Authoritarianism and ethical ideology

Relations between right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), ethical ideology, and self-reported conservativism/liberalism (con/lib) were examined in a sample of U.S. college students. An inverse association was predicted between relativism and all three aspects of RWA as defined by Altemeyer (1988): authoritarian submission, conventionalism, and aggression. This prediction was supported while controlling for effects of both participant gender and con/lib, indicating that all aspects of RWA are associated with an endorsement of universal moral codes. In addition, there was a positive correlation between idealism and both the RWA total score and RWA aggression when effects of participant gender and con/lib were controlled for. Thus, RWA is associated with a caring self-perception, despite the well-documented association between RWA and aggression.