Measuring authoritarianism with different sets of items in a longitudinal study

Abstract

Authoritarianism is a form of social behavior characterized by strict obedience to the authority of a state or organization and adherence to enforcing and maintaining control through the use of oppressive measures. It refers to a complex of nine subsyndromes (Adorno, Frenkel-Brunswik, Levinson, and Sanford, 1950), of which conventionalism (strict adherence to conventional values), aggression and submission are the most important (Meloen, 1991). The subsyndromes explain why authoritarian people tend to look down on (contraidentify) and discriminate social or ethnic groups that are 'different'. Authoritarianism is part of a broader cluster of cultural conservative attitudes, especially vivid within the lower social classes (Meloen and Middendorp, 1985; De Witte, 1990). Scheepers, Felling, and Peters (1992) argue that a sociological explanation for an authoritarian attitude lies within the need for compensation for political powerlessness, caused by unfavorable social circumstances.