Abstract:
This study will examine psychological correlates of Nationalism and Authoritarianism. People
with Authoritarian personalities typically have traits such as adherence to conventional values,
submission to authority, and a belief that those who do not follow the same conventional rules as
they do should be punished (Adorno, Frenkei-Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950).
Nationalists also believe in following conventions, that strong authority is necessary to control
human nature, and that those who do not follow the established rules should be punished
(Forbes, 1985). Researchers have studied correlations of Authoritarianism and psychopathology
(Van Hiel, Mervielde, and De Fruyt, 2002; Laguna, Linn, Ward, and Rupslaukyte, 2009);
however, there has been relatively little research on the associations between Nationalism and
psychopathology. This study will use archival data from 805 Ball State University students
between the ages of 18 and 48 to fill the gap in this literature. Because of the common
characteristics of Nationalism and Authoritarianism, it is predicted that there will be significant
correlations between scores on a scale of Nationalism and scales of the MMPl-2-RF typically
associated with Authoritarianism.
