Authoritarian threat perception is socially learned rather than rooted in weak ego

Evidence

Overall, subsequent research supports Allport’s view that threat, fear, and insecurity seem to be at the core of authoritarianism, but contradicts his view that this fearfulness and threat orientation stem from a “weak ego” or dispositional maladjustment and insecurity. Instead, the findings seem consistent with Altemeyer’s proposal that the insecurity, fear, and threat orientation of authoritarian persons are socially learned and specific to their perceptions of others and the social world. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2456

Categorization

• XREF: Challenges the Adorno authoritarian personality tradition; aligns with the theory of motivated social cognition where ideology is a defense against perceived threat, not internal neurosis. — connects to: Dominance psychology is older than prestige and runs on fear-based coercion — Joseph Henrich, The Secret of Our Success: How Culture…, 396