Authoritarianism and American Students' Attitudes about the Gulf War, 1990–1996

Authors

Richard M. Doty, The University Of Michigan
Bill E. Peterson, Smith CollegeFollow
Markus Kemmelmeier, The University Of Michigan

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1997

Publication Title

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin

Abstract

Studies with several different groups of students over the period from October 1990 to spring 1996 show a consistent set of relationships between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and aggressive support for U.S. policy during the Persian Gulf crisis and Gulf War Before the war, high-RWA scorers endorsed more aggressive responses (including the use of nuclear weapons) to hypothetical Iraqi actions. After the war, they expressed relatively more gloating and less regret and, in retrospect, endorsed more aggressive hypothetical U.S. policies. Overall, their opinions tended to be low in complexity, high in certainty, and brief.

Volume

23

Issue

11

First Page

1133

Last Page

1143

Comments

Archived as published.

Recommended Citation

Doty, Richard M.; Peterson, Bill E.; and Kemmelmeier, Markus, "Authoritarianism and American Students' Attitudes about the Gulf War, 1990–1996" (1997). Psychology: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.
https://scholarworks.smith.edu/psy_facpubs/217