Can Authoritarianism Lead to Greater Liking of Out-Groups? The Intriguing Case of Singapore

• Main Authors: ROETS, Arne, AU, Evelyn W. M., Van Hiel, Alain
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Personality and Social Contexts; Psychology; Social Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/1954; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/3211/viewcontent/AuthoritarianismLeadtoGreaterLikingSingapore_2015.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Authoritarianism refers to the individual’s willingness to submit to authorities that are perceived as established and legitimate and to conform to social norms and traditions endorsed by society at large, as well as a general aggressiveness toward groups that deviate from the modal norm (Altemeyer, 1981). Since the publication of The Authoritarian Personality, the seminal work by Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford (1950), numerous empirical studies have consistently demonstrated the seemingly inextricable link between authoritarianism and negative attitudes about out-groups (for a meta-analysis, see Sibley & Duckitt, 2008). Indeed, in the authoritarian mind, minorities are readily perceived as “bad, disruptive, immoral, and deviant” people who do not fit into society (Duckitt, 2001, p. 85).