( What
attracts
you in a friend?
Adorno-T-Authoritarian-Personality-Harper-Bros-1950
.
.
.
To those in a bracket higher, except for a few staunch friends which you keep always; naturally associate with people on a higher level-with more education and more experience.
After you get there, and associate with those people .
.
.
that fires you on to the next step higher, etc.
"
M4: Subject likes to mingle with people, likes big parties, used to have an inferior- ity complex, but now is at ease. Likes to associate and talk with famous people, to be in the "upper crust. " "Well, I've met a lot of people since I've been up here; it certainly made a difference to me. I've set my goal, and I want to be one of them (mentions army and navy people. a lot of wealthy and socially prominent people). "
Mz3: "There are great possibilities there (in Alaska) in the future. If a person studies it carefully and locates properly, he goes up with a town. "
F79: "In the SPARS I liked the training and the discipline and I would make a good officer. But the girls of my type had college educations and I was thrown with
? THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
waitresses, etc. I wanted to apply for officership. I admired the officers although all the other? girls were interested only in boys. . . . It made me furious to see the great advantage of those who had had college education. Those I associated with were not my type. "
F22: "In the first place, there have to be the ditch diggers. They can get what they want out of life. Certain people were cut out for certain things. People who are un- happy are the ones who have wasted their chances or are held back by lack of finances. "
The foregoing records show how preoccupied these subjects are with social mobility, with the dichotomy of the "weak and the strong," "the bottom and the top," and with the idea of "moving upwards" through the help of the powerful and the influential. There is evidence of an almost compulsive acquisitiveness and striving for success. All this is in line with the picture of Western civilization generally presented by its students (e. g. , Kardiner, 6o; Mead, 82; Fromm, 43), although it appears here in a grossly exaggerated manner.
Fromm (42) states that the most important feature of the authoritarian character is its attitude toward power and its division of people into two groups: the strong and the weak. Love, admiration, and readiness for sub- mission are automatically aroused by power of persons or institutions, while contempt is equally aroused by powerless persons or institutions. The very sight of a powerless person may lead to the urge to attack, dominate, or humiliate him.
Hero worship of acquaintances (Category 3I b) which was expected to be a characteristic primarily of high scorers, yielded only a negligible num- ber of ratings and is thus omitted from consideration as far as our material is concerned. As in other doubtful cases, one may also question the validity of our hypothesis underlying the definition of the category.
6. DEPENDENCE FOR THINGS
The orientation toward getting material benefits, predominant in the high scorers, tends to make for dependence on people, since they are used as a means for advancement. In the discussion of attitudes toward parents a dis- tinction was made between "dependence for things"-found primarily in the high scorers-as contrasted with a "love-oriented dependence" found in the typical low scorers. A similar distinction has also been made in the case of the attitude toward people in general, setting off a diffuse, ego-alien dependence which is not really love-seeking against a focal, love-seeking succorance
(Category 32a). The difference between high and low scorers with respect to this category is highly significant (I per cent level) for men, and satis- factorily significant (5 per cent level) for women.
The examples given above for the hierarchical conception of human rela- tionships illustrate one aspect of the utilitarian approach of the typical high-
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 4I5
scoring subjects toward other people. Here we are dealing with another aspect of utilitarianism, namely their orientation toward getting things and help in general. In the quotations from high-scoring subjects which follow we find friendship conceived of as a means of getting things rather than as a relationship based on mutuality in giving and taking.
M43: "Oh, help in lots of needs, sickness, money, well, a friend can just help in most any way. "
M45: (What do you look for in friends? ) ". . . even though there is no conversa- tion between you, know that he's there at all times and if you need any help at any time. . . . "
In line with this, high scorers tend to be oriented toward persons in positions of authority or power, or toward support; low scorers tend to be longing for someone who will really love them without reservation the way they happen to be and "in spite of shortcomings. " Low-scorers also tend to place emphasis more on expectations of receiving love, understanding, and companionship from their friends. Examples from the interview protocols of men scoring extremely low on the ethnocentrism questionnaire follow:
M48: (What do friends offer a person? ) "Well, offer you an understanding-they understand you and make allowances for your shortcomings . . . and like you in spite of it. "
Ms6: (What do friends offer us? ) "That's another thing-I have always been so discriminating in choice that haven't had many friends . . . my friends have always been people I could confide in-faith, companionship. "
Msg: ". . . . A person has very few friends in a lifetime. A friend will overlook your faults . . . and stand by you. "
The longing for intensive, personalized relations, in which there is com- plete mutual acceptance and overlooking of faults is evident in these records. At the same time, however, one gets the impression that a tendency to pre- occupation with oneself, sometimes expressed in overcriticism, is character- istic of low scorers.
7. MANIPULA TION VS. LIBIDINIZA TION OF PEOPLE AND GENUINE WORK ADJUSTMENT
A similar differentiation was made between an exploitive-manipulative- opportunistic attitude as opposed to one of personalized nurturance (Cate- gory 32 b). Differences between high scorers and low scorers here show the expected trend without being statistically significant. Nonetheless, there are
I 5 positive instances but only 4 negative ones for men, and I I positive as compared with 3 negative for women.
