" Wilbur regards
atheists
as "pretty bad people.
Adorno-T-Authoritarian-Personality-Harper-Bros-1950
I expect in ten years or so I can retire.
As long as I got the money, I can go out and buy cattle and make it (i.
e.
, money).
" His readiness for fascist aggres- sion is plain: "Christ, we licked those other countries and now we're gonna feed 'em.
.
.
.
I think we ought to let 'em starve, especially them Japs.
.
.
.
Lucky I don't have any relations killed in this war, I'd go out and kill me some Japs!
"
These men are consistently fascist in their longing for a "strong" antidemo- cratic government, to maintain monopolistic "free enterprise" by force if necessary against the challenge of democratic equalitarianism. The underly- ing wish to submit to antidemocratic "strength" and "leadership" is implicit in the pseudodemocratic ideology of the other high scorers. In the question- naire, it appears most clearly in Item 30 (see Table 4(XXI)), which hints that ''force may be necessary" to preserve the status quo. This item is quite discriminating even though its group mean is lower than that for most items. Very few low scorers agree with it. Two other items reflect similar attitudes much more indirectly, and discriminate either poorly (Item 2 3) or insig- nificantly (Item 22) (see Table 4(XXI)). But the idea is expressed more directly by the fascist inmates. The aspect of authoritarian suppression was illustrated in the previous paragraph. The Fuhrer idea is also made explicit by these men:
Thus, Adrian: "I believe in government control because . . . if we know some- body's at the helm, we can't have revolutions and things. " He longs to go "back": "I still believe in the Old Order, and I believe we were happiest under Hoover and should have kept him in"; "I'll always thumbs down anything new! " "I have never forgiven France for her Revolution, or Mexico. " . . . Buck's authoritarian men- tality requires no political sophistication to reach a similar conclusion. Concerning government controls, he has this to say: "You got to have somebody at the head of things to keep it organized. " . . . Floyd's cynical approval of Nazi "coordina- tion" was described earlier in discussing racism.
These men's racism can be isolated only by artificial analysis from their
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
"politics. " The examples given above for ideological opportunism in the race attitudes could serve almost equally well to exemplify politico-economic opportunism. Here are some additional examples, however, which do not directly involve racism:
Floyd's preoccupation with "toughness," power, and "efficiency" for their own sake-without respect for human aims or purposes-drives him into a striking self-contradiction. His submissive respect for business power leads him to say of government controls over business: "Modified form, approve of. Too stringent, no. " But in the next breath his need for "strength" combines with his political confusion to produce this contradictory attitude toward O. P. A. price control (in December, 1945): "If they had an iron glove underneath their kid glove, be all right. They fine a guy (only) $roo for makin' $roo,ooo. " . . . Buck, who is intel- lectually duller than Floyd or Adrian, reveals directly the egocentrism behind his ideological opportunism. He evaluates public policies in terms of benefit to his local ingroup (in this case his home state): "Hell, at that, I was strong for Roosevelt. One thing he done for that state, he put that dam there. We didn't need the war, though! " . . . Adrian's views on inheritance taxes betray a similar. egocentric motivation: "I think I would have had more money under (Hoover), too, and I don't believe in inheritance taxes. If I earn $roo,ooo by the sweat of my brow, I ought to be able to leave it to whomever I please. I really don't believe that all men are created free and equal. " (At the age of 31, Adrian has by his own admission earned less than $z,ooo in his lifetime "by the sweat of my brow," aside from the returns of homosexual prostitution. )
5. LOW SCORERS
None of the low-scoring interviewees obtained a low PEC score, and all of them displayed rather conservative attitudes when interviewed. Art and Jim are less conservative than Dick and Don. The latter two conceive themselves as ambitious young entrepreneurs in an expanding economy-a fact which definitely affects their politico-economic views. These individual differences will be somewhat neglected, however, in favor of what the four men show in common. Their present orientation is by and large conservative, although they seem to be less power-oriented than the high scorers and more willing to reconcile conservatism with democratic values. They ap- pear to share the traditional belief in an expanding capitalist economy, con- ceived as largely self-governing and as "individualistic" rather than monop- oly-dominated. They show some willingness to carry out "free enterprise" principles by controlling or nationalizing monopolies that destroy "economic freedom. "
Typical is Jim's view that "I'd much rather see private industry control things than the government," but "in big organizations, monopolies . . . I think (the government) should control them. " Dick expresses the same idea: "If a business gets out of hand, (government) should take it over. But if the business is run okay, they should keep hands off. "
These men's conservatism poses a dilemma for their democratic values.
