section_path: Psychology/Authoritarianism
section_name: Authoritarianism
paragraph_text: Authoritarianism
  
  The right-wing authoritarian personality (RWA) is a personality type that describes somebody who is highly submissive to their authority figures, acts aggressively in the name of said authorities, and is conformist in thought and behaviour. According to psychologist Bob Altemeyer, individuals who are politically conservative tend to rank high in RWA. This finding was echoed by Theodor W. Adorno in The Authoritarian Personality (1950) based on the F-scale personality test.
  
  A study done on Israeli and Palestinian students in Israel found that RWA scores of right-wing party supporters were significantly higher than those of left-wing party supporters. However, a 2005 study by H. Michael Crowson and colleagues suggested a moderate gap between RWA and other conservative positions, stating that their "results indicated that conservatism is not synonymous with RWA".
  
  According to political scientist Karen Stenner, who specialises in authoritarianism, conservatives will embrace diversity and civil liberties to the extent that they are institutionalised traditions in the social order, but they tend to be drawn to authoritarianism when public opinion is fractious and there is a loss of confidence in public institutions.