An extreme example of a manipulative orientation toward people in gen- eral, and toward sex partners in particular, is given in the record of a high- scoring prison inmate:
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
M5'1: (Why pick on an older woman? ) "Well, I forgot. She had money and I didn't. . . . I never had any relations with anyone that didn't have money connected with it, even those homosexual affairs. . . . I ran away from home and that's mainly the way I supported myself. " Subject quotes Dr. as saying that he was only interested in men for their pocketbooks and he didn't know if he would be safe with a mule. (Preference in type of homosexual partner? ) "Yes, I always had prefer- ences, but I never let the preference stand in the way of-only thing I was ever interested in was the rent. I wasn't faithful, in other words, I wasn't expected to be. I was alone so much, I got bored. (Did any men attract you aside from the money aspect? ) Oh, yes, but I never let love, so called, stand in the way. . . . " Subject emphasizes that if he were a woman, he would not let any love aspect stand in the way of marrying for as much money as possible and getting all he could in the way of money out of the sex relationship.
This statement not only shows a particularly drastic form of opportunistic attitude but also the view that affect should not be allowed to interfere with one's advantage: "I never let love, so called, stand in the way. "
A narrowly opportunistic, externalized attitude toward work and the persons connected with it is illustrated in the records of the following high scorers:
M4o: (Advantages of designing? ) "Fairly decent, remunerative enough, and contacts are better than that of an ordinary worker. (Else? ) You got a better chance to get what you want. (How do you mean? ) You're constantly being thrown in with people who are up there . . . if can't get anything in theater work, legitimate stage, voice, I'll go in for that. "
Ms8: "They come to me and say, 'Can you do this and that for me? ' To keep good will, you'll do a lot of things. And then I go to work-and that's a source of dissatisfaction, to think that I help those people who can hardly read or write . . . kinda gets me down-doing their work, and then I've got to go out and do shift work-something wrong there . . . it's disheartening. Wife says to get out of the ration board work, but I feel eventually it might give me the push I need to get into something different. . . . I don't know how to go out and look for work. . . . I've just done this kind of work, no education, can't offer anything definite other than oil. . . . "
F68: "This is a nine-to-five job and when I am through I am through. You don't have to worry about personal things on this kind of a job. "
Fromm (42) emphasizes that for the authoritarian character the relation- ship with his fellow men has lost its direct, human character and has assumed a spirit of manipulation and instrumentality.
By contrast, the following records of low-scoring subjects illustrate their need to do something for people, to help them, to give, and to receive affec- tion in return. They also show their tendency to libidinize their relations with people and to view their work from the standpoint of its social value rather than merely from that of external success.
M42: (Advantages of scouting? ) "I like to work with young people . . . satisfac- tion of helping someone. . . . It doesn't pay financially, but . . . you are happier . . . makes good friends. . . . "
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 4I7
M49: "Yes, and I've alway's been impressed by articles I've read in magazines . . . about a small company built up by the manager from himself and a helper . . . and just got in people that were very agreeable . . . and the ideal was lots of benefits and fellows felt they had a share in things, and each worker wasn't a machine, but an individual. . . . " Subject emphasizes personal relationship in this example of em- ployer-employee setup, with a strong personal nurturance by the former, and grate- fulness and cooperation of workers. "I think I'd be happy if I could find that kind of a company, and it wouldn't really matter too much what the actual job was, that is, within reason. I've always thought those (personal relationships) were the most important thing in a job. "
M54: "At 17, wanted to be a doctor, but it didn't materialize because joined the service. " Subject can't remember the origin of this interest. Perhaps some friends whose parents were doctors and subject liked to help bandage up other kids, minor scratches, etc.
M5s: (What would a lot of money make possible for you? ) "Do some charitable work, though not in established patterns, for example help some of my friends. Con- tribute to the 1\1arch of Dimes, to end cancer, etc. "
Ms6: "Security and a chance to do something for others. Seems to me now I have been helping others all my life. "
M59: "To treat others as a person would wish to be treated himself and to help those less fortunate than oneself, and to be a part of the community or society that one is in, to take an active part in it, and being kind and generous and to more or less have a high regard for your fellow man. . . . The only happiness that we really know of is . . . here on earth, so why not try to enjoy the people and things on this earth, rather than a life somewhere else. . . .