? CRIMINALITY AND ANTIDEMOCRA TIC TRENDS
Faced with the conflict between business and labor, they are caught between their inclination to identify with labor and their conservative fear of resisting status quo power. This leads to the same gesture of impartiality which appeared in Art's views on "the Negro problem. " Art says, "I don't like to divide people into classes. " What he seems to mean is that he is reluctant to "see" existing conflicts between business and labor. For to "see" such con- flicts exerts an implicit pressure to take sides; specifically, for a democrat such as Art, on the side of the underdog. But this arouses his anxiety about carry- ing through democratic resistance against established power. He protects himself from such anxiety by trying to deny the existence of economic power conflicts. This denial can only mean implicit support of the status quo and consequent resentment of what he perceives as "troublemakers" who stir up his anxiety by resisting the status quo.
Thus he objects to the C. I. O. Political Action Committee because "I don't believe they should . . . set themselves off as a class. " About the then current 30 per cent wage increase demands he declares: "Whether they are right or wrong is unim- portant. The important thing is that they are grouping together. " But Art is made uneasy by the fact that "grouping together" involves resisting powerful employers, and concludes: "As far as these demands, or uncalled-for strikes, they have set back their own cause. " . . . Don is also upset by the then current strikes, which "should be settled as quickly as possible, one way or the other. " (Italics supplied. ) By thus opposing conflict as such and ignoring issues, Don tries hard to maintain an appear- ance of impartiality; he pictures both employers and employees as giants and as equals. "I believe both labor and business sort of ignore the little fellow. " More generally, "I am against special interests and pressure groups. " But the illogicality of this position combines with the difficulty of avoiding sides, to push him into attacking labor and implicitly supporting the employers: "I am sort of bitter about this strike business. . . . I feel labor should have more responsibility. " . . . Dick becomes even more conservative in his fear of "agitation": "I admire unions, but they shouldn't agitate. . . . They shouldn't try to get more money, but should help people more (by trying) to keep prices down. " Of the then current strikes, he decides that the employers should pay the wage demands if they can, but hints that they probably cannot "afford to. " . . . Jim's views seem to express a kind of transition stage. Fundamentally conservative in his laissez-faire orientation, he is nonetheless concerned that "politics are not really controlled by the people. " More- over, his conception of an ideal society reflects a tendency to identify with the economic needs of all people: "An ideal society would provide employ- ment for all able-bodied citizens, and it would also take care of all those that weren't able to work, as well as the aged, and it would give every family a home and a car and a salary in sufficient quantities so that they might enjoy the privileges that we are aware of. " Yet, despite his recognition that "the majority of the people do come under . . . labor," he is made a little uneasy by the militancy of some C. I. O. unions: "The A. F. of L. , I'm in favor of it very much. The C. I. O. , formerly I wasn't in favor of it, but as time goes on, the people seem to accept it more and more. . . . The (C. I. O. ) unions in the beginning used pretty high-handed methods. " His final conclusion hints at an inner struggle to accept C. I. O. resistance to established power:
"But perhaps the end will justify the means. "
The above examples indicate that these men suffer from inner conflicts in
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
relation to authority and power, which are similar to the power conflicts of the high scorers. Their difference from the high scorers seems to be mainly a matter of degree. The democratic identifications of the low scorers are stronger. Their ability to resist authoritarian power is somewhat greater, and aggressiveness toward unjust authority seems closer to conscious acceptance. Their relative freedom from ethnocentrism renders them less susceptible to fascist pressures.
