A New F (Authoritarianism) Scale
Webster‚ Sanford & Freeman‚ 1955
A. COMPULSIVENESS
1. Orderliness‚ carefulness‚ liking for routine
I always see to it that my work is carefully planned and organized.
I always like to keep ray things neat and tidy and in good order.
I find that a well ordered mode of life with regular hours is congenial to my temperament.
I like to have a place for everything and everything in its place.
I do not like to see people carelessly dressed.
It bothers me when something unexpected interrupts my daily routine.
I would rather be a steady and dependable worker than a brilliant but unstable one.
I like to plan a home study schedule and then follow it.
I prefer a man to be dressed carefully rather than casually or Carelessly.
I am very careful about my manner of dress.
2. Rigidity
Once I have my mind made up I seldom change i t .
3. Intolerance of ambiguity
I often wish people would be more definite about things.
I don’t like to undertake any project unless I have a pretty good idea as to how it will turn out.
I don’t like things to be uncertain and unpredictable.
It is annoying to listen to a lecturer who cannot seem to make up his mind as to what he really believes.
Our thinking would be a lot better off if we would just forget about words like “probably”‚ “approximately”‚ and “perhaps”.
People who seem unsure and uncertain about things make me feel uncomfortable.
Perfect balance is the essence of all good composition.
Straightforward reasoning appeals to me more than metaphors and the search for analogies.
I don’t like modern art.
B. PUNITIVE MORALITY (AUTHORITARIAN AGGRESSION)
I am in favor of a very strict enforcement of all laws‚ no matter what the consequences.
Every family owes it to the city to keep their sidewalks cleared in the winter and their lawn mowed in the summer.
I would disapprove of anyone’s drinking to the point of intoxication at a party.
I get pretty discouraged with the law when a smart lawyer gets a criminal free.
Lawbreakers are almost always caught and punished.
Every wage earner should be required to save a certain part of his income each month so that he will be able to support himself and his family in later years.
The trouble with many people is that they don’t take things seriously enough.
I set a high standard for myself‚ and I feel others should do the same.
There must be something wrong with a person who is lacking in religious feeling.
Divorce is practically never justified.
No man of character would ask his fiancee to have sexual intercourse with him before marriage.
C. AUTHORITARIAN SUBMISSION
1. Exaggerated respect for parents
One of my aims in life is to accomplish something that would make my mother proud of me.
Parents are much too easy on their children nowadays.
Children should associate more with children and less with their elders.
It is a pretty callous person who does not feel love and gratitude towards his parents.
At times I have very much wanted to leave home. *
2. Exaggerated respect for the state‚ laws‚ and prevailing moral agents
Disobedience to the government is never justified.
Army life is a good influence on most young men.
It is the duty of a citizen to support his country‚ right or wrong.
Only a fool would try to change our American way of life.
Politically I am probably something of a radical.*
Communism is the most hateful thing in the world today.
3. Identification with power
It’s a good thing to know people in the right places so you can get traffic tags‚ and such things‚ taken care of.
I would dislike being a member of a leader less group.
When I take a new job‚ I like to be tipped off on who should be gotten next to.
I like to know some important people because it makes me feel important.
D. CONVENTIONALITY
1. Self-righteous moralism
I think I am stricter about right and wrong than most people.
I always tried to make the best school grades that I could.
I never make judgments about people until I am sure of the facts.
I am known as a hard and steady worker.
I prefer men who are never profane.
I never attend a sexy show if I can avoid it.
I have been inspired to a program of life based on duty which I have since carefully followed.
It is usually a good thing to be frank.
2. Conformity
I would be uncomfortable in anything other than fairly conventional dress.
A person should adapt his ideas and his behavior to the group that happens to be with him at the time.
Before I do something I try to consider how my friends will react to it.
I would be uncomfortable if I accidentally went to a formal party in street clothes.
I dislike men who always follow the usual social conventions (manners‚ customs‚ etiquette‚ etc.). *
I like unconventional language. *
I dislike a man who is frequently blunt in his speech.
3. Preference for traditional feminine role
I would never play cards (poker) with a stranger.
Women should not be allowed to drink in cocktail bars.
I think I would like to drive a racing car. *
I would like to be a nurse.
I would like to be a journalist. *
Kindness and generosity are the most important qualities for a wife to have.
I dislike women who d i s r e g a r d the usual social or moral conventions.
I like the sweet “feminine” type of girl as my friend.
I used to like drop- the -hanker chief.
E. RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM
I feel sure that there is only one true religion.
In religious matters‚ I believe I would have to be called an agnostic. *
I believe in a life here after.
I pray several times every week.
Everything is turning out just like the prophets of the Bible said it would.
I go to church almost every week.
I believe in the second coming of Christ.
I am very religious (more than most people).
I believe there is a Devil and a Hell in after life.
F. ANTI-INTRACEFTION
1. Emotional suppression
A strong person doesn’t show his emotions and feelings.
