Measuring left-wing authoritarianism with machine learning

What is it about?

Authoritarianism is a personality trait that involves obedience to authority, aggression toward outgroups, and conformity to norms. It is usually associated with political conservatism, but it can also be found among people who identify as left-wing. This paper describes new scales that measure left-wing authoritarianism using a machine learning approach. The scales are shorter and more efficient than the existing 39-item Left-wing Authoritarianism Index.

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Photo by ev on Unsplash

Photo by ev on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This paper is important because it provides new tools for studying authoritarianism across the political spectrum. It shows that left-wing authoritarianism can be measured reliably and validly with fewer items, which can save time and resources for researchers and practitioners. It also demonstrates how machine learning can be used to create and evaluate psychological measures in a data-driven way.