D. MORALS AND RELIGION
1. GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE STATISTICS: THE F SCALE
Since questionnaire results on some of the F-scale items, as well as corre- sponding interview material, are introduced in this section, it may be helpful at this point to present the general statistical findings for the F scale. Item means and D. P. 's are given in Table 4 (XXI). The over-all group mean per person per item for the F scale is 4? 73, the highest mean obtained for any group studied. This provides further support for the implications drawn from the E-scale results, viz. , that the types of criminals most frequently found in a state prison are antidemocratically repressive toward themselves as well as others. Moreover, there are no extremely low scorers and only a handful of moderately low scorers: The low quartile range of F scores, in terms of mean per person per item scores, extends from 2. 0 to 4. 1, with a mean of 3? 7? This suggests that nearly all forms of criminal behavior tend to be incom- patible with the kind of liberalism reflected in very low scores on the F scale.
The F-scale reliability coefficient of . 87 is satisfactory. That it is consid- erably higher than the E-scale reliability of . 65 may be attributed in good part to the fact that the F scale is three times as long, so that factors like attenuation of the lower end of the distribution affect the reliability much less.
The E-F correlation is ? 59, somewhat lower than that obtained for other groups. This might be interpreted as due mainly to the factors responsible for the inadequate E-scale reliability, discussed in Section B of this chapter. Similarly, the very low F-PEC correlation of . 2 3 might be attributed mainly to the factors discussed in Section C, regarded as impairing the validity of the PEC scale for the Prison Group.
2. HIGH SCORERS
In discussing the prejudiced inmates' moral-religious ideology, attention is centered upon their moral repressiveness toward themselves and others. Discussed more briefly are feelings of distrust-victimization toward people, and submissiveness to religious authority.
It has been indicated above how these men's ideology is distorted by con- ceiving broad social processes in narrow, personalized terms. By contrast,
? CRIMINALITY AND ANTIDEMOCRA TIC TRENDS
as the rest of this chapter attempts to show, they tend to impersonalize rela- tionships which a healthy person might be expected to personalize, namely, personal relationships with other individuals and with themselves. In fact, it has been repeatedly indicated in this book that the failure to become solidly identified with other people and with one's real self is the basic cause of receptiveness to authoritarian ideology. Such ideology, instead of being an objective appraisal of social reality, tends to resemble a fantasy world in which unconscious impulses and fears are projected in personified form.
The tendency to impersonalize human relations takes an ideologized form in anti-instinctual moralism which has two aspects: authoritarian hostility toward "moral outgroups"; and moralistic repressiveness toward much of one's own feelings and impulses. Moralism has been exemplified earlier in discussing anti-Negro ideology. Examples from the questionnaire results include items expressing moralistic condemnation of "zootsuiters" (Item 5); rejection of people with "bad manners, habits, and breeding" (Item 12); and authoritarian aggression against "sex criminals" (Item 25), "immoral, crooked, and feebleminded people" (Item 34), and homosexuals (Item 39).
(See Tables 2(XXI) and 4(XXI). For all questionnaire items referred to in the remainder of the chapter, see Table 4(XXI) unless otherwise specified. ) A related item reflects obsessive fears of contamination by "so many different kinds of people" (Item 18), who may symbolize dangers of instinctual con- tagion. All of these items are clearly discriminating except for Item 12, which yields one of the highest over-all means in the F scale. A possible inter- pretation is that Item 12 is especially calculated to appeal to the eagerness of most inmates to be accepted again by "decent people. "
Similar moralism appears in the interviews with prejudiced inmates. In some of these men, the moralism has a religious coloring.
For example, Clarence asserts a rigid dichotomy between "good Christians" and "bad non-Christians": "The Christian tries to live a Christian life, and others go out and rob and steal, drink, carouse around, do a little of everything. " When Clar- ence became a professional soldier, this meant for him living a "clean life. " Wilbur has an equally moralistic conception: Being a Christian means "not to swear, use bad words, or down the other fellow," and "to behave and do right, live a clean life.
