The intergenerational transmission of need for closure underlies the transmission of authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice

Abstract

Previous research has identified need for closure (NFC) as an important motivationalcognitive basis of authoritarianism and prejudice. However, to date, the role of NFC in the intergenerational similarity in authoritarianism and prejudice has remained unclear. In a sample of 169 parent-child dyads, we investigated the similarity between parents and children in NFC and tested whether this intergenerational similarity may account for the intergenerational similarity in authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice. Our results revealed that parental levels of NFC were indeed concordant with the levels of NFC in their children. Even more importantly, parental NFC was indirectly related to child authoritarianism and prejudice in two ways. The first pathway proceeded through the direct relationships between parental and children's levels of authoritarianism and prejudice. The second pathway, however, bypassed parental levels of authoritarianism and prejudice and proceeded through the intergenerational similarity in NFC. Our findings thus indicate that a significant portion of children's levels of authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice can be explained by parents-child similarity in motivated cognition. Implications for developmental theories of prejudice acquisition are discussed.

Need for Closure and Perceived Threat as Bases of Right-Wing Authoritarianism: A Longitudinal Moderation Approach

“…Data for this study were collected online through a survey company as part of a larger multi-wave panel study in a community sample from the Netherlands, stratified by age, gender, educational level, and province (see Onraet, Van Hiel, Dhont et al, 2013;Onraet et al, 2014 Measures. All measures were administered in Dutch on five point Likert scales (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree), unless noted otherwise.…”

“…Moreover, NFC is considered an important motivational-cognitive basis for authority-and tradition-based ideologies (see Jost et al, 2003;Roets & Van Hiel, 2011a). Many correlational studies have supported the notion that RWA is more strongly endorsed by persons high in dispositional NFC (Cornelis & Van Hiel, 2006;Dhont, Roets, & Van Hiel 2013;Onraet, et al, 2011;Roets & Van Hiel, 2006;Roets et al, 2012). Moreover, the claim that epistemic motives are indeed an important source of authoritarianism is supported by experimental research showing that situationally induced NFC evokes a wide range of typical expressions of authoritarianism such as the rejection of opinion deviates (Kruglanksi & Webster, 1991), increased conformity (Kruglanksi, Webster & Klem, 1993) and the development of an autocratic leadership structure in groups (Pierro, Mannetti, De Grada, Livi, & Kruglanski, 2003).…”

“…Jost et al 2007). In order to obtain a better insight in the nature of this relationship, Onraet, Van Hiel, Dhont et al (2013), analyzed the structure of these threat Furthermore, being authoritarian also holds the idea that all members of society should adhere to common social norms and values, which makes the social world a predictable and ordered place (Jost et al 2007, Kossowska & Van Hiel, 2003. On the other hand, RWA also enables individuals to cope with the perception of societal threats (Henry, 2011;Feldman & Stenner, 1997, Stenner 2005.…”

The person-based nature of prejudice: Individual difference predictors of intergroup negativity

“…Desires for order, predictability, and quick and definite answers, plus discomfort with ambiguity and closed-mindedness, constitute the NFC facets (Roets & Van Hiel, 2007;Webster & Kruglanski, 1994). Critically, those higher in NFC demonstrate higher levels of ethnic and racial prejudice (e.g., Dhont, Roets, & Van Hiel, 2013;Van Hiel, Pandelaere, & Duriez, 2004), plus greater generalised explicit and implicit prejudice (Cunningham et al, 2004).…”

“…To our knowledge, no single study has simultaneously investigated cognitive ability and style, even though stronger endorsement of right-wing social-cultural attitudes (e.g., RWA) has been suggested to explain why those higher in NFC (e.g., Cunningham et al, 2004;Dhont et al, 2013;Van Hiel et al, 2004), as well as those lower in cognitive abilities (Hodson & Busseri, 2012), show greater prejudice. Scholars have argued that right-wing social-cultural ideologies are particularly attractive among those with stronger desires for order, simplicity, and stable knowledge because such ideologies offer well-structured and ordered views about society that preserve traditional societal conventions and norms (e.g., Jost et al, 2003;.…”