The 1930s German worker study sampled 584 people across five political groupings.

Evidence

To begin with, a survey of the personal, social, economic and political composition of the sample was given (584 questionnaires were available). With regard to the occupational status of the subjects, the sample was divided into skilled workers, unskilled workers, white-collar workers and others; further differentiation was dispensed with, as it would have led to groupings which were too small. With regard to political orientation the sample was divided into Communists, left-wing socialists (within the Social Democratic Party), Social Democrats, middle-class and centre parties, Nazis (this was the smallest group, with only seventeen persons), and non-voters; within the two largest groups, the Communists (150) and the Social Democrats (262), further distinction was made between officials, voters and undecided. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 702

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader empirical methodology of the Frankfurt School’s authoritarian personality research program, especially the later ‘Authoritarian Personality’ study.