The Psychology Behind What Makes Authoritarianism Appealing

We’re living in a time of growing appeal for authoritarian leadership, at home and abroad. For those who crave democracy and freedom, this attraction can be extremely challenging to understand. What is it that makes a person want to have fewer freedoms, less choice, and pay tribute to conformity above individuality? The answer to this question is complex.

Authoritarianism entails an emphasis on three core values that are offered as a solution to the aroused sense of threat (Norris and Inglehart, 2019). Specifically, it values:

1. The importance of security versus instability (often seen as the impact of foreigners and immigrants).
2. Conformity to preserve traditions and the idealized past (a time perceived as being peaceful.
3. The need for loyal obedience to strong leaders who will protect the group. It also rests on the security achieved by having the “right” group in leadership.

The Authoritarian Personality, published in 1950 was the first comprehensive exploration of the origins of authoritarianism as well as personality factors propelling it. (Adorno, 2019). However, even this treatise emphasized that personality features associated with authoritarianism did not necessarily lead to its manifestation. Rather, they might emerge under certain social-historical conditions.

Authoritariansim defined

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Emotions and authoritarianism

Anger is a powerful catalyst for authoritarianism, particularly anger that derives from genuine financial, social, or emotional suffering and the associated sense of victimhood. This is especially the case with those who have “trait anger,” a personality dynamic that entails a powerful tendency toward hostility and even aggression. Studies suggest that those with such anger are more prone to favor authoritarianism (Milburn, Niwa, & Patterson, 2013).

On its surface, feelings of anger, rather than fear associated with threat, are the dominant emotions that boost authoritarianism (Vasilopoulos, Marcus, Valentino, et. al., 2019). In tone and content, authoritarian leaders intensify these feelings in their audience in order to evoke their support. Such communication is meant to escalate the feelings of threat that bolster anger and stem from underlying feelings of powerlessness and victimization. Authoritarians follow a key principle in marketing—identify a problem, create negative emotions, and offer a solution to the problem.

Authoritarian leaders, in turn, create fear and anger by identifying certain groups—whether identified by their politics, religion, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or nationality—as being responsible for their suffering.

Anger directs our attention outward and, in doing so, constricts our openness for the self-reflection that is essential for increased awareness and understanding of our feelings and desires. Additionally, higher levels of anger blind us to the kind of flexible thinking essential for problem-solving.

Staying with anger supports a sense of victimhood, which only further supports feelings of powerlessness and anger. These feelings further engender the desire to associate with a leader perceived as strong.

Distortions of thinking

Certain distortions of thinking are associated with authoritarian attitudes. For example, one study found that individuals scoring high on right-wing authoritarianism were less likely than those scoring low to revise their beliefs when provided with new information (Sinclair, Stanley, & Seli, 2020).

Dichotomous thinking is associated authoritarianism, as it entails rigidity in thinking that has no room to consider the “grays” in life. Thinking only in “black and white” greatly diminishes critical thinking. Further, this tendency supports the idealization of a leader, which ignores those details about him that may seem to contradict the idealization. Such selective attention is coupled with a suppression of anxiety regarding such discrepancies.

This pattern of thinking is also involved in viewing outgroups as being “other.” It leads to being wed to the image of the other created in one’s mind rather than being open to exploring their uniqueness and shared humanity. Authoritarian leaders reinforce such thinking in broad summary statements that diminish their humanity—such as calling them vermin—and, most importantly, by attributing the suffering of followers to these groups.

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Denial and displacement

All too often, the anger that makes authoritarianism appealing stems from hurt and suffering associated with childhood wounds that have not been sufficiently acknowledged, grieved, or mourned. I’ve observed this in my work with clients. While most of them have not been drawn into authoritarianism, this dynamic is very much present in those who have pursued it.

Some describe their childhood as “normal” or even “wonderful,” even when their stories unfold to indicate neglect or even physical or verbal abuse. Some minimize the impact of their experiences. “It wasn’t like I got hit with a 2x4!” “He made me a better man with his ‘tough love’ and ridicule” and other comments such as “But I knew he loved me” are just a few examples of how they dealt with underlying emotional suffering.

Such suppression is a resolution to the overwhelming feelings aroused by childhood trauma or neglect. When children experience suffering at the hands of a parent, they experience sadness, anxiety, powerlessness, fear, devaluation, hurt, isolation, and anger. It is intensely frightening to be angry at a parent on whom one depends for life—love, food, clothing, and shelter. So, instead, they blame themselves in the form of guilt and shame. Additionally, idealizing a parent may be a resolution associated with suppression.

However, suppressed feelings don’t just disappear. They may be triggered and surface as an adult, in the form of displacement, finding other targets unrelated to the original source of their anger—in relationships with partners, friends, and their children. Suppression may also become the fuel for authoritarianism.

A negative worldview

The appeal of authoritarianism also stems from the belief that the social world is an inherently dangerous, unstable, unpredictable, and threatening place (Osborne, Costello, Duckitt, et. al., 2023). This perspective fuels the drive, ensuring collective security and stability through the coercive maintenance of the traditional social order. And, according to these authors, it is this dangerous worldview, acquired through early experience and socialization, that is further influenced by personality traits that predispose an individual to social conformity.

Fear of freedom

In 1941, psychoanalyst Eric Fromm wrote the now classic book Escape From Freedom. It highlights the appeal of authoritarianism as deriving from our fear of being alone—and the inherent anxiety in recognizing that we are alone in our choices and responsible for them. However, as stated by Rollo May, anxiety is not an emotion to flee from (May, 2019). Rather, it is an inherent part of us that aids in developing a healthy personality.

Political factors

It cannot be argued that democracy, in its current state, does not have many flaws. As such, it should be emphasized that the appeal of authoritarianism may also be grounded in the hardships that are perceived to result from these flaws.

Misinformation

We both benefit and suffer from the impact of the internet and social media. The fact that misinformation can proliferate on both can easily cause confusion and mistrust, ultimately, the threat and anger that fuel authoritarianism. This places the burden of information presented on these platforms on the consumers. It requires pausing for reflection that includes critical and flexible thinking when evaluating the veracity of such information.

The appeal of authoritarianism is rooted in a variety of complex emotional, psychological, social, and political factors. Taking time to reflect on these is essential for embracing our humanity—for those drawn to authoritarianism as well as for those trying to understand its appeal.