Micro- and Macro-Identification as Moderators of the Relationship Between Social Threat and Authoritarianism
The relationship between social threat and authoritarianism has often been studied in connection to social identification. In line with the Group Cohesion Model and the Social Identity Theory, the aim of this study was to verify that identification with the macro-context (sense of community identity and place identity) increases authoritarianism when a person perceives a social threat (the “catalytic effect” hypothesis). On the contrary, identification with the micro-context (family and peer group) reduces the strength of the relationship between social threat and authoritarianism (the “buffer effect” hypothesis). A moderation model on an Italian sample (N = 721) confirmed this hypothesis. The resulting theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Threat, Identification, Sense of Community Identity, Place Identity
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