspects of their personality. "Objective appraisal" of parents, referring to an ability for critical evaluation of the parents in specific and psychologically conceived terms, on the other hand, is predominant in the unprejudiced subjects.
The detailed results presented in Table I(X) (under Category I) reveal the striking fact that none of the low-scoring women interviewed shows the glorification of the parents just described; instead, I I of them show objective, critical appraisal. Of the high-scoring women, 9 show glorification and 6 ob- jective appraisal of parents. For the total group of women, there are 20 "positive" as contrasted with 6 "negative" instances in the sense defined at the end of the preceding chapter. The statistical significance of the differ- ence between the positive evidence (i. e. , that confirming the original hypoth- esis underlying the distinction between the "High" and the "Low" variant) and the negative (nonconfirmatory) evidence cited is found to be at the " I per cent level," and thus highly satisfactory (see Chapter IX, Section F, 6).
A good illustration of the "High" attitude in women is given by the fol- lowing quotation from the interview of one of the high scorers: "Mother- she amazes me-millions of activities-had two maids in years ago, but never since-such calmness-never sick, never-beautiful woman she really is. " The reference to external dimensions, both behavioral ("million ac- tivities") and physical ("never sick, beautiful"), can be seen clearly in the foregoing record. It must be emphasized that the subjects were asked, in this connection, "What kind of person is your father (mother)? " without further
? 1. Conventional idealization(H) vs. objective appraisal(L) of parents Women
. H.
9 6 0 ! ! 20 6
2. Victimization by parents (H) vs. a. Principled open rejectton of
parents (L}
b. c. Genuine affection or blocked Men
affect for parents(L)
aa. Submission to parents (H) vs. principled independence(L)
women 3 10 10 3 Men 14 2 2 10 24 4
women J1. . 0 1 8 17 1 Men 9 4 9 4
women6 1 61
1 2
1 5
3b. Capricious rebellion(H)
4a. Dependence for things on parents Men 13
1 5
1 2
1 1
2
14 27 2 8 2f 7
(H) vs. love-seeking affiliation(L)
4b. Sense of obligation and duty(H) 5. Ingroup conception of family(H)
Women T3 Men 5
women1
--
!
20 men and 25 women "high scorers"
20 men and 15 women "low scorers"
Men
1
l
Men women
_? _ 4 8 4
. . ? . 4
8 4 -
-
TABLE 1 (X)
INTERVIEW RATINGS ON ATTITUDE TOWARD PARENTS AND CONCEPT OF FAMILY
FOO 80 SUBJECTS SCORING EXTREMELY "HIGH" OR "LOW" ON THE ETHNIC PREJUDICE QUESTIONNAmE SCALE
Interview rating categories (abbreviated from Manual)
s~x I
Number of "High"(H) and "Low"(L) ratings received by
Sums of instances Level of statistical
? positive" "negative" significance reached
L H L
11 1 2 13 24 3
(percentage)
. . .
Men
Wo111en 2 ~ 3 2
Men 6
Women7 1
i1 11
62 71
1 A . A. 1 4 12 12 4
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
specification (see the Interview Schedule as presented in the preceding chap- ter).
The overestimation of parents in more general terms is especially clear in the record of another prejudiced woman interviewee (F24): "Father-he is wonderful; couldn't make him better. He is always willing to do anything for you. He is about years old, six feet tall, has dark brown hair, slim build, young-looking face, good-lookirig, dark green eyes. " The same sub- ject gives further evidence of the stereotypical conceptoion of parents in the high scorers by repeating the same description for her mother, differentiat- ing only the physical characteristics. After repeating the first two sentences she continues: "She is about 5 feet 5 inches, neither slim nor stocky. She's reducing. She has dark hair, blue eyes, is nice looking. She is years old. " These illustrations are quite typical of the responses of our high-scoring subjects.
It should be added that none of the 6 high-scoring women who show "ob- jective appraisal" of parents was considered to manifest "positive affect" toward the parents (Category 2). This will be discussed below.
