Social Representations of a dictatorial past and current support of authoritarianism

Abstract

This study analyzed the structure of social representations of an authoritarian regime in Brazil (Military Regime, 1964-1985), the variables associated with reporting different emotions about that past, and support for authoritarian solutions in the present. A sample of 200 participants aged 18 to 85 years (M = 31.54; SD = 13.84) responded to a free word association task in which they indicated three words that came to mind about the Military Regime. A prototypical analysis showed a critical representation as the majority. However, positive representations and a mute zone effect (silence of controversial opinions) were found. Participants also answered several questions about the regime, the emotions they feel, and the support for its restoration. Regression analyses showed different variables predicting positive and negative emotions, and positive representations strongly predicting support for a current authoritarian solution.