Personality and Politics-I Authoritarianism

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Personality and Politics-IAuthoritarianism

• Michael Milburn
• Psychology 335

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AuthoritarianismGroup Discussion Background

• What is an experiment?
• Elements
• Manipulate IV and observe effect on DV
• Random assignment to treatment conditions
• What are different kinds of IVs?
• Subject variables
• Manipulated variables
• What are different kinds of effects?
• Main effects
• Interactions
• What is an interaction?
• The effect of one variable is different for
  different levels of a second variable

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Experimental Example

• Two IVs
• Gender (M/F)
• Treatment (Insult/Praise)
• One DV self-esteem
• How many main effects?
• Twoone for each independent variable
• How many interactions?
• Oneone two-way (2x2) interaction

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The Fragile Male Ego hypothesisan interaction
is predictedmales are affected more than females
by the insult
Females Males
Self-esteem
Praise Insult Condition
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Authoritarianism Group Discussion

• What are the central elements of
  authoritarianism?
• Punitiveness
• Deference to higher authority/punitiveness to
  those lower in status (authoritarian submission
  and authoritarian aggression)

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Results

• Main effect for severity of crime
• Main effect for Authoritarianism (punitiveness)
• Authoritarianism by Status Interaction
  (authoritarian orientation toward authority)
• High authoritarians more punitive toward low
  status than high status for same crime
• Low auth more punitive toward high status than
  low status for same crime