" Wilbur regards atheists as "pretty bad people. " Robert, too, emphasizes sub- mission to extrahuman absolutes: "Christians are people that at all times strive to do what is right, and abide by God's word. "
The religious formulation is, however, incidental to the moralistic ap- proach to life. This manner of thinking appears as a general characteristic in various personality topics yet to be discussed. Here are some examples of antisexual righteousness in the prejudiced men.
Clarence moralizes that "I don't think it's a very good subject to teach" children, for "they learn it soon enough. " He speaks with approval of the fact that "when I was a kid . . . if you met a girl on the street, you'd blush. " . . . Likewise, Wilbur,
? 846
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
TABLE 4 (XXI)
RESULTS ON THE F SCALE FROM THE GROUP OF PRISON INMATES
Item
High Quartile Low Quartile D. P. Over-all Mean/Person Mean/Person
1. (Obedience and respect)
2. (Will power)
4. (Science)
6. (War and conflict)
8. (Supernatural power)
9. (Cheerful things)
12. (Bad manners)
13. (Discipline and determina-
tion)
16. (Born with urge)
18. (Infection and disease)
19. (Honor)
21. (Rebellious ideas)
22. (Germany)
23. (Devoted leaders)
25. (Sex crimes)
26. (Weak and strong)
27. (Undying love)
6. 66 5. 75 6. 62 4. 93 6. 00 3. 64 6. 17 4. 82 5. 93 3. 43 5. 38 2. 79 6. 14 5. 68
6. 69 4. 50 5. 24 3. 07 6. 66 4. 64 5. 52 2. 46 6. 52 5. 39 5. 76 5. 32 5. 59 4. 57 5. 86 2. 32 6. 28 2. 64 6. 79 4. 07 5. 72 3. 25 5. 10 1. 86 6. 07 4. 21 4. 00 2. 25 4. 83 2. 64 6. 07 3. 25 6. 69 5. 36 5. 97 2. 82 5. 14 2. 21 4. 38 2. 36 6. 41 4. 11 5. 17 3. 93
0. 91 1. 69 2. 36 1. 35 2. 50 2. 59 0. 46
2. 19 2. 17 2. 02 3. 06 1. 13 0. 44 1. 02 3. 54 3. 64 2. 72 2. 47 3. 24 1. 86 1. 75 2. 19 2. 82 1. 33 3. 15 2. 93 2. 02 2. 30 1. 24 2. 75
63. 84 2. 13
6. 45 5. 81 4. 93 5. 68 4. 44 3. 92 5. 85
5. 51 4. 07 5. 68 3. 91 6. 07 5. 48 5. 45 4. 49 4. 24 5. 75 4. 69 3. 44 5. 31 3. 07 3. 37 4. 62 5. 94 4. 45 3. 45 3. 08 5. 42 4. 34 2. 95
141. 86 4. 73
2. 0-6. 8
29. (Astrology)
30. (Force to preserve)
31. (Prying)
33. (Earthquake)
34. (Immoral people)
35. (Wild sex life)
37. (Talk less)
38. (Plots)
39. (Homosexuals)
41. (Artists)
42. (No sane, normal person)
43. (Familiarity)
44. (Suffering) 4. 79 2. 04
Total mean/person 174. 15 110. 31 Mean/person/item 5. 80 3. 68 Range 5. 4-6. 8 2. 0-4. 1
Standard Deviation: . 86 Reliability; . 87
? CRIMINALITY AND ANTIDEMOCRA TIC TRENDS
asked what things annoy him? most in others, expresses concern about "doing things before little children that you shouldn't," "doing anything out of the way to a little nine-year-old girl. " . . . Ronald is alarmed by the "sexual perversion that you'll find in this country today: it's pretty bad. (Q. ) . . . fellatio . . . sodomy. " Roben's focus is somewhat less extrapunitive but reveals an equally externalizing attitude toward his own sexuality: Sometimes, he admits, "I have let myself slip, let my carnal self get away from me"; but in general he feels that he has "always lived up to" his mother's precept that "a woman is the most perfect thing in the world. "
Similar nonreligious moralism appears in nonsexual contexts.
