Scholars from Winthrop University’s Departments of Psychology and Political Science have taken a deeper dive into results from the September 2016 Winthrop Poll.
They find that those with more authoritarian personalities, as well as those who show greater preference for beliefs rooted in “social dominance,” are more likely to be supporters of Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump.
Winthrop Poll Director Dr. Scott Huffmon said: “Beyond understanding which demographic groups are lending support to which candidate, this research delves more deeply into what personality traits drive support toward one candidate or the other.”
The original data release noted that Trump supporters scored higher on the Authoritarian Scale than supporters of Hillary Clinton. However, this new research points out the more significant relationships between candidate preference and Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation.
Huffmon worked with faculty members Dr. Matt Hayes and Dr. Jeff Sinn from the Winthrop Department of Psychology to untangle this complex relationship.
In explaining Authoritarianism, Sinn says, “Those with more Authoritarian personalities seek order, stability, and security and are wary of non-conforming groups that may undermine group cohesiveness”
Social dominance orientation is a bit different. First, it contains two parts, attitudes described as “Pro-Dominance” and attitudes described as “Anti-egalitarian.”
Hayes explains the dominance facet as “the belief that in an ideal society some groups are on the top and should dominate groups on the bottom.” The anti-egalitarian facet “resists efforts to redistribute resources in order to achieve equality.”
Trump supporters tended to have higher scores on the Authoritarian Scale as well as the Pro-Dominance and Anti-Egalitarian scale that measure Social Dominance Orientation. “Likely Trump voters appear more authoritarian, favoring respect for authority over independence and obedience over self-reliance,” said Sinn. Hayes added that, “They are also more likely to endorse group-based dominance, seeing some groups as superior to others and, therefore, entitled to a larger share of resources, as well as oppose efforts to achieve equality between groups, rejecting the ideal of equalizing opportunity across groups.”