Authoritarian personality: concept, traits, features of communication

In order to understand the meaning of the word “authoritarianism” as accurately as possible, it is easiest to cite a number of synonyms, such as: antidemocratism, totalitarianism, authoritarianism.
Authoritarianism is a style of behavior that is characterized by a strong desire to subordinate, dominate, manage and lead, making absolutely all decisions. An authoritarian person is not inclined to consult, discuss or listen to someone’s opinion; for him there is only his view of reality and his opinion, which he considers the truth.

Authoritarianism as a behavioral style can manifest itself in such areas as leadership, education and communication. However, the characteristics of behavior in all these areas differ little. At work, in the family and in the personal sphere, the authoritarian personality type is manifested in the following factors:

Increased aggressiveness, rigidity.
Tendency to coercion, threats, pressure on others (family members or subordinates).
Strict control, striving for maximum discipline.
Excessive demands.
Ignoring the psychological factor, human emotions.
Focus on results.
Uncompromising.

This behavior is common, and it has its reasons. The first lies in strict upbringing. A child growing up in a family where authoritarian upbringing reigns is likely to grow into just such a leader. Often an authoritarian leader comes from a person who grew up in a dysfunctional family or was unsuccessful at school, and all his dreams were aimed at achieving success, material well-being, and stability in life.

We recommend: What does agoraphobia mean?

Sometimes an authoritarian leadership style is the result of psychological trauma, loneliness, childhood grievances, or a desire for revenge. Often people choose the authoritarian leadership style consciously, believing that only it leads to real success and achievement of maximum results - in the family, in communication, at work.

Definition

The theory of the authoritarian personality, developed by E. Fromm, says that an authoritarian person is an adherent of a conservative view of the world and a hater of the existing system of government. Leadership weighs heavily on a person, and he considers it his duty to change the ruling elite. This does not mean that the person will run for president and change the structure of the entire country. This means that a person will make small revolutions in his social circle. For example, a person will be able to head a plant where she worked for many years as a manager. An authoritarian person experiences disappointment from life and thinks that this state is familiar to everyone around him. That is why she strives for power, to fill the void with work. The personality believes that the feeling of loneliness arises due to the presence of a large amount of free time, which most people do not know how to manage.

Definition of an authoritarian personality

An authoritarian personality is a person who strives with all his might to subordinate those around him to his influence. Synonyms for authoritarianism are totalitarianism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, and anti-democracy.

The main features of authoritarian individuals are the desire to achieve what they want at all costs and to occupy leadership positions in the group. They want to manipulate other people, achieve their own goals, using outside help.

In psychology, there is a theory of the authoritarian personality, the author of which is T. Adorno and several of his colleagues. They studied manifestations of anti-Semitism. According to scientists, people's hatred of a certain group is determined by the personal qualities of its leader.

During the research, Adorno and his group conducted a series of tests that showed the true attitude of the subjects towards Jews. The F-scale was created for this purpose. Another E-scale determined the level of ethnocentrism, a sign of which is considered anti-Semitism.

Based on the responses of 80 participants, the researchers found out what traits an authoritarian personality possesses. There are only 9 of them:

Conventionalism. In light of the research (on anti-Semitism), this refers to support for American values.
Authoritarian servility. Submission to authorities in one's own group.
Aggression. A constant search for people who have divergent views with the aim of condemnation and punishment.
Anti-intraception. Inability to accept something emotional, filled with feelings, fantasy. Denial of weakness, sentimentality.
Superstition. Belief in omens, predetermined fate.
Idealization of strength, strength thinking. An authoritarian personality builds relationships according to the type of dominance-subordination, weak-strong, leader-followers. He flaunts his strengths.
Cynicism. People who are prone to authoritarianism are hostile to everything that surrounds them.
Projectivity. A person unconsciously projects dark thoughts onto the world around him.
Excessive sexuality. The individual sometimes shows unnecessary interest in the intimate details of life.

Based on the ideas of Sigmund Freud, Adorno and his assistants argued that the main reason for the development of authoritarianism is difficult relationships with parents in childhood and improper upbringing.