( What attracts you in a friend? ) A person on the same intellectual level and one who has common ideas. You enjoy going out with him. You enjoy conversation and you like to do things for a friend. "
F7o: "If I had a lot of money I didn't know what to do with, I might run a small private hospital. For instance, for rheumatic fever patients. There are so many chil- dren with certain diseases that can't get the proper medical care, because their parents can't afford to have them hospitalized sufficiently long-like rheumatic fever patients. I wish to do a few altruistic things like my own private charity or some- thing. I don't think I'd buy expensive objects of art; well, maybe I would. I might buy quite a few material things, go to a lot of concerts and plays. One seems to be able to spend a lot of money on those. "
F7s: (What do you like about public health nursing? ) "You get to know people. You have to. You go into their homes and see them when they are well, help them prevent sickness instead of just seeing them in bed sick. I think it is a more useful occupation than bedside nursing, but that is important too. "
The foregoing records also illustrate the ability, characteristic of low scorers to form genuine object cathexis (Category 32c), an ability probably due to the fact that they formed better identifications in early childhood. Thirteen low-scoring and only I of the high-scoring men show evidence in their interviews of this ability to form genuine, nonopportunistic object relationships. It is also found in the records of 8 low-scoring and 3 high- scoring women. Here, as in the case of most other ratings, it is very difficult to evaluate sex differences since-as was mentioned before-the ratings of the sample of women show considerably higher numbers of "Neutrals. "
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
8. SOCIAL STATUS VS. INTRINSIC WORTH IN FRIENDSHIP
In line with all this, the traits which high-scoring subjects tend to desire most in their friends are that their social or economic status be prominent or at least "acceptable. " Low scorers, on the other hand, tend to accept a friend more often on the basis of intrinsic worth or the companionship and com- mon interests he offers. Theirs is an intellectual-aesthetic approach, and they appreciate in their friends "easy-going" traits, social awareness and insight, and generally "low" values (i. e. , values in esteem with low scorers as defined in this volume). The difference is significant at the I per cent level for both men and women.
Examples of emphasis on status in high scorers follow.
M p: (How do you choose your friends? ) "Well, I have a standard based along my own expectations in life. Somebody's got to have a goal in life, got to have man- ners, don't have to be a big shot, but I like 'em to have some position. I don't like these fly-by-nights. . . . A lot of my friends are social people. "
Ms8: (What would more money make possible? ) "Would raise our standard of living; probably buy better, or higher-priced automobile; move into better resi- dential section; associations . . . to those in a bracket higher . . . with people on a higher level. "
M4: "Picked a chum-usually one close chum. " In high school he got into the ruling clique because he worked on the other boys' cars and radios. Apparently going into this "ruling clique" has made a great impression on him. Before, he felt uneasy around many people, uncertain of his appearance. The girls he asked out hadn't accepted him; he felt much more secure after he got into this clique-he felt that he amounted to something; it helped him get over his inferiority complex.
F;1: "When I was a child, I was brighter than I am now. Moving up here may have retarded me. I was very unhappy when we first moved up here. I cried and cried. It was about a year and a half before I got in with the right crowd and joined a high school sorority. "
F6o tells the interviewer that she has "been a 'governess' in the home of _ _ _ _ and in 's family-first in the home of the older son, and then the younger. Talked to on the phone when she was at the time of the birth of the third child. Also worked for (Southern California). " And her sis- ter worked for , who later was _ _ _ _
F78 reports that she has "no really close girl friends. " She looks for someone "I wouldn't have to make excuses for-someone well brought up, nice appearance, who dresses neatly. "
The foregoing records manifest once more the desire of many high- scoring subjects to associate with the "right kind of people" and their tend- ency to judge people on the basis of such external criteria as "position" and "nice appearance. "
Low-scoring subjects, on the other hand, not only tend to emphasize the intrinsic worth in their friends but tend explicitly to deny the importance of status. There may be, in some of these cases, an underlying concern with
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 419
status, but the fact that they disclaim it shows that they have at least some inclination to resist conventionalism. There are, furthermore, other goals which take the place of conventional ones. There is more acceptance of passivity and relaxation, more emphasis on enjoyment and "fun. " At the same time, there is active pursuing of intellectual goals. Examples follow.
M49: "There was one Chinese fellow, and we used to go swimming and play ping- pong . . . and he was married just after I got there and . . . his home was in an alley with no street address; just plain, simple people; and they could be serious, but if you wanted to have a lot of fun . . . and they seemed to be more understanding . . . more appreciative of little things and more sympathetic. "
M42: "I like a person who doesn't think money is the most important thing . . . but wants to better himself and have a better education; who likes to get along with people . . . my friends are all kinds of people. . . . I have a friend who is a Catholic . . . who knows the criticisms of the Catholic Church better than I do . . . but who can argue intelligently for the Catholic Church. . . . "
M53: "People you cultivate are usually people you want to be with. (What do you like to do together? ) Well, depends on the friend. My own friends seem to have a variety of interests. I guess . . . talk. Takes up more time than anything else . . . and sometimes drinking parties with a group of friends who are fun to see once in a while. "
F62: "We four girls have many discussions about ideas. We had a professor who taught us to think about education and social conditions. We talk about all those things, and we hope to be socially-minded individuals. W e try to think. My closest girl friend and I don't go out with boys, but the other two girls do, and we enjoy their experiences, about which they tell us. I was made to be a follower and not a leader. My girl friends are more dominant. "
F6s: "My best girl friend I still have from high school days. . . . W e have the same interests. . . . Now my close friend is a Chinese girl. " The interviewer senses a protective attitude on the part of the subject toward this friend. "In general I like intellectual girls who are nice and who have the same ideas. "
Just as the high scorers frequently desire to have friends with "accepted" or even "admired" social status, they also tend to emphasize conventional values in their choice of friends. Their requirements for friends are that they be moral-conventional, "clean-cut," honest, have good manners, poise, and control (Category 33b). The predominance of such requirements in the records of high-scoring as contrasted with low-scoring subjects was found to be in the proportion of I I to 4 in men and of I I to 3in women. Illustra- tions from the records of high-scoring subjects follow.
