Prejudice, discrimination and communication
Résumé
This chapter discusses the concepts of "authoritarian personality", "right-wing authoritarianism", and "social dominance orientation". Furthermore, it addresses the theme of prejudiced communication.
We will first present the concept of authoritarian personality developed by Adorno and colleagues (1950) by situating it historically. These authors proposed an interpretation of the authoritarian personality as the expression of emotional sensitivity stemming from punitive parental upbringing. Since then, this concept has undergone significant theoretical and methodological developments. We will then approach the work of Altemayer (1981) with his notion of right-wing authoritarianism (RWA). In the 1990s, Sidanius et al. developed a new social dominance orientation (SDO) concept. This notion defines a general preference for unequal intergroup relations. Research has shown that this trait emerges among members of dominant groups. The chapter is structured around three sections. The first, historical, describes the main landmarks; the second, presents research applications and deepening; the last section discusses how people direct prejudiced communication toward out-groups.