Very characteristic of high-scoring subjects is an initial statement of great admiration for parents, followed by some criticism which is not, how- ever, recognized as such by the subject. The comparison of reactions to general questions with reactions to specific questions proved especially fruitful, e. g. , when parents were characterized in general positive terms but the specific episodes and traits referred to were mostly of a negative charac- ter. (Regarding related mechanisms of self-deception, see 33, 34? ) The sub- ject is aware only of admiration toward the parents, and the reservations seem to enter the picture against "better" intention and knowledge, thus in- jecting into the statement an element of ambivalence.
Examples of this attitude from the protocols of high-scoring women are quoted in the following. It should be mentioned here that throughout Chapters X to XII the special code numbers used in rating the interviews are retained for greater anonymity; for the same reason, localities, occupa- tions and related personal data are either left out or disguised.
F31: (Father? ) "He has a marvelous personality and gets along well with people. He has a hot temper. "
Or F79: "Mother was, of course, a very wonderful person. She was very nervous. Irritable only when overdoing. "
Or again, Fu: "Father is quiet and calm. He never shows irritation. He is very intelligent, and his opinions are very valid. He is very sincere and very well liked by friends and employees. He rarely puts himself out for people, but people love him. He is exceptionally good looking, dresses well, has gray hair, and i s - - years old. "
Glorification of parents is equally or even more pronounced in our high- scoring men than it is in the high-scoring women. Of the 2o interviewees
? P ARENTS AND CHILDHOOD SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 343
in this group, I I show this feature whereas only one has been rated as giving evidence of "objective appraisal"; and the entire category is again sig- nificant at the I per cent level. One of the high-scoring men describes his father as a "very, very fine man-intelligent, understanding, excellent father, in every way. " Another says that his father "is always good to his family. Naturally, a kid would not think their parents had any weaknesses in them. " Use of such terms as "naturally" or "of course"-the latter in the protocol of F79 quoted above-reveals the element of conventionalism inherent in the mechanism of glorification. Another high-scoring man says:
M47: (What sort of person was your mother? ) "Well, best in the world. . . . She's good, in fact, the best. In other words, she's just tops with me. She's friendly with everybody. Never has no trouble. Does anything for me she can. Writes me all the time. (What do you admire most about her? ) Just about everything. When father went away, mother took care of me all her life, where she could have put me in a home some place if she had wanted to. She always stayed with me in trouble. "
? Or, M p: (What have you admired most about your father? ) "Well, let's see. . . . Well, there's really no particular point that I admire most. . . . I've always been very proud to be his son. (What sort of person was your mother? ) Most terrific person in the world to me. (Shortcomings of mother? ) Well, I don't really think she has any, except maybe too wound up in her home, and didn't take more interest in social affairs. . . . I truthfully can't say she has any definite shortcomings. "
Or, M51: (Going back to your father, you say you didn't accept him as a shining example when you were a child? ) "He was always with me except when I was in boarding school, that is, always at home. I just took him for granted, that's all. I never analyzed him . . . when I was very small. Instead of asking why does the sun shine, how are babies made, etc. , etc. , my father says I took everything for granted. . . . I wonder why that was. . . . "
One of the outstanding features in the above quotations from high scorers is the use of superlatives in the description of parents, such as "excellent man in every way," "best in the world," "most terrific person," etc. If more detailed and specific elaborations are made at all, they refer to material bene- fits or help given by the parents. Where there is no readiness to admit that one's parents have any weakness in them it is not surprising to find later an indication of repressed hostility and revengeful fantasies behind the mask of compliance. Some evidence on this point has already been presented above.
The high scorers' emphasis on more obvious rather than on subtle and internalized characteristics cannot be traced to a lower level of education or of intelligence (see Chapter VIII). Rather it must be seen as in line with their general tendency toward greater shallowness and stereotypy and a diluted diffuseness of inner experiences.
The objective appraisal of one's parents, manifested primarily by the low scorers, has a very different quality. Instead of an apparent overestima- tion of the parents which, as will be seen, goes hand in hand with a fear- ful submission to them, we find in the typical unprejudiced subject an evalua-
? 344
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
tion of the parents on terms of equality. In the following records, all taken from interviews of low-scoring subjects, we find the parents described as real people with real assets and shortcomings. The emphasis in the descrip- tion is on internal rather than external and physical characteristics. Con- comitant with a more critical attitude, we often find in these records a closer and warmer relationship with the parents. It also becomes clear that the parents have often been a source of comfort and love for these subjects, who, in their turn, are more secure in their feelings toward their parents. They are thus able to face and to express conflicts in the areas where there is or was disagreement. Often we get the impression that the low scorers talk in a benevolently condescending way about their parents, critically and at the same time lovingly.