M41: (What attracts you in a friend? ) "Well, their manner and behavior. "
M 11: (What do you like best in your boy friends? ) "I like them clean-cut. . . . They're all swell fellows and they come from marvelous families. "
F71: "Never stuck close to one-like girls who like a lot of clean fun-high ideals and morals, no drinking. "
The emphasis, in the foregoing references, on "clean fun," "swell fellows," ?
? 420 THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
and the like, carries the connotation of an almost moral pride in the fact of having a good time. This type of exhibited or "official" optimism has been described previously in this book; it is entirely compatible, and often con- comitant, with an underlying sense of despair and futility.
9. SUMMARY
The prejudiced thus seem to tend toward an externalized relation to other
people, appreciating those who are higher up in the social hierarchy and who conform to conventional standards, and unrealistically condemning devia- tions from these standards. It seems likely that this moral condemnation serves the purpose of externalization of, and defense against, temptations toward immoral and unconventional behavior.
Hostile feelings are likewise externalized and projected by conceiving of others as threatening and dangerous. The persecutory ideas about threats in the environment apparently reinforce the wish to be strong; such power is to be obtained by falling in line with what is seen as the general pattern of social relationships, that is, by associating with those who have power. Fear of failure and of being overwhelmed by outside forces leads to an exag- gerated preoccupation with such dichotomies as power vs. weakness, top vs. bottom.
The choice of friends is almost exclusively determined by the wish to get support in the compulsive striving for success. Often little attempt is made to disguise the resulting crude form of opportunism. As in the attitude toward parents, the focus seems to be on "getting things," on utilizing people for obtaining the necessary supplies and the help to overcome obstacles. The inclination to conceive of the world as a "jungle" seems to reveal a panic lest supply may run short and one may be helpless in view of dangers which are all too readily anticipated. It is easy to understand that in persons possessed by such fearfulness, the approach to people will tend to be manipulative and exploitive.
Similarly externalized is the relationship to work, as manifested in indif- ference toward its content and in the emphasis on work as a mere means to success and power. To succeed in the struggle of competition by roughness and by "outsmarting" the competitor seems often an important component of the ego-ideal of the prejudiced men (see the next section).
Since unprejudiced individuals are less apt to be anxiety-ridden than are the prejudiced, they are free to search in their friendships for affectionate companionship, enjoyment, and common interests such as intellectuality, social values, appreciation of art. As they did with their parents, they tend to form comparatively internalized and affectionate relations with people in general, focusing more on the specific characteristics of the other person. The greater capacity for such libidinization is closely related to a permissive
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 42I
and trusting attitude toward others. There is a tendency to conceive of the environment as congenial rather than as dangerous. Dependence on people thus tends to become focal and love-seeking rather than diffuse and ego- alien.
Often this search seems to be unrealistic and insatiable. This can be seen in the expression of longings for total acceptance and forgiveness for all one's faults as found in some of the low scorers. Such a high level of aspiration seems often the source of dissatisfactions with, and ambivalence toward, the object of love or of friendship.
Work seems likewise more libidinized in the low scorer than it is in the high scorer. There is often a persistent striving for intellectual achievement or for realization of productive social values. There is often concern with, and depression about, the possibility of failure along those lines rather than with respect to personal success. This is far from saying that the typical low scorer is indifferent toward success. But in him these tendencies are more often in conflict with, and partly inhibited by, a longing to be loved- a longing frequently crippled in the high scorer during early childhood.
At the same time there is more capacity for relaxation, passive enjoyment, and pleasure in general, as apparently due to the less rigid character of the defenses. Such values take the place of the external, conventional standards of the high scorers. ?
The tendency to focus on internal and intrinsic values of the individual must be seen as being directly connected with lack of prejudice. Rather than taking a stereotyped view of people and judging them on the basis of their place in the social hierarchy, low scorers are, in the manner described, more open to immediate experience and to an evaluation of people on the basis of individual and intrinsic merits.
C. A TTITUDE TOW ARD PRESENT SELF
1. DEFINITION OF RA TING CA TEGORIES AND QUANTITATIVE RESULTS
The attitudes prejudiced and unprejuaiced subjects assume toward them- selves seem to be consistent with their attitudes toward family, sex, and people, as discussed in the foregoing pages. Thus the prejudiced tend toward self-glorification, conventionality of ego-ideal, and lack of insight; and at the same time they exhibit self-contempt which is not faced as such and which they try to deny. First, attitudes toward the "present self" will be discussed, followed by the conceptions of our subjects concerning their childhood personalities. The categories dealing with the first of these topics were defined as follows:
?
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
INTERVIEW SCORING MANUAL: A TTITUDE TOW ARD PRESENT SELF
(to Table 3(XI))
34a.
34b.
a.
b.
a. b.
Self-glorification. Positive traits mentioned, negative traits rationalized; has overcome weakness, hand- icaps, victimization, perse- cution; self-estimate and ego-ideal tend to be the same
Ego-alien self-contempt
which is moralistic-au- thoritarian and semi-exter- nalized. (Do not score un- less there are some specific signs of self-rejection be- yond compensatory self- glorification, etc. )
34a.
