Correlates of authoritarianism and nationalism

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.