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Altemeyer (2003) used the Global Change Game (GCG) to examine leadership tactics among those scoring high on authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. His innovative approach to studying the global consequences of following such leaders produced results consistent with years of research on both variables. As the world becomes more interconnected through globalization, future simulations such as the GCG may provide insight into how authoritarianism and social dominance orientation might manifest in different regions of the world.

In this archival study, themes of authoritarianism (Adorno, Frenkel‐Brunswik, Levinson, & Sanford, 1950) were content coded in American comic books. Comic books produced during years of relatively high social and economic threat (1978–82 and 1991–92) contained more aggressive imagery, more conventional themes, less intraception, and fewer spoken lines by women characters relative to comic books produced during years of relatively low threat (1983–90). Unexpectedly, speaking roles for characters of color did not differ due to the influence of threat. Discussion focused on the theoretical relationship between threat and manifestations of authoritarianism at the societal and individual levels.

Past research shows that authoritarian individuals hold strong opinions about a variety of political and social issues, such as race relations and military conflict. What has not been established, though, is the amount of general political knowledge that authoritarians possess. In this study, three groups of college students were administered Altemeyer's Right‐Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale; most of them also received items assessing general political knowledge and specific knowledge about the 2000 presidential election, as well as items assessing interest in politics. Relative to students with low RWA scores, those with high scores possessed less political knowledge; moreover, they expressed less interest in learning about politics. In general, authoritarianism was unrelated to how individuals got their political information or how credible they found their sources. The implication that authoritarians hold strong attitudinal beliefs with weak political knowledge is discussed.

Past research shows that authoritarian individuals hold strong opinions about a variety of political & social issues, such as race relations & military conflict. What has not been established, though, is the amount of general political knowledge that authoritarians possess. In this study, three groups of college students were administered Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale; most of them also received items assessing general political knowledge & specific knowledge about the 2000 presidential election, as well as items assessing interest in politics. Relative to students with low RWA scores, those with high scores possessed less political knowledge; moreover, they expressed less interest in learning about politics. In general, authoritarianism was unrelated to how individuals got their political information or how credible they found their sources. The implication that authoritarians hold strong attitudinal beliefs with weak political knowledge is discussed. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 43 References. Adapted from the source document.

We present a model suggesting that international conflicts escalate to violence when countries (a) express higher levels of power motive imagery, (b) exaggerate levels of perceived power motive imagery in communications and statements from the "other" side, and (c) express still higher levels of power motive imagery as a result of such exaggerated perceptions. The model is supported by three studies. In the first two, participants wrote replies to one of two versions of the same letter taken from a real crisis. The third study explored conditions that affect the exaggerated perception of power motive imagery of the other side by asking participants to highlight the important points of a letter from a real crisis, under neutral conditions and under conditions arousing power motivation. The role of psychological variables in the escalation of conflicts to violence is discussed.