The same authoritarian traits can enable both atrocity and heroic resistance depending on context.

Evidence

By attending carefully to the subtleties rather than to the stereotypes of authoritarianism, it is possible to view the authoritarian personality in ways that point to interesting and testable hypotheses about individuals’ capacities for both awful and awe-inspiring deeds, and to the contextual triggers that turn those capacities into realities. The two facets of authoritarianism that we have elaborated upon represent only a small portion of the possibilities. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 527

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s bridge interest: the trait’s expression is context-triggered, so the same disposition could fuel either scapegoating or rescue. — connects to: The same authoritarian traits that made perpetrators collaborate also marked some resisters. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 481; An underlying authoritarian personality can attach to either political extreme depending on power. — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2834
• DEFINE: Frames authoritarianism as a bundle of subtle facets, not a single stereotype, which matters for locating how competence-threat fits into the model.

Broader Connections

• An underlying authoritarian personality can attach to either political extreme depending on power. #expands (0.85) — Bob Altemeyer, The Authoritarian Specter, 2834