My oldest son Richard is 63 in semi-retirement and has returned to school to work on a degree in Counseling Psychology. He has received grades of A+ in all his courses, not surprising to those who know him. One of his latest term papers offers some insight and enlightenment to these Covid/Trump flavored times of our country. Here it is. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Authoritarianism and Individualism in the Age of Trump

Richard McFarland
College of the Siskiyous
Psychology 1003
Dr. Andrea Craddock, PhD
Dec 17, 2020
 
Authoritarianism and Individualism in the Age of Trump

Americans are well known for their “rugged individualism”, their staunch devotion to personal freedom and the values of “…life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The freedom of the individual to speak out, the freedom of the individual to self-express, and the freedom of the individual to make his or her own choices in pursuit of happiness and a better life are all intricately tied to American’s sense of national identity and values. Individual rights, the pursuit of self interest and self-determination are all qualities of individualism and would seem to be at odds with authoritarianism, which is characterized by conformity, compliance with norms, and submission and obedience to authority. (Kemmelmeier et al., 2003) America today, under Donald Trump, is a highly polarized and divided nation. At first glance, it would seem that the followers of Trump would fall into the camp of the freedom loving, “don’t tread on me”, individualists. However, a deeper look at the underlying psychology of authoritarianism and the authoritarian personality indicates that Trumpism is a fundamentally authoritarian phenomenon and is, in fact, antithetical to traditional, individualistic American values.

The authoritarian personality has been the subject of extensive study and research. In a 1950 study Adorno, et al identified the authoritarian personality as a “syndrome, a…structure in the person that renders him receptive to antidemocratic propaganda.” They determined that it consisted of nine sub-syndromes: conventionalism, authoritarian submission, authoritarian aggression, anti-intraception, superstition and stereotypy, power and toughness, destructiveness and cynicism, projectivity, and concern with sex.” (Baars & Scheepers, 1993 p. 345) Another pioneering researcher into the authoritarian personality was German social psychologist Eric Fromm (1900-1980). As a German Jew who fled the Nazis, he had more than just an academic interest in the topic. He described those with authoritarian personalities as having “…a strong emotional drive to submit to strong leaders whom they admired as symbols of power and toughness…” (Baars & Scheepers, 1993 p. 346), and as having “…aggression toward those primarily deviant or weaker groups, who were not inclined to submit to authorities…”(Baars & Scheepers, 1993 p. 346). He also noted that these individuals are prone to “ethnocentrism”, which he described as “…based on a pervasive and rigid ingroup-outgroup distinction; it involves stereotyped positive imagery and submissive attitudes regarding ingroups, and a hierarchical authoritarian view of group interaction in which ingroups are rightly dominant, outgroups subordinate” (Baars & Scheepers, 1993 p. 349) He identified two sub-types of the authoritarian personality, those who want to control, rule or restrain others, and those who tend to submit and obey. What they have in common, however, is the essence of the authoritarian personality: “the inability to rely on ones self, to be independent, to put in other words: to endure freedom.” (Fromm, 1957 p. 3-4)

In a more recent series of longitudinal studies published in 2016, Peterson, et al listed the following traits and/or behaviors as components of the authoritarian personality. Aggression: a tendency to “condemn, reject and punish” out-group members” coupled with a “submissive, uncritical attitude toward idealized moral authorities”. Anti-intraception: a dislike of introspection and a tendency to “…devalue the subjective, the imaginative and the tender minded”. They are conventional, destructive and cynical, intolerant of ambiguity and tend to think in “rigid categories” identify with “power figures”, assert an exaggerated strength and toughness and to view the world as a dangerous and wild place. (Peterson, Pratt, Olsen & Alisat, 2016)

To summarize, there are two aspects of the authoritarian personality: fundamentally, leaders and followers. It is a given that the followers far outnumber the leaders. The primary characteristics of the authoritarian personality include, conformity, in-group bias, aggression, intolerance, lack of introspection, ethnocentricity, submission to authority, and a tendency to punish those who they view as different or non-conforming. It is easy to see how the more dominant and charismatic leader types can easily play a role that satisfies the desire of the follower types for a strong and dominant leader. Strongman dictators had always risen to power on the popularity engendered by the dynamics of significant segments of a population that exhibit authoritarian personality traits and behaviors.

