Authoritarian people share 7 characteristics

The authoritarianism it is more than a form of government in which one person or a privileged few. There are also authoritarian people; are those that, consciously or unconsciously, tend to reproduce behaviors in which the Our own criterion is about imposing that of others without worrying about justifying why obey him.

Identifying authoritarian people is relevant both outside and within the psychological intervention. In the latter case, do this It makes it possible to establish a communication channel with them and jointly see how this type of trend could be corrected.

How to recognize authoritarian people

The way in which authoritarian people try to try to hold power and direct the decisions and actions of others can often go unnoticed. After all, many of them have no means to impose their will by force directlySo they try to influence others in more subtle ways and in ways in which they often don't even have to realize how damaging their behavior is.

However, it is worth keeping in mind what are the characteristics of authoritarian people, both to identify them in other people who could be a bad influence to review the possibility that we ourselves fit, even partially, with some of these descriptions.

Let's see what these fundamental traits of authoritarian people are.

1. The belief that one is right "by default"

A person's tendency toward authoritarianism can be detected if he is directly or indirectly states that, in the absence of indications to the contrary, it is she who is right on all issues in general.

The belief that it is oneself who is better able to decide how things have to be and how others have to be, together with the associations and learnings made in the past in which this type of attitude has been rewarded, is the basis of this style of behaviour.

2. Leadership is not questioned

Authoritarian people see the questioning of their own leadership as something personal, an offense. This is so because, by assuming as a fundamental belief that oneself commands and the rest obey, leadership itself is taken as something natural, that is, it is normalized, in the same way in which centuries ago the ability to rule of kings and queens was not questioned and was valid by itself.

Doubting that other people have to be carried away by one's own instructions is seen as a transgression or something that has to be justified very well in order to be accepted as fact exceptional.

3. Underestimating the work and skills of others

So that the belief that oneself has a special and "privileged" criterion to decide what to do, it is necessary to maintain the illusion that the merits of the rest of the people are not so much. That is, to avoid cognitive dissonance to see that other people may be as or more capable than oneself to decide and act correctly, You have to interpret her successes as the fruit of luck or you have to interpret them as partial successes.

For example, if a person obtains a university degree in the shortest possible time, a markedly authoritarian person may resort to the discourse that She knows more about the world outside the classroom, thus implying that she is still in a position to instruct the other on issues related to her race.

4. Holding merits

For the same reason that they tend to underestimate the merits and abilities of others, authoritarian people are especially prone to making their achievements visible and draw attention to them. In this way, they themselves will bear in mind these superficial justifications for why one has authority, and at the same time will draw the attention of others to these more or less exaggerated merits.

However, in those cases in which authoritarian persons can exercise power without need to seek even these minimal justifications, this feature may not be Present. This occurs, for example, when someone has the material ability to bend others to his will, already Either by having greater physical strength or a socioeconomic status that can be used to harm others.

5. Constant demands

Authoritarian people are not limited to using this facility to manipulate others only to achieve some objectives, but on many occasions They end up falling into a dynamic in which they begin to demand many things of all kinds from others. This is because they learn that being authoritarian can be helpful in the short term.

6. Tendency toward aggressiveness

The fact of demanding many things from others causes conflict and dissatisfaction situations to end up being created, and it is this type of phase that authoritarian people respond energetically to punish the other so that disobedience episodes are not repeated.

These punishments do not have to be based on physical force, but can be expressed symbolically and verbally.

7. Authoritarianism in multiple contexts

Authoritarian people are not only authoritarian in certain contexts and not in others. Since their behavior is based on learning that has taken place in many different kinds of situations, they will try to impose their point of view in all the varieties of possible scenarios.

Modifying authoritative behavior

Let's talk about authoritarian people does not mean that these have to be always, as if that adjective were a label that defines the depths of his personality.

By unlearning certain relationship dynamics and learning more adaptive ones, it is possible to become someone else tolerant, and many forms of psychological intervention can be helpful in providing tools that enable this change.