Personality and Political Socialization: The Theories of Authoritarian and Democratic Character

Abstract

Recent study of political socialization has concen trated on one aspect of the experiences which culminate in adult citizenship—namely, learning which is specifically about government and politics. Our concern here is with a portion of what might be called the old political socialization literature, focusing on nonpolitical personal development that affects po litical behavior. There has been abundant research and specu lation on the notion of "authoritarian character," but only a limited amount of discussion of the counterpart, "democratic character." To clarify the welter of issues arising in the au thoritarian literature, it is helpful to distinguish the assump tions which are made about the surface features of the charac ter type from those made about its dynamics and its genesis. It is also useful to make further distinctions which sensitize us to the complex connections between personal character and po litical belief, political action, and the functioning of political institutions.