Authoritarians match others on problem solving until ego is involved

Evidence

The prejudiced personality, which like Adorno et al. (1950) he also referred to as the “authoritarian personality,” was someone for whom prejudice was psychologically functional and a direct response to deep-rooted underlying needs in the personality. At the core of this prejudiced personality were a set of traits Allport summed up as “ego weakness” – insecurity, fearfulness, anxiety and an inability to cope effectively with one’s own inner tensions, conflicts, and anxieties, or with uncertainty, threat, change, and ambiguity in the external world. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2429 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Similarly, High RWAs do not seem to consider matters from perspectives other than their own, or mentally reverse situations. They do not appear to wonder, when they belong to the majority, “Suppose I were in the minority. How would I feel if the schools were trying to make my kid believe in some other religion?” Or, “Would I say the same thing if the Conservatives were trying the same kind of intimidation?” So their thinking seems more ad hoc, more one-compartment-at-a-time, than Lows’ thinking does. Lows in turn show more interconnectedness, consistency, and fairness. Authoritarians are not as reflective, as systematic, as careful, or as principled as they themselves want to be. But again, they likely received little training in making their own decisions and evaluating things for themselves. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1569 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Authoritarians rigidly cling to outdated rules only when ego-involved — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 586; Positive priming fails to unlock hidden self-criticism in authoritarians; Authoritarian prejudice springs from ego weakness and unresolved inner conflict — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 2429 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Authoritarian prejudice springs from ego weakness and unresolved inner conflict #complicates (0.80) — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 2429
• Authoritarians reason in isolated compartments without perspective-taking #complicates (0.76) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1569
• Authoritarians reason with measurably lower cognitive complexity than others. #complicates (0.75)