Stereotypes

Everyone talks about authoritarian personalities. Not surprisingly, there are many stereotypes about them. Below are the most famous:

A person who strives for power is unfamiliar with any moral values. Such a person is low in itself, and if she wants to lead, it means she strives to elevate her ego and become a despot.
Such people are considered to have a limited mind. But if you look at historical examples, it becomes clear that people of an authoritarian character are not only smart, but also perspicacious. And it is not their own frivolity that destroys them, but unsatisfied ambitions.
Such a person always demands too much from others. This is partly true. But it should be borne in mind that, first of all, a person requires good performance from himself. A person works tirelessly and it is quite logical that a person will demand the same from others.
Discipline. An authoritative person loves when everything goes according to his plan and no circumstances interfere with the achievement of goals. Discipline helps you achieve your goals faster, as people will focus on the result rather than wasting energy on unimportant actions.

How to get rid of authoritarianism

What can be concluded? In most cases, communicating with an authoritarian person does not bring any pleasure. Those around him consider such a person a tyrant, a despot. Have you noticed manifestations of this quality in yourself? Dont be upset. The situation is easy to fix. It is enough to follow a number of tips:

If you have power, do not try to use it to harm other people. Better use it for good.
Remember, power is not your own and absolute. You also received it from someone.
Don't command or manipulate. Don't think that everyone will obey you. Don't make absolute power the meaning of life.
Learn to show wisdom, kindness, goodwill.
Give your subordinates the right to choose.
Share power. Let your employees also make decisions, fully participate in the work of the company, and show initiative.

And one more piece of advice. There is nothing wrong with listening and hearing other people's opinions. Don't think that you are the only one who comes up with brilliant ideas. You may even have something to learn from those around you.

What makes a person authoritarian?

The formation of any person occurs in childhood. It is quite logical that an authoritarian personality is a product of improper upbringing. What can cause a change in consciousness in a child and the acquisition of false values?

Anxiety. A person who is afraid of everything in the world will strive to always and everywhere take control of the situation. Most often, such feelings are generated in a child by mothers who are too protective of their child. The mother does not allow the child to do anything without asking and always intimidates the child. Anxiety is imprinted on the child’s subconscious and therefore he unconsciously strives to take control of any situation.

Lack of independence. This character trait is also the result of overprotection. If parents do not force their child to work from childhood and make all decisions themselves, then the child will grow up too arrogant and complacent. A person will disguise his inability to make decisions as confidence. The person will begin to exploit others to achieve his interests.

The habit of submission. If in childhood the father forced the child to obey his every demand, then growing up, the child can harbor resentment and pour it out on others in adulthood. A person will force those around him to dance to his tune.

Method results

Alas, the authoritarian method of education always has negative consequences, sometimes quite severe. A child who lives and grows up in fear is deprived of the joys of childhood and is unlikely to become a happy, healthy and fulfilling person in the future.

As a child, he experiences awe and fear of his parents, but by adolescence the situation changes, and fear is transformed into hatred, aggression, and withdrawal. Constant and quite strong conflicts arise, the teenager becomes uncontrollable, dreams of leaving home as soon as possible.

Often, authoritarianism in the family leads to the child becoming despotic and cruel. He takes out his pain, grievances and fears on the weaker. He can mock animals, offend children at school, and become a hooligan.

A child raised in an authoritarian regime does not know what compromises or peaceful resolution of conflicts are, does not know true friendship, is not inclined to love others, and does not know pity (because he did not receive this in the family). Such a child is convinced that the one who is stronger is right, he gets everything by brute force, behaves cynically, rudely and cruelly.

Another scenario is the development of a weak personality. The child does not have his own desires, does not feel the right to get what he wants, he is lacking initiative and only knows how to follow orders. This person is deprived of his own will, he has extremely low self-esteem and lacks self-esteem, he considers himself weaker than others. Of course, such a person will not be able to achieve real development, success and prosperity in life.

