Authoritarians differ from others only in degree of shared human weaknesses
Evidence
Let me summarize this chapter with the observation that right-wing authoritarians have not caught some mysterious disease from outer space that affects their cognitive processes but leaves the rest of humanity untouched. They are not “them” while the rest of the world is “‘us.” Instead, I think they have just gotten an extra helping of some very common human weaknesses. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1442
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Resonates with findings that everyone commits the Fundamental Attribution Error and self-serving bias — authoritarian cognition is a quantitative intensification of normal cognition, not a separate disease. Connects to Arendt’s banality of evil ideas.
Related
- Authoritarians differ only in degree, not kind, from ordinary cognitive fallibility (similarity 0.93)
- Left and right authoritarians share one underlying personality structure (similarity 0.85)
- Even low authoritarians share belief in pseudo-science and motivated reasoning (similarity 0.85)
- Authoritarians on opposing sides are socialized to hate each other despite shared psychology (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians fail to challenge their own contradictory reasoning (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians show no deficit in self-esteem or general adjustment (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians adopt their authorities’ enemies rather than reasoning independently. (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians perceive the world as far more dangerous than others do (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians endorse contradictory principles and apply double standards without noticing (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians reason in isolated compartments without perspective-taking (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians are not personally maladjusted; their fear is learned belief (similarity 0.84)
- Authoritarians lack practice in independent critical reasoning (similarity 0.83)
- Right-wing authoritarians show more hostility and dogmatism than left-wingers (similarity 0.83)
- Right-wing authoritarians should show stronger minimal group effects. (similarity 0.83)
- Authoritarians show normal self-esteem; their threat orientation is learned, not pathological (similarity 0.83)