PREsUMABLY "HIGH" VARIANT
PREsUMABLY " L o w " VARIANT Critical self-appraisal.
M4: Subject likes to mingle with people, likes big parties, used to have an inferior- ity complex, but now is at ease. Likes to associate and talk with famous people, to be in the "upper crust. " "Well, I've met a lot of people since I've been up here; it certainly made a difference to me. I've set my goal, and I want to be one of them (mentions army and navy people. a lot of wealthy and socially prominent people). "
Mz3: "There are great possibilities there (in Alaska) in the future. If a person studies it carefully and locates properly, he goes up with a town. "
F79: "In the SPARS I liked the training and the discipline and I would make a good officer. But the girls of my type had college educations and I was thrown with
? THE AUTHORIT ARIAN PERSONALITY
waitresses, etc. I wanted to apply for officership. I admired the officers although all the other? girls were interested only in boys. . . . It made me furious to see the great advantage of those who had had college education. Those I associated with were not my type. "
F22: "In the first place, there have to be the ditch diggers. They can get what they want out of life. Certain people were cut out for certain things. People who are un- happy are the ones who have wasted their chances or are held back by lack of finances. "
The foregoing records show how preoccupied these subjects are with social mobility, with the dichotomy of the "weak and the strong," "the bottom and the top," and with the idea of "moving upwards" through the help of the powerful and the influential. There is evidence of an almost compulsive acquisitiveness and striving for success. All this is in line with the picture of Western civilization generally presented by its students (e. g. , Kardiner, 6o; Mead, 82; Fromm, 43), although it appears here in a grossly exaggerated manner.
Fromm (42) states that the most important feature of the authoritarian character is its attitude toward power and its division of people into two groups: the strong and the weak. Love, admiration, and readiness for sub- mission are automatically aroused by power of persons or institutions, while contempt is equally aroused by powerless persons or institutions. The very sight of a powerless person may lead to the urge to attack, dominate, or humiliate him.
Hero worship of acquaintances (Category 3I b) which was expected to be a characteristic primarily of high scorers, yielded only a negligible num- ber of ratings and is thus omitted from consideration as far as our material is concerned. As in other doubtful cases, one may also question the validity of our hypothesis underlying the definition of the category.
6. DEPENDENCE FOR THINGS
The orientation toward getting material benefits, predominant in the high scorers, tends to make for dependence on people, since they are used as a means for advancement. In the discussion of attitudes toward parents a dis- tinction was made between "dependence for things"-found primarily in the high scorers-as contrasted with a "love-oriented dependence" found in the typical low scorers. A similar distinction has also been made in the case of the attitude toward people in general, setting off a diffuse, ego-alien dependence which is not really love-seeking against a focal, love-seeking succorance
(Category 32a). The difference between high and low scorers with respect to this category is highly significant (I per cent level) for men, and satis- factorily significant (5 per cent level) for women.
The examples given above for the hierarchical conception of human rela- tionships illustrate one aspect of the utilitarian approach of the typical high-
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 4I5
scoring subjects toward other people. Here we are dealing with another aspect of utilitarianism, namely their orientation toward getting things and help in general. In the quotations from high-scoring subjects which follow we find friendship conceived of as a means of getting things rather than as a relationship based on mutuality in giving and taking.
M43: "Oh, help in lots of needs, sickness, money, well, a friend can just help in most any way. "
M45: (What do you look for in friends? ) ". . . even though there is no conversa- tion between you, know that he's there at all times and if you need any help at any time. . . . "
In line with this, high scorers tend to be oriented toward persons in positions of authority or power, or toward support; low scorers tend to be longing for someone who will really love them without reservation the way they happen to be and "in spite of shortcomings. " Low-scorers also tend to place emphasis more on expectations of receiving love, understanding, and companionship from their friends. Examples from the interview protocols of men scoring extremely low on the ethnocentrism questionnaire follow:
M48: (What do friends offer a person? ) "Well, offer you an understanding-they understand you and make allowances for your shortcomings . . . and like you in spite of it. "
Ms6: (What do friends offer us? ) "That's another thing-I have always been so discriminating in choice that haven't had many friends . . . my friends have always been people I could confide in-faith, companionship. "
Msg: ". . . . A person has very few friends in a lifetime. A friend will overlook your faults . . . and stand by you. "
The longing for intensive, personalized relations, in which there is com- plete mutual acceptance and overlooking of faults is evident in these records. At the same time, however, one gets the impression that a tendency to pre- occupation with oneself, sometimes expressed in overcriticism, is character- istic of low scorers.
7. MANIPULA TION VS. LIBIDINIZA TION OF PEOPLE AND GENUINE WORK ADJUSTMENT
A similar differentiation was made between an exploitive-manipulative- opportunistic attitude as opposed to one of personalized nurturance (Cate- gory 32 b). Differences between high scorers and low scorers here show the expected trend without being statistically significant. Nonetheless, there are
I 5 positive instances but only 4 negative ones for men, and I I positive as compared with 3 negative for women.
