Authoritarian punitiveness targets low-status offenders and spares authority figures.

Evidence

Other studies help us make sense of these seemingly contradictory findings regarding the status of criminals. RWA scores correlated negatively with the sentences imposed upon a police officer who beat an “uppity” protestor (RWA, pp. 197-199). They also correlated negatively with punishment of a U.S. Air Force officer convicted of murder. The case paralleled the My Lai massacre; the officer had led unauthorized bombing raids against Vietnamese villages suspected of supporting the enemy (RWA, p. 233). Similarly, High RWA American students did mot want to punish Richard Nixon after he resigned (RWA, pp. 226-227). Finally, High RWAs showed another pronounced double standard in the sentencing of pro-gay versus anti-gay activists (EOF, pp. 112-114). If an anti-gay leader led an attack on a group of gay demonstrators, High RWAs tended to be lenient. But if it were the other way around, they became significantly more punitive. (Again, Lows punished the two assailants equally.) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 303 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Sanford and his colleagues limited authoritarian aggression to attacks on people who violate conventional values (p. 228). Therefore, shocking the Learner in Milgram’s experiment would not constitute authoritarian aggression. Neither would attacks on women. By contrast, the model of right-wing authoritarianism presented at the beginning of this chapter acknowledges that the victims can be anyone—as indeed they can. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 607 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Authoritarians punish lower-status offenders far more harshly than higher-status ones.; High authoritarian punitiveness targets low-status offenders, not authority figures or in-group allies — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 303; Authoritarian aggression typically targets the helpless and is legitimized by higher authority — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 3875 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• High authoritarian punitiveness targets low-status offenders, not authority figures or in-group allies #corroborates (0.97) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 303
• Authoritarian aggression targets anyone threatening authority, not only norm violators #complicates (0.82) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 607