Character traits

To make it easier to identify such a person among your friends, you should understand who he is, an authoritarian person. What character traits does the person have, what are her preferences and value system:

Conservatism. A person does not like something new, and will make his small revolutions based on long-proven methods. Innovation scares people because new technologies seem unreliable and untested. Confidence in technology and methods of action are very important for such a person.
Servility. Another feature of authoritarianism is the leader’s desire to enslave the consciousness of his subordinates. For his “subjects,” an authoritarian person wants to be almost a god, well, at least an idol.
Cult of power. A person believes that everything in the world can be achieved through coercion. But this does not mean that he will use his fists to achieve his goals. A person will stop at nothing to make his desires come true.
Cynicism. A person who is an authoritarian person will treat everyone around him with contempt. And since contempt on the face is not the best mask, the person will mask his true emotions under cynicism and sarcasm.

In business

Most often, authoritarianism manifests itself precisely as a type of management. Such a leader is characterized by rigidity, the desire for absolute discipline, absolute control. Authoritarian leadership does not involve discussing problems with the team, collective decision-making, voting, brainstorming, listening to other people's ideas or, especially, advice. Such a leader makes decisions exclusively on his own, based on his personal judgments, he has a clear set of ideas and opinions, and he is not inclined to flexibility.

An authoritarian leader takes all decisions upon himself, without giving his subordinates the opportunity to speak out or prove themselves. Working conditions, methods and laws are dictated solely by the manager, and this is not discussed.

Severe pressure and coercion are often used; the leader is not inclined to make concessions; there are no force majeure or family circumstances for him. He is not interested in the personal problems of his subordinates, and an employee who is late for work for a serious personal reason (for example, due to the illness of a loved one) will be punished without the opportunity to explain the reason.

We recommend: What is irritation?

This type of leadership has its pros and cons. Moreover, there are quite a lot of advantages, and a conscious leader, competently applying an authoritarian management style at the right stage, will be able to achieve excellent results.

This type of management can be successfully used at the initial stage, when the team (enterprise, firm) is just being formed. With the help of this leadership style, it is possible to formulate clear goals for employees, give them an understanding of the structure and form of work, its style, outline the scope of work responsibilities, and establish discipline.

At the initial stage, this leadership style will help the boss to form and establish his own authority, strengthen it, demonstrate his leadership qualities, and demonstrate the ability to achieve goals. This type of leadership is good in terms of discipline; it really helps to achieve goals, beat competitors, and develop rapidly.

The disadvantages of authoritarian management may not be obvious to the leader who prefers this style, but they are obvious to others. The lack of opportunity to express themselves and introduce their ideas completely destroys the initiative of employees, and a tense psycho-emotional atmosphere leads to apathy and reluctance of team members to work and achieve goals.

We recommend: How to learn to be calm?

This leads to “stagnation”, a lack of new ideas and methods, and staff turnover. Workers under such management become secretive, passive, they ingratiate themselves and hide shortcomings in their work, do not strive to do it at the proper level, but, fearing the wrath of their superiors, carefully cover up shortcomings. Of course, this leads to an inevitable decline in the quality of the team’s work.

Family

An authoritarian person is a person who received the wrong upbringing. The parents neglected to look after the child and therefore he began to develop various phobias and strange preferences that contradict normal social principles. Which families contribute to the development of an authoritarian personality? A family with one parent, a family in which the father drinks and a family that is overprotective of the child. It is the extremes that create an unhealthy child. A person should grow up in an atmosphere of love and tenderness from childhood. If he doesn't receive enough attention from his parents, he will grow up embittered and hate everyone. If the mother fussed too much over the child, she will be able to raise a selfish creature who will manipulate others without a twinge of conscience. Therefore, it is the parents who are entrusted with the task of properly developing their child. There is no need to blame your mistakes on bad teachers or the bad influence of the street. A good family will never raise an antisocial type.

A difficult situation

What does an authoritarian person mean? This is a person whose main goal will be the desire for power. A person will passionately desire to dominate everywhere: in the family, at work, among friends. What influences a person’s desire to lead others? The difficult political or economic situation in which a child’s consciousness is formed leaves an imprint on the life of an adult. If the child understood from childhood that leaders were not coping with their tasks, then he began to think that his task was to normalize the situation in the country and achieve a better life for everyone. Despite all his desire to lead, a person always has good intentions. He doesn't want power for power's sake. He wants to benefit the world and help all those who suffer.

