Allport uniquely linked authoritarian prejudice to rigid dichotomous thinking

Evidence

However, Allport and Adorno et al.’s accounts differed in several important respects. Adorno et al. placed greater emphasis on punitive early socialization, inner conflict, and defense. For Adorno et al. it was the young child’s repression of anger towards punitive parental authority, identification with this authority, and consequent displacement of this hostility outward that accounted for the authoritarian’s generalized prejudice. Adorno et al. also listed a set of surface traits of their authoritarian personality, many of them similar to Allport’s, even if labeled differently. The main difference was that Allport’s authoritarian traits included two that described restricted, limited cognitive styles – dichotomization (tendency to categorize the world into rigid, simplistic dichotomies) and a need for definiteness, structure, and intolerance of ambiguity – that did not have direct parallels in Adorno et al.’s list. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2438

However, Allport and Adorno et al.’s accounts differed in several important respects. Adorno et al. placed greater emphasis on punitive early socialization, inner conflict, and defense. For Adorno et al. it was the young child’s repression of anger towards punitive parental authority, identification with this authority, and consequent displacement of this hostility outward that accounted for the authoritarian’s generalized prejudice. Adorno et al. also listed a set of surface traits of their authoritarian personality, many of them similar to Allport’s, even if labeled differently. The main difference was that Allport’s authoritarian traits included two that described restricted, limited cognitive styles – dichotomization (tendency to categorize the world into rigid, simplistic dichotomies) and a need for definiteness, structure, and intolerance of ambiguity – that did not have direct parallels in Adorno et al.’s list. — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2438

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the two cognitive-style traits distinguishing Allport’s authoritarian personality: dichotomization and intolerance of ambiguity.
• XREF: Resonates with modern work on cognitive rigidity and political ideology, and with dual-process models of prejudice.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2438; , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 2438