Thus low-scoring women are found to describe their parents as follows:
F6s: "My mother is very much interested in people; she is practical and sensible, but she gets too much interested in fads. On some points I disagree with my mother very much. Mother wants me to be more social. She wants me to wear lipstick, go out to parries, etc. I am too lazy to do all those things. She is very good, nice and does the right thing, but I don't like her temperament. She is mad one minute and the next one she isn't. She gives me too much advice. "
F62: "Father tries to be rational, but he is not always so. He is a dominant person, though my mother was master of the house. "
F7o: (What kind of person is your father? ) "Father was never much in the pic- ture; he paid more attention to me between the ages of one and six than later. I think he wanted a boy, so he paid little attention to me, so probably has not influenced my attitudes very much. Describing father is easier. He's a more definite kind of per- son than mother. He's a person of great intolerance; he is 'a great authority on all subjects' (spoken with some irony) including medicine and physiology. "
F2 3: "Father was very dominating in the home, like all European men, and mother submitted to him. I almost think she enjoyed 'being a martyr'! " (It then became very clear that her mother's submissive and self-sacrificing attitude were unacceptable to
the subject. The mother never got what she wanted. The things she wanted were
like dreams, and she seemed satisfied to keep them as dreams. For example, she would have liked to redecorate the house or to buy a summer place, but the father \. would never let her. )
F26 feels that her father did not understand her point of view. She thinks he is sensitive, but does not sense other people's feelings. The mother is described as a pal, and as having a sense of humor. Subject thinks that, unlike her father, her mother understood what she was feeling.
Examples of "objective appraisal" of parents in low-scoring men follow.
As is to be expected in our culture, there sometimes is a word or two of exaggerated praise at the beginning; but this is usually followed up by some more specific qualifiation of a less stereotyped, more vivid and direct kind.
M42: (What sort of person is your mother? ) "Well, I think she is a wonderful woman . . . been very good to me . . . never put too many restrictions on my activ- ities . . . her rules were few and far between, but what rules there were, had to be obeyed and not to be monkeyed with. . . . As a woman, she might seem to be a little
? PARENTS AND CHILDHOOD SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 345
hard to get acquainted with . . : and, at first, might seem a little 'uppitish,' but . . . she tends to have relatively few friends, and comes to know them pretty well . . . quiet, listens more than she talks, very fair. (What do you admire most about her? ) I don't know. I've never given it much thought. I don't think of any one trait . . . she is very fair. . . . I don't think you could talk her into cheating . . . if she feels some- thing is right, she'll stick up for it no matter what. "
M44: (What sort of person is your father? ) "Oh, he's the kind of guy who never has been very happy working for somebody else. He's always had a little difficulty, especially with a very large company (laughs). He just has a venomous hatred for any big outfit. . . . He has a very vital sense of justice and honesty, and he just can't stand pressure practices. . . . "
Mso: (What sort of person is your mother? ) "An intellectual and a very well- educated person. Her principal gift seems to be that of perception. And ;1 musician (piano) . . . not by trade but certainly by nature. (What do you admire most about her? ) Her intellectual ability. "
M53: (What sort of person was your mother? ) "\Vell, sort of an average person, a rather happy person, quite a happy person. I think she was fairly intelligent, and there again was conditioned to mother-wife sort of thing. Always maintained a pleasant home, I mean really pleasant. (Weaknesses? ) Well, I would say a certain unworldliness. (How do you mean? ) Perhaps, a perfect product of her age, in a way. Kind of a respectable, average, God-fearing sort of person (laughs) . . . . Didn't know much about finances . . . clinging-vine type of female, but a very pleasant per- son. Made not a desperate attempt, but maintained a very pleasant home . . . very pleasant, reasonable sort of person. Certain possessiveness (towards subject). "
M3: "I like my father. He is more a taciturn type, a quiet Frenchman, keeps out of trouble. I don't particularly respect my mother. She is intellectually shallow, wishy- washy-vacillating is the word. That's a hell of a thing to say about mother, but . . . . (Q) "Like I'll tell her what I want to do, and she'll agree enthusiastically. Then father will come along with his ideas against mine, and she'll agree with him. You can only take so much of that. . . . I admire father for his ability to keep his mouth shut. He just says nothing and looks dignified and everyone admires and respects him. I wish I could do that. Of the two, I'd rather be alone with him. (What is your mother like? ) Kindly, generous, always wishing well, seeing the bright side of things, fairly jolly, cracking jokes. Gets along with people fairly well, they like her and she likes them. Her geniality may be just practice because she's been teaching so long . . . principal of a local grammar school . . . she knows how to be amusing, hail- fellow-well-met, you might say. But slightly moralistic, morals of about 1910. For example, she is against Errol Flynn; doesn't moralize, just makes critical remarks in a joking way. "