In 2016, Donald J. Trump narrowly won the election for President of the USA. Though he lost the popular vote by about 2 million votes, he carried the Electoral College by a fairly wide margin. His campaign messaging was tailor-made to appeal to the authoritarian personality. His narratives created an in-group (his supporters and anyone who wanted to “make America great again”) and an out-group (everyone else including democrats, liberals, immigrants, Muslims and foreigners). He promised to, literally, build a wall to keep his supporters safe and protected from those whom he cast as dangerous and threatening. He cast himself as an aggressive, intolerant strongman with almost superhuman powers with which he would protect and save his followers and punish his detractors. Without actually naming it, he created a conformist, in-group base of supporters, who were predominantly white, Christian, and working class. And they support him to this day, even though he clearly lost the 2020 election, with an almost cult like, evangelical fervor.

There are not studies or statistics to support this, but it seems likely that the demographic of authoritarian Trump supporters, would self-score high on personality traits such as individuality, self-expression, strong will, and independence. They would be likely to espouse traditional American values such as personal liberty, representative democracy (government by, of and for the people), and self-determination. They would be unlikely to label themselves as conformist or submissive to authority.

The current Covid-19 pandemic has brought this phenomenon into sharp focus. The almost cult-like devotees of Trump refuse to wear masks, social distance or follow other common sense public health guidance. They consider such concessions to common sense and public health as infringements on their personal liberties, as government overreach. His supporters have also gone so far, in their aggressive resistance to “lockdowns”, as to show up in state capitals toting assault rifles and decked out in military clothing and hardware. They would be the first to say that they are the opposite of conformist, submissive to authority or anything other than free thinking individuals exercising their god given, second amendment rights.

These people are buying into narratives of conformity with the values espoused by their in-group, and responding with ethnocentric aggression towards those who are not conforming with their values, the out-group. At the same time they are submitting, whether they are willing to admit it or not, to the megalomaniacal will of Donald J. Trump. This is a socio-political scenario with all of the hallmarks of authoritarianism. A significant percentage of the population has fallen into a myopic, authoritarian version of reality that is at odds with both the facts, as well as the perspectives of somewhat more than half of the population.

It seems that the likelihood of America transitioning into a Trump led version of a fascist autocracy has been narrowly averted by the election of 2020. But the polarization between the authoritarian cult of Donald Trump and the rest of the nation has never been more stark and deep. It remains to be seen how, and even if, there can be a return to the actual American values of inclusiveness, equal opportunity, liberty and justice for all and the rule of law.

References

Baars, J., Scheepers, P., (1993, October) Theoretical and methodological foundations of the authoritarian personality. Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 29(345- 353).
Fromm, E., (1957) The authoritarian personality, Deutche Universitatszeitung, Band 12 (No. 9) https://www.marxists.org/archive/fromm/works/1957/authoritarian.htm (accessed November 24, 2020)
Kemmelmeier, M., Burnstein, E., Krumov, K., Genkova, P., Kanagawa, C., Hirshberg, M., …Noels, K. (2003, May) Individualism, collectivism and authoritarianism in seven societies. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, Vol. 34 (No 3) (304-321). doi: 10.1177/0022022103253183
Peterson, B.E., Pratt, M.W., Olsen, J.R., Alisat, S. (2016, 2. April) The authoritarian personality in emerging adulthood: longitudinal analysis using standardized scales, observer ratings, and content coding of the life story. Journal of Personality Vol. 84 (225-236), doi: 10.111/jopy.12154