Eugene believes that "good persons . .
These men are consistently fascist in their longing for a "strong" antidemo- cratic government, to maintain monopolistic "free enterprise" by force if necessary against the challenge of democratic equalitarianism. The underly- ing wish to submit to antidemocratic "strength" and "leadership" is implicit in the pseudodemocratic ideology of the other high scorers. In the question- naire, it appears most clearly in Item 30 (see Table 4(XXI)), which hints that ''force may be necessary" to preserve the status quo. This item is quite discriminating even though its group mean is lower than that for most items. Very few low scorers agree with it. Two other items reflect similar attitudes much more indirectly, and discriminate either poorly (Item 2 3) or insig- nificantly (Item 22) (see Table 4(XXI)). But the idea is expressed more directly by the fascist inmates. The aspect of authoritarian suppression was illustrated in the previous paragraph. The Fuhrer idea is also made explicit by these men:
Thus, Adrian: "I believe in government control because . . . if we know some- body's at the helm, we can't have revolutions and things. " He longs to go "back": "I still believe in the Old Order, and I believe we were happiest under Hoover and should have kept him in"; "I'll always thumbs down anything new! " "I have never forgiven France for her Revolution, or Mexico. " . . . Buck's authoritarian men- tality requires no political sophistication to reach a similar conclusion. Concerning government controls, he has this to say: "You got to have somebody at the head of things to keep it organized. " . . . Floyd's cynical approval of Nazi "coordina- tion" was described earlier in discussing racism.
These men's racism can be isolated only by artificial analysis from their
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
"politics. " The examples given above for ideological opportunism in the race attitudes could serve almost equally well to exemplify politico-economic opportunism. Here are some additional examples, however, which do not directly involve racism:
Floyd's preoccupation with "toughness," power, and "efficiency" for their own sake-without respect for human aims or purposes-drives him into a striking self-contradiction. His submissive respect for business power leads him to say of government controls over business: "Modified form, approve of. Too stringent, no. " But in the next breath his need for "strength" combines with his political confusion to produce this contradictory attitude toward O. P. A. price control (in December, 1945): "If they had an iron glove underneath their kid glove, be all right. They fine a guy (only) $roo for makin' $roo,ooo. " . . . Buck, who is intel- lectually duller than Floyd or Adrian, reveals directly the egocentrism behind his ideological opportunism. He evaluates public policies in terms of benefit to his local ingroup (in this case his home state): "Hell, at that, I was strong for Roosevelt. One thing he done for that state, he put that dam there. We didn't need the war, though! " . . . Adrian's views on inheritance taxes betray a similar. egocentric motivation: "I think I would have had more money under (Hoover), too, and I don't believe in inheritance taxes. If I earn $roo,ooo by the sweat of my brow, I ought to be able to leave it to whomever I please. I really don't believe that all men are created free and equal. " (At the age of 31, Adrian has by his own admission earned less than $z,ooo in his lifetime "by the sweat of my brow," aside from the returns of homosexual prostitution. )
5. LOW SCORERS
None of the low-scoring interviewees obtained a low PEC score, and all of them displayed rather conservative attitudes when interviewed. Art and Jim are less conservative than Dick and Don. The latter two conceive themselves as ambitious young entrepreneurs in an expanding economy-a fact which definitely affects their politico-economic views. These individual differences will be somewhat neglected, however, in favor of what the four men show in common. Their present orientation is by and large conservative, although they seem to be less power-oriented than the high scorers and more willing to reconcile conservatism with democratic values. They ap- pear to share the traditional belief in an expanding capitalist economy, con- ceived as largely self-governing and as "individualistic" rather than monop- oly-dominated. They show some willingness to carry out "free enterprise" principles by controlling or nationalizing monopolies that destroy "economic freedom. "
Typical is Jim's view that "I'd much rather see private industry control things than the government," but "in big organizations, monopolies . . . I think (the government) should control them. " Dick expresses the same idea: "If a business gets out of hand, (government) should take it over. But if the business is run okay, they should keep hands off. "
These men's conservatism poses a dilemma for their democratic values.