I am fascinated by fire.*
Human passions cause most of the evil in the world.
2. Ideational suppression
When a person has a problem or worry it is best for him not to think about it.
I must admit that I have at times been worried beyond reason over something that really did not matter.
Something exciting will almost always pull me out of it when I am feeling low.
3. Anti-intellectual attitudes
I get sort of annoyed with writers who go out of their way to use strange and unusual words.
The best theory is the one that has the best practical applications.
I enjoy detective or mystery stories.
G. EGO-ALIEN SYMPTOMATOLOGY
I almost never blush. *
I wish I could be as happy as others seem to be.
I can read along while without tiring my eyes.*
When I leave home I do not worry about whether the door is locked and the windows closed.*
At times I have fits of laughing and crying that I cannot control.
I have more trouble concentrating than others seem to have.
Sometimes some unimportant thought will run through my mind and bother me for days.
I often think‚ “I wish I were a child again.”
It makes me nervous to have to wait.
H. LACK OF SELF-CONFIDENCE
Even the idea of giving a talk in public makes me afraid.
It is pretty easy for people to win arguments with me.
It is hard for me to find anything to talk about when I meet a new person.
I like to talk before groups of people.
Clever‚ sarcastic people make me feel very uncomfortable.*
I have a tendency to give up easily when I meet difficult problems.
I prefer team games to games in which one individual competes against another.
I am an important person.*
I certainly feel useless at times.
I frequently have to fight against showing that I am bashful.
I. PROJECTIVITY
1. Personal projectivity
I am bothered by people outside‚ on street cars‚ stores‚ e t c.‚ watching me.
I have often felt that strangers were looking a t me critically.
2. Impersonal projectivity
The future is too uncertain for a person to make serious plans.
I dread the thought of an earthquake.
A large number of people are guilty of bad sexual conduct.
It is better never to expect much; in that way‚ you are rarely disappointed.
J. CYNICISM
I don’t blame anyone for trying to grab all he can get in this world.
Most people will use somewhat unfair means to gain profit or an advantage rather than lose it.
Only a fool would ever vote to increase his own taxes.
Most people inwardly dislike putting themselves out to help other people.
People pretend to care more about one another than they really do.
The man who provides temptation by leaving valuable property unprotected is about as much to blame for its theft as the one who steals it.
Most people make friends because friends are likely to be useful to them.
A person does not need to worry about other people if only he looks after himself.
There will always be war as long as there are men.
I feel that It is certainly best to keep my mouth shut when I’m in trouble .
I think a great many people exaggerate their misfortunes in order to gain the sympathy and help of others.
I dream frequently about things that are best kept to myself.
I do not blame a person for t a king advantage of someone who lays him self open to it.
The average person is not able to appreciate art and music very well.
It’s no use worrying my head about public affairs; I can’t do anything about them anyhow.
If several people find themselves in trouble‚ the best thing for them to do is to agree upon a story and stick to it.
K. ROMANTICISM
In most ways the poor man i better off than the rich man.
There is something noble about poverty and suffering.
One of the marks of superior things in nature is that they develop from within rather than from without.
An invention which takes jobs away from people should be suppressed until new work can be found for them.
L. CIRCUMSCRIBED AGGRESSION
1. Overt but safe aggression
I must admit that I enjoy playing practical jokes on people.
There are certain people whom I dislike so much that I am inwardly pleased when they are catching it for something they have done.
I like to poke fun at people.
I sometimes tease animals.
2. Inhibited and trans formed aggression
Animals should not be used in experiments if it is known that they will die as a result of it.
Men who look as though they could be brutal are repelling to me.
The thought of being in an automobile accident is very frightening to me.
M. SENSE OF VICTIMIZATION
Teachers often expect too much work from the students.
I have had more than ray share of things to worry about.
I feel that I have often been punished without cause.
I have often had to take orders from someone who did not know as much as I did.
My way of doing things is apt to be misunderstood by others.
My mother or father often made me obey even when I thought that it was unreasonable.
People often disappoint me.
My parents have often disapproved of ray friends.
Police cars should be specially marked so that you can always see them coming.
Punitive morality‚ authoritarian submission‚ conventionality‚ religious fundamentalism‚ anti-intraception‚ ego-alien symptomatology‚ lack of self confidence‚ projectivity‚ cynicism‚ romanticism‚ circumscribed aggression‚ and sense of victimization.
True‚ False
* Items listed are scored as false and the remaining items are scored as true.
This instrument can be found at: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF
Adorno‚ T.W.‚ Frenkel-Brunswik‚ E.‚ Levinson‚ D. J.‚ and Sanford‚ R. N. (1950). The authoritarian personality. New York: Harper.
Webster‚ H.‚ Sanford‚ N.‚ and Freeman‚ M. (1955). A new instrument for studying authoritarianism in personality. Journal of Psychology‚ 40‚ 73-85.
Robinson‚ John P.‚ Shaver‚ Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research‚ University of Michigan/. Ann Arbor‚ Michigan