In sociology, the http://www.anesi.com/fscale.htm(Fscale) is a personality test from the 1950s that was developed to test the underlying authoritarian personality structure. It is a test with a series of multiple choice questions that touch on topics like conventionalism, authoritarian aggression, anti-interception ,substitution and stereotypy, destructiveness and cynicism, power and toughness, sex, and projective. The F-scale was designed on the basis of Theodor Adorno's theory of authoritarian personality. Along with Altemeyer, Adorno coined the term authoritarianism and defined it as a predisposition to intolerance. (Stenner) Its advocates believed that an authoritarian personality was the root of all Nazi fascism, hence the F in F scale, and prejudice ideas during the time of the Holocaust. Its original intention was to pick out those whose high scores made them prone to fascist behavior .The F-scale measures three types of Authoritarian personality; the follower, the leader, and the double-high. The double-high is the result when someone tests equally high for the follower as for the leader. Adolf Hitler was adouble-high.

The F-scale personality test is used and still referred to today. It is used as amechanism to compare the fascist tendencies of different countries to Americas. A recent study used the F-scale to show that Chinese college students are more likely to have authoritarian personalities then American college students .It is also commonly used to measure right-wing authoritarianism and is referred to when comparing the views of ultra conservative Americans to the ideals of the Germans who let Hitler take power. The two groups are said to both "lack of conscience and defer to authority."Some theorize that the higher a person tests on the F-scale the more conservative they tend to be. Therefore many people continue to use the F-scale to make connections between America's current political ruling and that of the 1950's in Germany. The Fscale is also put to use by the military to study the effect of military experience on ones personality. Contrary to the expected result, Air force cadets' authoritarianism decreased as their years of military experience increased. The Fscale has found its place in more then just the political and militaristic world. Psychologists and social scientists have adapted the personality study and found many unusual correlations. Marier and Lavrakas (1984) did a study that related the Scale to sex-typed body ideals. Higgins and McCann?s study showed that high Fscale scorers tend to submit to authority. Other studies include the discovery that people with high Fscales were less likely to be shown pictures of masturbation and the connection between authoritarianism and adolescent drug use. The Scale is also used to predict racial attitudes.

Some people question the validity of the F-scale. One of the major critiques is that it is outdated and that the questions don't apply to the post-industrial society, therefore they cannot be answered wholeheartedly. Discredit of the personality test accuse it as being "old-fashioned" and claim that the data is skewed because older people tend to score higher then younger people. This does not necessarily mean that the older people have authoritarian personalities, but they just have less modern values that are similar to those prevalent in the fifties. Sociologists have attempted to modernize and fix the personality tests? shortcomings by creating the Pscale as well as Heaven?s (1983) balanced Fscale or BF, which is a version without any reverse scoring.. (1) The personality test has been repeatedly shown invalid because the times have changed since its emergence in society. An example of this is that group loyalty is viewed less as a deviant character and more of a universal human attribute. Pflaum (1964) is credited for providing extensive evidence that the F-scale is based on myths and superstitions. Hartmann(1977) criticized the scale as being a collection of Victorian values. Other sociologists like Gabenneschs (1972) believe that the Fscale does not measure authoritarianism and political conservatism like it was meant to, but instead measures the narrowness of worldly perspective. Altemeyer?s discredits the test due to the inconsisitent relationship between authoritarianism and childhood experiences.(Christie and Johanda 1954;Altemeyer 1981). Other sociological experts go as far as to say the the Fscale cannot measure authoritarianism because it is unclear what the word actually means and the consequences of attempting this are theoretical confusion and contradictory findings. (Stenner. Intro).Another concern about the personality test is that most of the questions are worded in a positive manner. Meaning the questions make the test taking want to answer yes and present a bias to the study. New Look at Fscale involving Racism Researchers of the Fscale have widely explored and critiqued the use of the personality test in the measurement of racism. Some feel that the scale?s major themes of insecurity, authoritarianism, intolerance and old-fashioned views lend themselves to testing racism more so then the intended authoritarian personality. Some reasons for why modern sociologists feel that the scale?s only validity stands in measuring racism is because it contains questions about general intolerance and this can be directly correlated to racial intolerance. Connections have also been found between an old fashioned attitude and racism. Items that measure authoritarian submission tend to do so in an old fashioned way. For example the statement, ?The most important virtue children should learn is obedience and respect for authority?, could correlate to racism because agreement with the statement could show an old fashioned view, not a pro-authority view. There is a lot of evidence to say that the Fscale?s only credible purpose is to measure racism, however there are just as many critiques of this notion. One discredit is that everyone is still a little racist and it is normal to still have some prejudice feelings. Another is that punitveness, is hard to measure because there are so many variations and not all disciplinary feelings tested apply to primarily ethnic groups. Although there is no mention of racial items among the contents of the Fscale, researchers like John J. Ray think that the racial testing aspect of the Fscale is valid an has stood the test of time.

1. (Website about Conservatives in America being comparable to facists is Germany. http://www.radicalleft.net/blog/_archives/2006/10/10/2401939.html

2. (Biography of the man who developed Fscale) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Adorno 3.http://www.anesi.com/fscale.htm (Actual Fscale test. I got a 2.9666)

4. 3.Eddy Elmer Personality Tests http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/tests/pagestart.html?http://www.eddyelmer.com/tools/tests/personality_tests.htm Journals 1. www. answers.com/authoritarian-personality Journals 1.Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology © 1991 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. December 1991 Vol. 3, No. 4, 648-653 2. The Effect of Acquiescence Response-Set Upon Relationships Among the F Scale, Ethnocentrism, and Intelligence Loren J. Chapman, Donald T. Campbell Sociometry, Vol. 22, No. 2 (Jun., 1959), pp. 153-161 doi:10.2307/2786019 3.THE OLD-FASHIONED PERSONALITY by J.J. Ray, University of New South Wales, Australia Published: Human Relations 1990, 43, 997-1015. 4. Military Experience and Attitudes Toward Authority Donald T. Campbell, Thelma H. McCormack American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 62, No. 5 (Mar., 1957), pp. 482-490 5.http://jonjayray.tripod.com/whyf.html Political Psychology, Vol. 9, No. 4, 1988, Pp. 671-679. WHY THE F SCALE PREDICTS RACISM: A Critical Review Sub References Taken from the references in other journals.... (e.g., Christie and Jahoda, 1954; Titus and Hollander, 1957; Rokeach, 1960; Brown, 1965; McKinney, 1973; Ray, 1976; Altemeyer, 1981)

Christie and Jahonda Book review about authoritarianism http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=052153478X&ss=exc

(for fine early reviews of the major themes, see Christie and Jahoda 1954; Brown 1965; Kirscht and Dillehay 1967; for more recent reviews, see M. B. Smith 1997; Martin 2001).