M15: "Father was born in 1890 on a farm i n - - , mother in 1889 on a n - - farm. (Subject describes his father as having a bad temper and being very strict, punishing the children severely; such as beating them with a strap. ) Father did not attend high school. He had many friends. Played football. Father started out as a game feeder a t - - University, also became a good carpenter and painter. In the
192o's the family moved to - - and father became a minister in the - - Church. The only prerequisite for that was to be able to read the Bible. His sermons are all hell-fire and brimstone. " (Subject thinks that father had an 'inferiority com- plex,' doesn't know just how to explain it. )
Not only do low-scoring subjects express disagreement with their parents more freely, but there is evidence in the records that when they disagree they
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
have the strength to follow their own way, though often not without paying the price of conflict and guilt.
It is with respect to the following aspects that the unprejudiced subjects are most often critical of their parents: pressure to sociability, parents giving too much advice, too much dominance or possessiveness, lack of under- standing, religious conflicts. Often hand in hand with these resentments real appreciation of the parents is expressed in specific terms by pointing to their abilities, their independence of conventions, generosity, perceptiveness, happiness.
Since typical low scorers do not really see their parents as any too over- powering or frightening, they can afford to express their feelings of resent- ment more readily. Being able to mobilize rebellion, unprejudiced subjects thus learn to conceive of equality as an alternative to the relationship of dominance-submission. Ambivalence toward the parents can be openly faced and worked out on this basis, preventing the crippling effect of too much repression and submission. It is in this manner that expression of rebellious- ness seems to go with increased ability to give as well as to receive genuine affection while repression of resentment is associated with a more stereotyp- ical glorification of parents that seems devoid of real feeling.
3. GENUINENESS OF AFFECT
Manifestations of genuine positive affect toward the parents as revealed, among other things, by references to (positive) psychological qualities, were found mainly in low-scoring subjects (Category 2b). It can be understood readily that positive affect toward parents should be found more often where there is an objective evaluation of the parents rather than where there is resentment toward them. In addition to the illustrations of positive affect given previously, we quote here one example of a very intensive expression of positive feeling for the father on the part of a low-scoring woman:
F63: "But I remember when my father left, she came to my room and said, 'You'll never see your Daddy again. ' Those were her exact words. I was crazy with grief and felt it was her fault. I threw things, emptied drawers out of the window, pulled the spreads off the bed, then threw things at the wall. "
The finding that positive affect toward parents is present more often in low scorers must be seen in conjunction with the results on glorification versus objective appraisal as discussed above. In fact, 6 out of the 25 high- scoring women interviewees (as against I I out of the I 5 lower scorers, to be sure) were rated as manifesting objective appraisal. From the present data, however, it is evident that the objectivity of the high-scoring women must be regarded as more hostile than positive. None of them was rated as having "genuine positive affect. " Being basically an attitude of libidinized interest, true objectivity seems to be primarily the domain of the low scorers, at least
? P ARENTS AND CHILDHOOD SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 347
in the present context. This is far from saying that all or nearly all the prejudiced extremes exhibit this trait. In fact, low scorers sometimes display distortions all their own, caused mainly by feelings of guilt and remorse and often leading to an obsessive rather than a genuine type of objectivity (see Chapter XII).
There is some evidence of what may be called blocked affect in the low scorers (Category 2c). An example is given by one of the men in this classi- fication who answered the question, "What were your parents like? " by simply saying "normal parents" without being able to elaborate on this topic when questioned further.
