Quarter of Americans qualify as highly ‘right-wing authoritarian’, new poll finds
- Study found that 26 per cent of Americans score high on scale of right-wing authoritarianism
- Those who lean to the right and are ‘high-RWA’ scoring have similar views on the 2020 election outcome
The study used authoritarian researcher Bob Altemeyer's definition and scoring system of right-wing authoritarianism, which defines it as a “desire to submit to some authority, aggression that is directed against whomever the authority says should be targeted and a desire to have everybody follow the norms and social conventions that the authority says should be followed,” according to Morning Consult.
The poll categorised respondents as “high-RWA” if they scored in the top 15 per cent of respondents and “low-RWA” if they scored in the bottom 15 per cent, based on Altemeyer's authoritarianism scale.
The survey asked adults in the US and seven foreign countries – Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain – whether they believe 2020 election was determined by fraudulent votes, whether Capitol rioters did more to protect than undermine the US government, and whether masks and vaccines are key to stopping the spread of Covid-19.
It found that right-leaning Americans and those who scored high on the right-wing authoritarian scale had quite similar responses on these three questions.