Education

The authoritarian type of person protests against some rules and standards. He is not against learning, but he is only interested in knowledge and skills that can be useful in the future. Most often, such individuals choose technical rather than humanitarian professions. An authoritarian person tries to improve his vision of the world, but he is limited by the ability to see from only one point of view. He cannot put himself in the position of other people. Therefore, exact sciences are better for people. Such a person receives knowledge with pleasure and never refuses to take any courses. A person continues his studies even after graduating from an educational institution. After all, to be a good and competent specialist in any field, you need to constantly improve yourself.

Two types of authority by Erich Fromm

Rational authority is trust in a person's competence in something. For example, the electrician’s opinion about our wiring is authoritative for us - based on the fact that he is a professional in this matter, and we are not. If he did the wiring poorly, we will doubt his competence and look for someone else. Consequently, the authority of an electrician concerns only his professional field and is very relative.

We ourselves, and no one else, decide whether to trust the competence of an electrician, and we base this on our own considerations and assessment of the quality of his work. And in our eyes, he constantly needs to confirm his competence. We constantly encounter rational authority and it helps us live - not everyone understands everything? This type of authority is not spoken of breathlessly, and is rarely even called authority. Usually they say: “I respect his experience, I trust him as a specialist.” We can say that rational authority is trust in experience.

Irrational authority is a different matter . It does not depend on anything except the position occupied by a person. As in the famous joke: “1. The boss is always right. 2. If the boss is wrong, see point 1.” In this type of relationship there is no trace of trust, but success is replaced by fear - from the fear of the dissatisfaction of the most authoritative person, to the vague fear of “ruining your karma” by violating some higher laws. It is the second thing that is reflected in the reverence with which they speak about the shrine of authority. I can’t resist, I’ll quote:

Rational authority not only admits, but requires constant scrutiny and criticism on the part of those who recognize it; it is always temporary, its recognition depends on its effectiveness. The source of irrational authority , on the contrary, is always power over people. This power can be physical or mental, it can be real or conditional, generated only by the anxiety and helplessness of the person who has fallen under the influence of this authority.
Power, on the one hand, fear, on the other, always serves as a support for irrational authority. Such an authority not only does not need criticism, but also prohibits it. Rational authority is based on equality between the authority and the subject, who differ only in the level of knowledge and skill in a particular area. Irrational authority, by its very nature, is built on inequality, which presupposes a difference in value.

So I cited a quote and thought: what is quoting if not an appeal to authority? What kind of authority is implied here? It may be different. Personally, I am rational here - I trust the experience and mind of this psychologist-philosopher and agree with his opinion on this issue, because it confirms my own thoughts. On some other issues I would argue with him...

But there is also an appeal to authority that is completely irrational: “The great guru N said this and that, and we turn off our brains and bow to his saying, accepting it unconditionally as a dogma.” By the way, such dogmatism is not welcomed in science, and all its development occurs due to the scientist’s doubts in the opinions of his predecessors. But it is welcomed in totalitarian-type sects. So we have two types of authority. One, rational, is based on trust in competence, and the other, irrational, is based on the position of an authoritative person and is directly related to relations of power and subordination.

Profession

Profession, like education, leaves its mark on a person. A person who works in law enforcement agencies is more prone to authoritarianism. But a person who is engaged in philosophical activities, art or other creative activities is unlikely to develop plans to take over the world. Those who, thanks to their profession, have power over others, can use their powers for anything but noble purposes. For example, an officer has much more chances and opportunities to show his authoritarian nature compared to an ordinary soldier. And a person who has served as a subordinate under contract all his life will be servile not only at work, but also in the family. The habit of obeying, just like the habit of commanding, extends throughout a person’s life.

Authoritarianism is...

An authoritarian regime (Latin Fuctoritas “influence, power”) is one of the types of political regimes in which the highest state power is concentrated within one ruler or a narrow group of the political elite. Often combined with autocracy, dictatorship of the individual and oligarchy.

In general terms, it is considered as a rule that is rigid in style , the basis of which is forceful methods used to regulate social processes.

