Four years of university lower authoritarianism scores across all majors

Evidence

A longitudinal study conducted between September 1982 and May 1986 confirmed all this (EOF, pp. 91-95). RWA scores were obtained from 26 liberal arts majors (excluding psychology), 32 commerce majors, and 18 nursing students who were about to graduate. All had filled out the RWA Scale when they first entered university nearly four years earlier. Lo and behold, their authoritarianism had dropped significantly over the interval in all programs, about 11% overall, with the liberal arts students dropping more than the others. Freshman High RWAs dropped more than twice as much over the years as the freshman Lows did. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 1109

Categorization

• XREF: Provides longitudinal empirical backing for the vault’s claims about education and openness reducing authoritarian predispositions; connects to how college environments shape the attitudes Cooper and Whitehead & Perry associate with Christian nationalism.