An extreme example of a manipulative orientation toward people in gen- eral, and toward sex partners in particular, is given in the record of a high- scoring prison inmate:
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
M5'1: (Why pick on an older woman? ) "Well, I forgot. She had money and I didn't. . . . I never had any relations with anyone that didn't have money connected with it, even those homosexual affairs. . . . I ran away from home and that's mainly the way I supported myself. " Subject quotes Dr. as saying that he was only interested in men for their pocketbooks and he didn't know if he would be safe with a mule. (Preference in type of homosexual partner? ) "Yes, I always had prefer- ences, but I never let the preference stand in the way of-only thing I was ever interested in was the rent. I wasn't faithful, in other words, I wasn't expected to be. I was alone so much, I got bored. (Did any men attract you aside from the money aspect? ) Oh, yes, but I never let love, so called, stand in the way. . . . " Subject emphasizes that if he were a woman, he would not let any love aspect stand in the way of marrying for as much money as possible and getting all he could in the way of money out of the sex relationship.
This statement not only shows a particularly drastic form of opportunistic attitude but also the view that affect should not be allowed to interfere with one's advantage: "I never let love, so called, stand in the way. "
A narrowly opportunistic, externalized attitude toward work and the persons connected with it is illustrated in the records of the following high scorers:
M4o: (Advantages of designing? ) "Fairly decent, remunerative enough, and contacts are better than that of an ordinary worker. (Else? ) You got a better chance to get what you want. (How do you mean? ) You're constantly being thrown in with people who are up there . . . if can't get anything in theater work, legitimate stage, voice, I'll go in for that. "
Ms8: "They come to me and say, 'Can you do this and that for me? ' To keep good will, you'll do a lot of things. And then I go to work-and that's a source of dissatisfaction, to think that I help those people who can hardly read or write . . . kinda gets me down-doing their work, and then I've got to go out and do shift work-something wrong there . . . it's disheartening. Wife says to get out of the ration board work, but I feel eventually it might give me the push I need to get into something different. . . . I don't know how to go out and look for work. . . . I've just done this kind of work, no education, can't offer anything definite other than oil. . . . "
F68: "This is a nine-to-five job and when I am through I am through. You don't have to worry about personal things on this kind of a job. "
Fromm (42) emphasizes that for the authoritarian character the relation- ship with his fellow men has lost its direct, human character and has assumed a spirit of manipulation and instrumentality.
By contrast, the following records of low-scoring subjects illustrate their need to do something for people, to help them, to give, and to receive affec- tion in return. They also show their tendency to libidinize their relations with people and to view their work from the standpoint of its social value rather than merely from that of external success.
M42: (Advantages of scouting? ) "I like to work with young people . . . satisfac- tion of helping someone. . . . It doesn't pay financially, but . . . you are happier . . . makes good friends. . . . "
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 4I7
M49: "Yes, and I've alway's been impressed by articles I've read in magazines . . . about a small company built up by the manager from himself and a helper . . . and just got in people that were very agreeable . . . and the ideal was lots of benefits and fellows felt they had a share in things, and each worker wasn't a machine, but an individual. . . . " Subject emphasizes personal relationship in this example of em- ployer-employee setup, with a strong personal nurturance by the former, and grate- fulness and cooperation of workers. "I think I'd be happy if I could find that kind of a company, and it wouldn't really matter too much what the actual job was, that is, within reason. I've always thought those (personal relationships) were the most important thing in a job. "
M54: "At 17, wanted to be a doctor, but it didn't materialize because joined the service. " Subject can't remember the origin of this interest. Perhaps some friends whose parents were doctors and subject liked to help bandage up other kids, minor scratches, etc.
M5s: (What would a lot of money make possible for you? ) "Do some charitable work, though not in established patterns, for example help some of my friends. Con- tribute to the 1\1arch of Dimes, to end cancer, etc. "
Ms6: "Security and a chance to do something for others. Seems to me now I have been helping others all my life. "
M59: "To treat others as a person would wish to be treated himself and to help those less fortunate than oneself, and to be a part of the community or society that one is in, to take an active part in it, and being kind and generous and to more or less have a high regard for your fellow man. . . . The only happiness that we really know of is . . . here on earth, so why not try to enjoy the people and things on this earth, rather than a life somewhere else. . . .
( What attracts you in a friend? ) A person on the same intellectual level and one who has common ideas. You enjoy going out with him. You enjoy conversation and you like to do things for a friend. "
F7o: "If I had a lot of money I didn't know what to do with, I might run a small private hospital. For instance, for rheumatic fever patients. There are so many chil- dren with certain diseases that can't get the proper medical care, because their parents can't afford to have them hospitalized sufficiently long-like rheumatic fever patients. I wish to do a few altruistic things like my own private charity or some- thing. I don't think I'd buy expensive objects of art; well, maybe I would. I might buy quite a few material things, go to a lot of concerts and plays. One seems to be able to spend a lot of money on those. "
F7s: (What do you like about public health nursing? ) "You get to know people. You have to. You go into their homes and see them when they are well, help them prevent sickness instead of just seeing them in bed sick. I think it is a more useful occupation than bedside nursing, but that is important too. "
The foregoing records also illustrate the ability, characteristic of low scorers to form genuine object cathexis (Category 32c), an ability probably due to the fact that they formed better identifications in early childhood. Thirteen low-scoring and only I of the high-scoring men show evidence in their interviews of this ability to form genuine, nonopportunistic object relationships. It is also found in the records of 8 low-scoring and 3 high- scoring women. Here, as in the case of most other ratings, it is very difficult to evaluate sex differences since-as was mentioned before-the ratings of the sample of women show considerably higher numbers of "Neutrals. "
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
8. SOCIAL STATUS VS. INTRINSIC WORTH IN FRIENDSHIP
In line with all this, the traits which high-scoring subjects tend to desire most in their friends are that their social or economic status be prominent or at least "acceptable. " Low scorers, on the other hand, tend to accept a friend more often on the basis of intrinsic worth or the companionship and com- mon interests he offers. Theirs is an intellectual-aesthetic approach, and they appreciate in their friends "easy-going" traits, social awareness and insight, and generally "low" values (i. e. , values in esteem with low scorers as defined in this volume). The difference is significant at the I per cent level for both men and women.
