ETHNIC DIFFERENCES IN AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY.

AUTHORITARIANISM; PERSONALITY; CULTURE; RACIAL differences; AFRICAN Americans; SOCIAL groups; SUBCULTURES; SOCIAL systems

The article measures antidemocratic characteristics of individuals and groups at the level of personality. The present study differs from others which have been made with the F scale in subcultures in one important respect, it attempts to measure ethnic variations in authoritarian personality trends in the subculture of the South. This assumption developed out of a first-hand knowledge of the South's biracial social system and a familiarity with its heritage and traditions. A primary purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the southern subculture would produce differences in white and Negro groups. The two color subgroups were not matched in terms of socio-economic status or social class identification. Mean scores were computed for each individual on all items in the F scale and for color and sex subgroups. It was concluded that the difference in mean scores of the color subgroups of this sample reflected true differences in the degree of antidemocratic potential present in the personalities of the subgroup members.