It was expected, on the basis of the generally greater openness of the low scorers, that if parents were rejected by low-scoring subjects, this rejection would tend to be open and based on disagreement with respect to basic prin- ciples. Principled open rejection (Category 2a) did not, however, prove to be statistically differentiating. This may well be due to the fact that only a few cases manifested this attitude.
4. FEELINGS OF VICTIMIZA TION
Somewhat more often than open rejection of the parents, a feeling of victimization by the parents (Category 2) is found in the high-scoring women interviewees. These feelings include complaints about being neg- lected, unjustly disciplined, picked on or otherwise unfairly treated, espe- cially in rivalry situations within the family. Eight of the high-scoring women interviewees showed this attitude, often in conjunction with a glorification of the parents. The subsequent record of a high-scoring woman interviewee gives an example of admiration for the father in general terms, as expressed by the initial phrase, "a grand person," combined with resentment and a feeling of being neglected in favor of the brothers which is brought out after encouragement by the interviewer to describe the father's faults:
F32: Altogether she thinks her "father is a grand person. " When asked whether, since no one is perfect, there were any little faults that she could name, she said that she couldn't think of any. He never drank; well, he swore a little bit. And he was argumentative. (However, in discussing her vocation, subject had mentioned that the father had been willing to finance the education of the boys, but that he expected the girls to stay home and be ladies, so what the girls got they got on their own. In another connection, subject remarked that she had got nothing out of her father. He provided them with the necessities of life, but would not give them anything extra. He never allowed the girls to entertain boys at home. Nevertheless, subject stated that she was closer to her father than to her mother. ) When the interviewer broached the topic of her brothers and sisters, subject replied, "I'm right in the middle-don't they say middle children are forgotten children! " When asked if she thought that was so, subject closed up, merely remarking that her parents showed no partiality.
Some of the other high-scoring women are resentful against their parents
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
because of a feeling that their brothers were preferred by virtue of their being boys. Envy, resentment, and depreciation of the brother by high- scoring women, in conjunction with the sense of being victimized by the parents, is exemplified by the following report:
F39: "I had to get up early with mother and bake and clean all day long. I used to say that it was especially unfair because my brother would play. Mother said, well, he was a boy, and that really made me mad. "
It must be emphasized that these feelings of resentment against the parents, especially when they appear in the records of high-scoring subjects, are usually not ego-accepted. Thus F39, whose record was just quoted above, states that her mother was "terribly strict with me about learning to keep house. . . . I am glad now, but I resented it then. " The feelings of resentment are considered "bad" and therefore projected onto childhood and not ac- cepted as present feelings.
Such strictness and the general idea of being treated as a "child" at home are often the source of feelings of victimization. At the same time there is, as will be discussed in greater detail below, submission to the demands of the parents. One high-scoring girl complains about her father: "Can't say I don't like him . . . but he wouldn't let me date at 16. I had to stay home. . . . " Another girl in this group says, "Father and mother were so anxious to adjust that they forgot us. They treated us as 16-year-olds when we were actually 18. " Prejudiced subjects generally tend to feel themselves "forgot- ten," the victims of injustice who did not "get" enough of the things they deserved. They thus tend to resent other people, especially outgroups, of whom they readily conceive as unjustifiably threatening, as intruding on their rights, and as attempting to take privileges away from them.
As was pointed out in previous publications (E. Frenkel-Brunswik, 35, 38) and as will be shown in detail in Chapter XIV, high-scoring women tend to express a great deal of hostility toward mother figures in their responses to the Thematic Apperception Test. In their interviews, however, we find mainly admiration for the mother, although this is frequently intermingled with nonaecepted feelings of hostility and resentment. In those relatively rare cases in which there is an open expression of hostility toward the mother in the interview of a high-scoring woman, one is likely to find this hostility very intense and of an almost paranoid character. The following example is characteristic of this:
F36: Subject describes her mother variously as domineering, dictatorial, and self- centered. Her mother is good at social relationships; she knew how to get along with people. After her divorce, she worked as a traveling - - saleswoman until subject graduated from high school. When on the road, she was very popular with the other salesmen. She worked just long enough to see subject through school, then expected subject to support her, and so quit work. When subject was in high school, she used to make all the clothes for her mother and herself. Once her morher
?