Key concepts in personality and prejudice

Before exploring Cohrs et al.'s research, it is essential to understand the foundational ideas that link personality traits to attitudes and behaviours. This study examines how certain personality dimensions relate to ideological views that can foster prejudice, using both self-reports and peer reports for validation.

The Big Five personality dimensions

The Big Five model describes five broad personality traits that influence how individuals think, feel, and behave.

The five traits are:

• Openness - Involves imagination, curiosity, and openness to new experiences.
• Conscientiousness - Refers to being organised, responsible, and goal-oriented.
• Extraversion - Describes being outgoing, energetic, and sociable.
• Agreeableness - Involves being cooperative, compassionate, and trusting.
• Neuroticism - Relates to emotional instability, anxiety, and moodiness.

Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)

Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is a personality trait characterised by a strong submission to established authorities, aggression towards those who deviate from norms, and adherence to traditional values. Individuals high in RWA tend to support strict social order and may show intolerance towards outgroups.

Social dominance orientation (SDO)

Social dominance orientation (SDO) is a personality trait reflecting a preference for social hierarchies where some groups are seen as superior to others. People high in SDO often endorse inequality and may justify discrimination to maintain group dominance.

Prejudice

Prejudice refers to negative attitudes, stereotypes, or feelings towards individuals or groups based on characteristics such as ethnicity, disability, or sexual orientation. This can lead to discriminatory behaviour and is often linked to ideological beliefs like RWA and SDO.

Aims of the study

Cohrs et al. (2012) conducted this research to explore connections between personality traits and prejudiced attitudes, building on prior studies. The aims focused on identifying patterns and validating methods to ensure reliable findings.

Primary objectives

• To investigate correlations between the Big Five personality dimensions, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and prejudice.
• To test whether previous research findings hold when using both self-report data (where individuals rate themselves) and peer-report data (where friends rate the individual), rather than relying solely on self-reports. This cross-checking aimed to confirm links, such as a positive correlation between conscientiousness and RWA, and between RWA/SDO and prejudice.

Procedures and methods

The study consisted of two separate investigations, both using self-report and peer-report questionnaires to measure personality traits, RWA, SDO, and prejudice. Participants completed self-ratings, while peers (friends) provided independent ratings to verify accuracy. Confidentiality was ensured, and peers were instructed to respond based on their knowledge of the participant.

Participants

• Study 1 - An opportunity sample of approximately 195 adults from the general population in Eastern Germany (around 125 females and 64 males). Each participant was paired with one peer who knew them well.
• Study 2 - A volunteer sample of around 424 adults from a twin registry (about 103 males and 321 females, aged 18 to 82 years). Each participant was paired with two separate peers for more reliable data.

Method

Questionnaires used:

• Personality measurement in Study 1 - The NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), a five-point scale with 12 items per Big Five factor.
• Personality measurement in Study 2 - The German version of the NEO Personality Inventory-Revised (NEO-PI-R), a five-point scale with 48 items per Big Five factor.
• Prejudice measurement - Both studies used adapted questionnaires focusing on negative attitudes towards foreigners, people with disabilities, and homosexuality.
• Additional measures - Questionnaires for RWA and SDO were included to correlate with personality and prejudice.

Procedure

1. Participants received instructions to complete the self-report questionnaire privately.
2. They distributed peer-report questionnaires to one friend (Study 1) or two friends (Study 2).
3. Peers rated the participant's personality, RWA, SDO, and prejudiced attitudes based on observation.
4. All responses were collected anonymously to maintain confidentiality and encourage honest answers.

This dual-report approach allowed researchers to compare self-perceptions with external observations, strengthening the validity of the findings.

Main results

The results revealed significant correlations between key variables, with peer reports generally supporting self-report data. All reported correlations were significant at p = 0.001 unless noted otherwise.

Key correlations from self-report and peer-report data

These results indicate a positive link between conscientiousness and RWA in Study 1 (though weaker in peer reports), and strong positive correlations between both RWA/SDO and prejudice across both studies. Peer reports largely confirmed self-reports, suggesting reliability.

Conclusions and implications

The study drew several key conclusions about the relationships between personality, ideological attitudes, and prejudice, while affirming the value of multi-method data collection.

Main conclusions

• Individuals high in conscientiousness are more likely to exhibit right-wing authoritarianism (RWA).
• Those with high RWA or social dominance orientation (SDO) are more likely to hold prejudiced attitudes.
• Previous research relying only on self-reports is reliable, as peer reports in this study supported similar patterns, reducing concerns about self-report bias.