Examples of emphasis on status in high scorers follow.
M p: (How do you choose your friends? ) "Well, I have a standard based along my own expectations in life. Somebody's got to have a goal in life, got to have man- ners, don't have to be a big shot, but I like 'em to have some position. I don't like these fly-by-nights. . . . A lot of my friends are social people. "
Ms8: (What would more money make possible? ) "Would raise our standard of living; probably buy better, or higher-priced automobile; move into better resi- dential section; associations . . . to those in a bracket higher . . . with people on a higher level. "
M4: "Picked a chum-usually one close chum. " In high school he got into the ruling clique because he worked on the other boys' cars and radios. Apparently going into this "ruling clique" has made a great impression on him. Before, he felt uneasy around many people, uncertain of his appearance. The girls he asked out hadn't accepted him; he felt much more secure after he got into this clique-he felt that he amounted to something; it helped him get over his inferiority complex.
F;1: "When I was a child, I was brighter than I am now. Moving up here may have retarded me. I was very unhappy when we first moved up here. I cried and cried. It was about a year and a half before I got in with the right crowd and joined a high school sorority. "
F6o tells the interviewer that she has "been a 'governess' in the home of _ _ _ _ and in 's family-first in the home of the older son, and then the younger. Talked to on the phone when she was at the time of the birth of the third child. Also worked for (Southern California). " And her sis- ter worked for , who later was _ _ _ _
F78 reports that she has "no really close girl friends. " She looks for someone "I wouldn't have to make excuses for-someone well brought up, nice appearance, who dresses neatly. "
The foregoing records manifest once more the desire of many high- scoring subjects to associate with the "right kind of people" and their tend- ency to judge people on the basis of such external criteria as "position" and "nice appearance. "
Low-scoring subjects, on the other hand, not only tend to emphasize the intrinsic worth in their friends but tend explicitly to deny the importance of status. There may be, in some of these cases, an underlying concern with
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 419
status, but the fact that they disclaim it shows that they have at least some inclination to resist conventionalism. There are, furthermore, other goals which take the place of conventional ones. There is more acceptance of passivity and relaxation, more emphasis on enjoyment and "fun. " At the same time, there is active pursuing of intellectual goals. Examples follow.
M49: "There was one Chinese fellow, and we used to go swimming and play ping- pong . . . and he was married just after I got there and . . . his home was in an alley with no street address; just plain, simple people; and they could be serious, but if you wanted to have a lot of fun . . . and they seemed to be more understanding . . . more appreciative of little things and more sympathetic. "
M42: "I like a person who doesn't think money is the most important thing . . . but wants to better himself and have a better education; who likes to get along with people . . . my friends are all kinds of people. . . . I have a friend who is a Catholic . . . who knows the criticisms of the Catholic Church better than I do . . . but who can argue intelligently for the Catholic Church. . . . "
M53: "People you cultivate are usually people you want to be with. (What do you like to do together? ) Well, depends on the friend. My own friends seem to have a variety of interests. I guess . . . talk. Takes up more time than anything else . . . and sometimes drinking parties with a group of friends who are fun to see once in a while. "
F62: "We four girls have many discussions about ideas. We had a professor who taught us to think about education and social conditions. We talk about all those things, and we hope to be socially-minded individuals. W e try to think. My closest girl friend and I don't go out with boys, but the other two girls do, and we enjoy their experiences, about which they tell us. I was made to be a follower and not a leader. My girl friends are more dominant. "
F6s: "My best girl friend I still have from high school days. . . . W e have the same interests. . . . Now my close friend is a Chinese girl. " The interviewer senses a protective attitude on the part of the subject toward this friend. "In general I like intellectual girls who are nice and who have the same ideas. "
Just as the high scorers frequently desire to have friends with "accepted" or even "admired" social status, they also tend to emphasize conventional values in their choice of friends. Their requirements for friends are that they be moral-conventional, "clean-cut," honest, have good manners, poise, and control (Category 33b). The predominance of such requirements in the records of high-scoring as contrasted with low-scoring subjects was found to be in the proportion of I I to 4 in men and of I I to 3in women. Illustra- tions from the records of high-scoring subjects follow.