? CRIMINALITY AND ANTIDEMOCRA TIC TRENDS
Faced with the conflict between business and labor, they are caught between their inclination to identify with labor and their conservative fear of resisting status quo power. This leads to the same gesture of impartiality which appeared in Art's views on "the Negro problem. " Art says, "I don't like to divide people into classes. " What he seems to mean is that he is reluctant to "see" existing conflicts between business and labor. For to "see" such con- flicts exerts an implicit pressure to take sides; specifically, for a democrat such as Art, on the side of the underdog. But this arouses his anxiety about carry- ing through democratic resistance against established power. He protects himself from such anxiety by trying to deny the existence of economic power conflicts. This denial can only mean implicit support of the status quo and consequent resentment of what he perceives as "troublemakers" who stir up his anxiety by resisting the status quo.
Thus he objects to the C. I. O. Political Action Committee because "I don't believe they should . . . set themselves off as a class. " About the then current 30 per cent wage increase demands he declares: "Whether they are right or wrong is unim- portant. The important thing is that they are grouping together. " But Art is made uneasy by the fact that "grouping together" involves resisting powerful employers, and concludes: "As far as these demands, or uncalled-for strikes, they have set back their own cause. " . . . Don is also upset by the then current strikes, which "should be settled as quickly as possible, one way or the other. " (Italics supplied. ) By thus opposing conflict as such and ignoring issues, Don tries hard to maintain an appear- ance of impartiality; he pictures both employers and employees as giants and as equals. "I believe both labor and business sort of ignore the little fellow. " More generally, "I am against special interests and pressure groups. " But the illogicality of this position combines with the difficulty of avoiding sides, to push him into attacking labor and implicitly supporting the employers: "I am sort of bitter about this strike business. . . . I feel labor should have more responsibility. " . . . Dick becomes even more conservative in his fear of "agitation": "I admire unions, but they shouldn't agitate. . . . They shouldn't try to get more money, but should help people more (by trying) to keep prices down. " Of the then current strikes, he decides that the employers should pay the wage demands if they can, but hints that they probably cannot "afford to. " . . . Jim's views seem to express a kind of transition stage. Fundamentally conservative in his laissez-faire orientation, he is nonetheless concerned that "politics are not really controlled by the people. " More- over, his conception of an ideal society reflects a tendency to identify with the economic needs of all people: "An ideal society would provide employ- ment for all able-bodied citizens, and it would also take care of all those that weren't able to work, as well as the aged, and it would give every family a home and a car and a salary in sufficient quantities so that they might enjoy the privileges that we are aware of. " Yet, despite his recognition that "the majority of the people do come under . . . labor," he is made a little uneasy by the militancy of some C. I. O. unions: "The A. F. of L. , I'm in favor of it very much. The C. I. O. , formerly I wasn't in favor of it, but as time goes on, the people seem to accept it more and more. . . . The (C. I. O. ) unions in the beginning used pretty high-handed methods. " His final conclusion hints at an inner struggle to accept C. I. O. resistance to established power:
"But perhaps the end will justify the means. "
The above examples indicate that these men suffer from inner conflicts in
? THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
relation to authority and power, which are similar to the power conflicts of the high scorers. Their difference from the high scorers seems to be mainly a matter of degree. The democratic identifications of the low scorers are stronger. Their ability to resist authoritarian power is somewhat greater, and aggressiveness toward unjust authority seems closer to conscious acceptance. Their relative freedom from ethnocentrism renders them less susceptible to fascist pressures.
