Age differences in right-wing authoritarianism and their relation to emotion recognition

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) is a personality construct.
• Understanding RWA in older adults is crucial for social cohesion.
• Previous research has not fully explored RWA correlates in aging populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the psychological and social correlates of RWA in older adults.
• To identify predictors of RWA, including emotion recognition, executive functions, fluid IQ, perceived threat, and social dominance orientation.
• To investigate the role of age in RWA.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study design with over 2,600 New Zealand participants.
• Utilized tasks measuring emotion recognition, executive functions, and fluid IQ.
• Administered questionnaires for RWA, perceived threat, and social dominance orientation.

Main Results:

• Higher RWA was observed across the age span in older adults.
• Perceived threat, education, social dominance, and age uniquely predicted RWA.
• Emotion recognition emerged as the most consistent predictor of RWA, independent of other variables.

Conclusions:

• Worsening emotion recognition in older adults may be linked to broader changes in social judgment.
• Impaired emotion recognition can increase the likelihood of expressing extreme attitudes due to misinterpreting social cues.
• Emotion recognition is a fundamental social insight influencing various aspects of social cognition in aging.