"Authoritarianism" and happiness

The happy cyclist: Examining the association between generalized authoritarianism and subjective well-being

Highlights
• Tests association between generalized authoritarianism and subjective well-being.
• Generalized authoritarianism is positively associated with subjective well-being.
• This relation was significant independent of basic personality dimensions.
• Suggests that authoritarianism may be “bad” for others but “good” for the self.

Abstract

Although authoritarianism can negatively impact others (e.g., by predicting prejudiced intergroup attitudes), implications for the self are mixed and require clarification. Extending previous research, we examined the association between generalized authoritarianism (GA, indicated by right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation) and subjective well-being (SWB, indicated by positive affect, negative affect, and life satisfaction) by testing simultaneously the general-level association between GA and SWB as well as specific residual associations between GA and SWB components, independent of basic personality dimensions. We observed a significant general-level association between GA and SWB whereby heightened authoritarianism predicted greater SWB. No residual associations were found between specific GA and SWB components. Despite being “bad” for others, generalized authoritarianism may be “good” for the self.