This creates conditions for a sharp increase in the role of the security apparatus - the armed forces, police, intelligence, prosecutor's office (what kind of structure is this?).

As a result, many democratic institutions are completely excluded or are of an openly formal nature.

Authoritarianism does not require citizens to demonstrate maximum devotion, but at the same time excludes any unveiled opposition to power.

Communication

The authoritarian communication style stands out from the rest:

The person will talk to you as if you owe him something. He will deliberately belittle your dignity and put moral pressure on you in order to elevate his status. If you do not succumb to such manipulations, the person will move on to active aggression.
Such a person will always give orders. The person will not ask the other person’s opinion. He himself will decide what his opponent needs and will be confident that he is right even when the interlocutor tries to say the opposite.
A person will stick to his opinion, even if he understands that it is fundamentally wrong. He is unlikely to be able to admit that he was wrong and accept his defeat.

Good or bad

Authoritarian behavior can only be condemned when the person has bad intentions. He will strive for his main goal, which will be to improve this world. The followers of an intelligent authoritarian person will be freedom-loving and adequate people. They will not blindly obey their idol. Their obedience will be justified. A leader will help his followers become better people and also show them the path to follow to avoid pitfalls.

But the situation changes when an authoritarian personality with psychological problems comes to power. In this case, the dictator will do what he wants. Such a person will not give anyone an account of his actions. But the individual will demand blind and instant submission from his subordinates.

Totalitarianism is a natural habitat

The most acceptable system of state power for the full disclosure of an authoritarian personality is totalitarianism, which is characterized by complete state control over all spheres of human life and society as a whole. If we consider the basic principles of this type of state organization, we can clearly trace their direct correlation with the signs of an authoritarian personality:

monopolization of all state power in the hands of one person or political group;
mono-ideological direction, claiming universality and infallibility: communism, building a new society;
forced general mobilization of the population to achieve the set goal;
mass propaganda, violence and suppression;

abolition of civil rights and freedoms;
suppression of traditional social institutions.

Here are a few main signs of a totalitarian regime, which in itself may be a product of the manifestation and self-affirmation of an authoritarian personality in the world.

Person's reputation

How is an authoritarian personality type perceived by others? People are afraid of tyrants. Subservience and respect are more like fear. An authoritarian personality is quite happy with such a situation. She has no close friends, and therefore a person enjoys the respect emanating from his retinue. In wide circles the person is always known. She has a reputation as a good specialist and a good leader. Nothing bad can be said about a person. But sometimes it’s simply impossible to work with him. The personality tries to remake all subordinates to his standards, which from the outside may seem wild.

Test

Are you into socionics? You will like this personality type test. By answering the questions, you can understand how your worldview is similar or divergent from authoritarian people. You need to answer yes or no. Below are some questions from the F-scale test:

Should children be taught respect and obedience before anything else?
Can a person without good manners exist normally in polite society?
Will a person achieve success only when he works hard?
Are industrialists, managers and salespeople more important than artists and writers?
Our universe is unknowable, and man will never be able to comprehend all its secrets.
Is man a toy in the hands of supernatural power?
Will a liberal person become a conservative with age?
Are laws not as important to the state as a smart leader who will show people the path to happiness?

Do you believe in socionics? The personality type test should show you how much authoritarianism is developed in your soul. If you answered yes to most of the questions, then this means that at heart you are a born dictator.

Authoritarianism in everyday life

You can approach the consideration of authoritarianism from the point of view of everyday, everyday life. Authoritarianism in itself is not something good or bad. In life you can meet many managers or leaders who effectively realize themselves in society, although they show many signs of authoritarianism.

A separate topic is the manifestation of authoritarianism in women. As a rule, this is very clearly manifested in the process of raising children.

Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: Pexels

Everyone is familiar with the situation when a mother forbids her child something without explaining the reasons, more often simply because it is beneficial for her at the moment or out of a simple reluctance to change her views on the situation.

Without a doubt, such a parenting style will have irreparable consequences in the formation of the child’s personality. It is quite possible that this may give impetus to the development of authoritarian traits in his future behavior.