Self-esteem, authoritarianism, and democratic values in the face of threat.
This study investigated the associations among terrorist threat, right-wing authoritarianism, self-esteem, and their relations in support for democratic values. Students (n = 140) completed Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale, and the Democratic Values Scale. The participants also read an editorial regarding the events of 9/11/01 and completed two mortality-salience questions to induce a sense of threat. Results showed that self-esteem was a significant contributor to the prediction of scores on the Democratic Values Scale. Furthermore, the interaction between self-esteem and right-wing authoritarianism explained significant variance in the Democratic Values Scale scores. The results are interpreted in light of theories addressing authoritarianism and self-esteem.
Shaffer
Barbara A
BA
Department of Psychology and Social Sciences, Mount Aloysius College, Cresson, PA 16630-1999, USA.
Hastings
Brad M
BM
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001318:Authoritarianism; D003709:Democracy; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012649:Self Concept; D047851:September 11 Terrorist Attacks / Q000523:psychology*; D012925:Social Conformity; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D023481:Terrorism / Q000523:psychology*