D. MORALS AND RELIGION
1. GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRE STATISTICS: THE F SCALE
Since questionnaire results on some of the F-scale items, as well as corre- sponding interview material, are introduced in this section, it may be helpful at this point to present the general statistical findings for the F scale. Item means and D. P. 's are given in Table 4 (XXI). The over-all group mean per person per item for the F scale is 4? 73, the highest mean obtained for any group studied. This provides further support for the implications drawn from the E-scale results, viz. , that the types of criminals most frequently found in a state prison are antidemocratically repressive toward themselves as well as others. Moreover, there are no extremely low scorers and only a handful of moderately low scorers: The low quartile range of F scores, in terms of mean per person per item scores, extends from 2. 0 to 4. 1, with a mean of 3? 7? This suggests that nearly all forms of criminal behavior tend to be incom- patible with the kind of liberalism reflected in very low scores on the F scale.
The F-scale reliability coefficient of . 87 is satisfactory. That it is consid- erably higher than the E-scale reliability of . 65 may be attributed in good part to the fact that the F scale is three times as long, so that factors like attenuation of the lower end of the distribution affect the reliability much less.
The E-F correlation is ? 59, somewhat lower than that obtained for other groups. This might be interpreted as due mainly to the factors responsible for the inadequate E-scale reliability, discussed in Section B of this chapter. Similarly, the very low F-PEC correlation of . 2 3 might be attributed mainly to the factors discussed in Section C, regarded as impairing the validity of the PEC scale for the Prison Group.
2. HIGH SCORERS
In discussing the prejudiced inmates' moral-religious ideology, attention is centered upon their moral repressiveness toward themselves and others. Discussed more briefly are feelings of distrust-victimization toward people, and submissiveness to religious authority.
It has been indicated above how these men's ideology is distorted by con- ceiving broad social processes in narrow, personalized terms. By contrast,
? CRIMINALITY AND ANTIDEMOCRA TIC TRENDS
as the rest of this chapter attempts to show, they tend to impersonalize rela- tionships which a healthy person might be expected to personalize, namely, personal relationships with other individuals and with themselves. In fact, it has been repeatedly indicated in this book that the failure to become solidly identified with other people and with one's real self is the basic cause of receptiveness to authoritarian ideology. Such ideology, instead of being an objective appraisal of social reality, tends to resemble a fantasy world in which unconscious impulses and fears are projected in personified form.
The tendency to impersonalize human relations takes an ideologized form in anti-instinctual moralism which has two aspects: authoritarian hostility toward "moral outgroups"; and moralistic repressiveness toward much of one's own feelings and impulses. Moralism has been exemplified earlier in discussing anti-Negro ideology. Examples from the questionnaire results include items expressing moralistic condemnation of "zootsuiters" (Item 5); rejection of people with "bad manners, habits, and breeding" (Item 12); and authoritarian aggression against "sex criminals" (Item 25), "immoral, crooked, and feebleminded people" (Item 34), and homosexuals (Item 39).
(See Tables 2(XXI) and 4(XXI). For all questionnaire items referred to in the remainder of the chapter, see Table 4(XXI) unless otherwise specified. ) A related item reflects obsessive fears of contamination by "so many different kinds of people" (Item 18), who may symbolize dangers of instinctual con- tagion. All of these items are clearly discriminating except for Item 12, which yields one of the highest over-all means in the F scale. A possible inter- pretation is that Item 12 is especially calculated to appeal to the eagerness of most inmates to be accepted again by "decent people. "
Similar moralism appears in the interviews with prejudiced inmates. In some of these men, the moralism has a religious coloring.
For example, Clarence asserts a rigid dichotomy between "good Christians" and "bad non-Christians": "The Christian tries to live a Christian life, and others go out and rob and steal, drink, carouse around, do a little of everything. " When Clar- ence became a professional soldier, this meant for him living a "clean life. " Wilbur has an equally moralistic conception: Being a Christian means "not to swear, use bad words, or down the other fellow," and "to behave and do right, live a clean life.
