Identifying “Types” of authoritarians: A latent profile analysis of left- and right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation

Recent research argues that authoritarianism exists on the right and left, further positing that both manifestations share core features. We explore this possibility by conducting a latent profile analysis of left-wing authoritarianism (LWA), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), and social dominance orientation (SDO) in a nationwide random sample of adults ( N = 34,101). Five unique profiles emerged: Low Social Dominators (low-to-moderate LWA/RWA, low SDO; 41.8% of the sample), Moderate Right-wing Authoritarians (low LWA, moderate RWA, low-to-moderate SDO; 35.7% of the sample), Moderate-Moderates (low LWA, moderate RWA, moderate SDO; 13.7% of the sample), Left-wing Authoritarians (high LWA, low RWA/SDO; 7.5% of the sample), and High Social Dominators (low LWA, low-to-moderate RWA, high SDO; 1.34% of the sample). Men, people low in agreeableness, and people high in vengeful rumination were more likely to belong to all profiles (compared to the Low Social Dominators), suggesting some similarities across distinct forms of authoritarianism. Left-wing Authoritarians did, however, differ substantively in their demographic characteristics, personality, and social attitudes, undermining claims of a shared authoritarian core. These findings highlight the need to further evaluate how distinct types of authoritarians manifest across the political spectrum and the utility of the common core hypothesis.