Gender, Sexuality, and the Authoritarian Personality

Abstract

The political correlates of the authoritarian personality have been well established by researchers, but important linkages to other major constructs in psychology need fuller elaboration. We present new data and review old data from our laboratories that show the myriad ways in which authoritarianism is implicated in the important domain of gender roles. We show that women and men high in authoritarianism live in rigidly gendered worlds where male and female roles are narrowly defined, attractiveness is based on traditional conceptions of masculinity and femininity, and conventional sexual mores are prescribed. As a construct, authoritarianism is not just relevant for understanding people's politics, but it also affects the most personal of domains--romantic partnerships, lifestyle goals, and basic attitudes about male and female relationships.

Shifting STEM Stereotypes? Considering the Role of Peer and Teacher Gender

“…Psychological research provides some support for this, noting a link between authoritarian viewpoints and prejudicial beliefs in general, as well as the endorsement of traditional gender roles. Specifically, those who hold strong beliefs about the importance of hierarchy and acknowledging authority are more likely to view the world in absolute terms, leading to biased views about differences between groups, and a tendency to endorse traditional gender values that articulate very different roles for men and women (Duncan, Peterson, & Winter, 1997; Peterson & Zurbriggen, 2010). Following this logic, it is plausible that boys who held strong explicit beliefs about male superiority in STEM may also be more authoritarian in their world view; thus while they might ignore the contributions of female peers in their classroom, the expertise of the teacher might be harder to discount.…”

Right–Wing Authoritarianism: Protective Factor against Or Risk Factor for Depression?

“…dangerous world beliefs; Duckitt, Wagner, du Plessis, & Birum, ; Duckitt & Sibley, ), ‘concern over sex’ (e.g. adherence to conventional sexual mores; Peterson & Zurbriggen, ) and ‘stereotypy’ or the disposition to think in rigid categories (e.g. the need for simple structure; Jugert, Cohrs, & Duckitt, ; Van Hiel, Pandelaere, & Duriez, ).…”

Autoritarismo y conciencia de muerte en estudiantes universitarios españoles

“…A su vez, Duncan, Peterson y Winter (1997) relacionaron el autoritarismo con roles de género, encontrando que altas puntuaciones en el autoritarismo se relacionaron con una identidad de género favorable a roles y actitudes tradicionales, tendencia confirmada en otros estudios (e.g., Canto, Perles, & San Martín, 2014;Etchezahar et al, 2014;Peterson & Zurbriggen, 2010;Rubinstein & Lansisky, 2013 Por otro lado, también se ha explorado la relación de otros instrumentos diseñados para la medición del autoritarismo, como la Escala "directiveness" de Ray (1976), con las actitudes sociopolíticas como en el estudio de Seoane, Arce y Sabucedo (1988). Al igual que en estudios clásicos (e.g., Shils, 1954) se sigue confirmando la tendencia de que los sujetos que se identifican con una orientación política de derechas respecto de los de izquierdas (Cárdenas & Parra, 2010) presenten mayor grado de autoritarismo, así como una alta orientación de dominancia social y moralidad conservadora (Jackson & Gaertner, 2010;Leidner, Castano, Zaizer, & GinerSorolla, 2010).…”