" Wilbur regards atheists as "pretty bad people. " Robert, too, emphasizes sub- mission to extrahuman absolutes: "Christians are people that at all times strive to do what is right, and abide by God's word. "
The religious formulation is, however, incidental to the moralistic ap- proach to life. This manner of thinking appears as a general characteristic in various personality topics yet to be discussed. Here are some examples of antisexual righteousness in the prejudiced men.
Clarence moralizes that "I don't think it's a very good subject to teach" children, for "they learn it soon enough. " He speaks with approval of the fact that "when I was a kid . . . if you met a girl on the street, you'd blush. " . . . Likewise, Wilbur,
? 846
THE AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
TABLE 4 (XXI)
RESULTS ON THE F SCALE FROM THE GROUP OF PRISON INMATES
Item
High Quartile Low Quartile D. P. Over-all Mean/Person Mean/Person
1. (Obedience and respect)
2. (Will power)
4. (Science)
6. (War and conflict)
8. (Supernatural power)
9. (Cheerful things)
12. (Bad manners)
13. (Discipline and determina-
tion)
16. (Born with urge)
18. (Infection and disease)
19. (Honor)
21. (Rebellious ideas)
22. (Germany)
23. (Devoted leaders)
25. (Sex crimes)
26. (Weak and strong)
27. (Undying love)
6. 66 5. 75 6. 62 4. 93 6. 00 3. 64 6. 17 4. 82 5. 93 3. 43 5. 38 2. 79 6. 14 5. 68
6. 69 4. 50 5. 24 3. 07 6. 66 4. 64 5. 52 2. 46 6. 52 5. 39 5. 76 5. 32 5. 59 4. 57 5. 86 2. 32 6. 28 2. 64 6. 79 4. 07 5. 72 3. 25 5. 10 1. 86 6. 07 4. 21 4. 00 2. 25 4. 83 2. 64 6. 07 3. 25 6. 69 5. 36 5. 97 2. 82 5. 14 2. 21 4. 38 2. 36 6. 41 4. 11 5. 17 3. 93
0. 91 1. 69 2. 36 1. 35 2. 50 2. 59 0. 46
2. 19 2. 17 2. 02 3. 06 1. 13 0. 44 1. 02 3. 54 3. 64 2. 72 2. 47 3. 24 1. 86 1. 75 2. 19 2. 82 1. 33 3. 15 2. 93 2. 02 2. 30 1. 24 2. 75
63. 84 2. 13
6. 45 5. 81 4. 93 5. 68 4. 44 3. 92 5. 85
5. 51 4. 07 5. 68 3. 91 6. 07 5. 48 5. 45 4. 49 4. 24 5. 75 4. 69 3. 44 5. 31 3. 07 3. 37 4. 62 5. 94 4. 45 3. 45 3. 08 5. 42 4. 34 2. 95
141. 86 4. 73
2. 0-6. 8
29. (Astrology)
30. (Force to preserve)
31. (Prying)
33. (Earthquake)
34. (Immoral people)
35. (Wild sex life)
37. (Talk less)
38. (Plots)
39. (Homosexuals)
41. (Artists)
42. (No sane, normal person)
43. (Familiarity)
44. (Suffering) 4. 79 2. 04
Total mean/person 174. 15 110. 31 Mean/person/item 5. 80 3. 68 Range 5. 4-6. 8 2. 0-4. 1
Standard Deviation: . 86 Reliability; . 87
? CRIMINALITY AND ANTIDEMOCRA TIC TRENDS
asked what things annoy him? most in others, expresses concern about "doing things before little children that you shouldn't," "doing anything out of the way to a little nine-year-old girl. " . . . Ronald is alarmed by the "sexual perversion that you'll find in this country today: it's pretty bad. (Q. ) . . . fellatio . . . sodomy. " Roben's focus is somewhat less extrapunitive but reveals an equally externalizing attitude toward his own sexuality: Sometimes, he admits, "I have let myself slip, let my carnal self get away from me"; but in general he feels that he has "always lived up to" his mother's precept that "a woman is the most perfect thing in the world. "
Similar nonreligious moralism appears in nonsexual contexts.
Eugene believes that "good persons . .