M41: (What attracts you in a friend? ) "Well, their manner and behavior. "
M 11: (What do you like best in your boy friends? ) "I like them clean-cut. . . . They're all swell fellows and they come from marvelous families. "
F71: "Never stuck close to one-like girls who like a lot of clean fun-high ideals and morals, no drinking. "
The emphasis, in the foregoing references, on "clean fun," "swell fellows," ?
? 420 THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
and the like, carries the connotation of an almost moral pride in the fact of having a good time. This type of exhibited or "official" optimism has been described previously in this book; it is entirely compatible, and often con- comitant, with an underlying sense of despair and futility.
9. SUMMARY
The prejudiced thus seem to tend toward an externalized relation to other
people, appreciating those who are higher up in the social hierarchy and who conform to conventional standards, and unrealistically condemning devia- tions from these standards. It seems likely that this moral condemnation serves the purpose of externalization of, and defense against, temptations toward immoral and unconventional behavior.
Hostile feelings are likewise externalized and projected by conceiving of others as threatening and dangerous. The persecutory ideas about threats in the environment apparently reinforce the wish to be strong; such power is to be obtained by falling in line with what is seen as the general pattern of social relationships, that is, by associating with those who have power. Fear of failure and of being overwhelmed by outside forces leads to an exag- gerated preoccupation with such dichotomies as power vs. weakness, top vs. bottom.
The choice of friends is almost exclusively determined by the wish to get support in the compulsive striving for success. Often little attempt is made to disguise the resulting crude form of opportunism. As in the attitude toward parents, the focus seems to be on "getting things," on utilizing people for obtaining the necessary supplies and the help to overcome obstacles. The inclination to conceive of the world as a "jungle" seems to reveal a panic lest supply may run short and one may be helpless in view of dangers which are all too readily anticipated. It is easy to understand that in persons possessed by such fearfulness, the approach to people will tend to be manipulative and exploitive.
Similarly externalized is the relationship to work, as manifested in indif- ference toward its content and in the emphasis on work as a mere means to success and power. To succeed in the struggle of competition by roughness and by "outsmarting" the competitor seems often an important component of the ego-ideal of the prejudiced men (see the next section).
Since unprejudiced individuals are less apt to be anxiety-ridden than are the prejudiced, they are free to search in their friendships for affectionate companionship, enjoyment, and common interests such as intellectuality, social values, appreciation of art. As they did with their parents, they tend to form comparatively internalized and affectionate relations with people in general, focusing more on the specific characteristics of the other person. The greater capacity for such libidinization is closely related to a permissive
? SEX, PEOPLE, AND SELF SEEN THROUGH INTERVIEWS 42I
and trusting attitude toward others. There is a tendency to conceive of the environment as congenial rather than as dangerous. Dependence on people thus tends to become focal and love-seeking rather than diffuse and ego- alien.
Often this search seems to be unrealistic and insatiable. This can be seen in the expression of longings for total acceptance and forgiveness for all one's faults as found in some of the low scorers. Such a high level of aspiration seems often the source of dissatisfactions with, and ambivalence toward, the object of love or of friendship.
Work seems likewise more libidinized in the low scorer than it is in the high scorer. There is often a persistent striving for intellectual achievement or for realization of productive social values. There is often concern with, and depression about, the possibility of failure along those lines rather than with respect to personal success. This is far from saying that the typical low scorer is indifferent toward success. But in him these tendencies are more often in conflict with, and partly inhibited by, a longing to be loved- a longing frequently crippled in the high scorer during early childhood.
At the same time there is more capacity for relaxation, passive enjoyment, and pleasure in general, as apparently due to the less rigid character of the defenses. Such values take the place of the external, conventional standards of the high scorers. ?
The tendency to focus on internal and intrinsic values of the individual must be seen as being directly connected with lack of prejudice. Rather than taking a stereotyped view of people and judging them on the basis of their place in the social hierarchy, low scorers are, in the manner described, more open to immediate experience and to an evaluation of people on the basis of individual and intrinsic merits.
C. A TTITUDE TOW ARD PRESENT SELF
1. DEFINITION OF RA TING CA TEGORIES AND QUANTITATIVE RESULTS
The attitudes prejudiced and unprejuaiced subjects assume toward them- selves seem to be consistent with their attitudes toward family, sex, and people, as discussed in the foregoing pages. Thus the prejudiced tend toward self-glorification, conventionality of ego-ideal, and lack of insight; and at the same time they exhibit self-contempt which is not faced as such and which they try to deny. First, attitudes toward the "present self" will be discussed, followed by the conceptions of our subjects concerning their childhood personalities. The categories dealing with the first of these topics were defined as follows:
?
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
INTERVIEW SCORING MANUAL: A TTITUDE TOW ARD PRESENT SELF
(to Table 3(XI))
34a.
34b.
a.
b.
a. b.
Self-glorification. Positive traits mentioned, negative traits rationalized; has overcome weakness, hand- icaps, victimization, perse- cution; self-estimate and ego-ideal tend to be the same
Ego-alien self-contempt
which is moralistic-au- thoritarian and semi-exter- nalized. (Do not score un- less there are some specific signs of self-rejection be- yond compensatory self- glorification, etc. )
34a.
PREsUMABLY "HIGH" VARIANT
PREsUMABLY " L o w " VARIANT Critical self-appraisal.
