Authoritarianism and Tolerance to Uncertainty Among Students of Pedagogical Universities in Russia

The work is aimed at studying the current level of authoritarianism and intolerance to uncertainty among students of pedagogical universities in Russia. The main purpose of the work is to study the relationship between right-wing authoritarianism and tolerance for uncertainty among students of pedagogical universities, while the main assumption of the study is the presence of this relationship, which varies depending on the year of study, specialization and geographical location. The article presents the materials of a correlation study obtained on a sample of students of twenty-one pedagogical universities in Russia. The study (N=870) involved respondents aged 16 to 34 years (M=19,92; SD=2,04), of which 90% were female. The study was conducted in an Internet format. The authors used the B. Altmeyer’s “Right-wing Authoritarianism Scale” in russian edition by N.A. Diakonova and the “New Questionnaire of tolerance-intolerance to Uncertainty” by T.V. Kornilova. The results demonstrate a significant increase in the level of authoritarianism from the first to the last year of study, and an average statistical correlation between authoritarianism and intolerance to uncertainty.

1. Adorno T.W, Frenkel-Brunswik E., Levinson D.J., Sanford R.N. Issledovanie avtoritarnoj lichnosti [The study of the authoritarian personality]. In V.P. Kultygina (eds.) Moscow: Publ. Serebryanye niti, 2001. 416 p.
2. Asmolov A.G. Psihologiya sovremennosti: vyzovy neopredelennosti, slozhnosti i raznoobraziya [Psychology of modernity: challenges of uncertainty, complexity and diversity]. Psihologicheskie issledovaniya: elektronnyj nauchnyj zhurnal = Psychological research: an electronic scientific journal, 2015. Vol. 8, no. 40, p. 1. (In Russ.).
3. Diyakonova N.A. Osobennosti avtoritarizma i ego vzaimosvyaz' s cennostnymi orientaciyami i lokusom kontrolya u rossijskih i amerikanskih studentov. Diss. dokt. psikhol. nauk. [Features of authoritarianism and its relationship with value orientations and the locus of control in Russian and American students. Dr. Sci. (Psychology) diss.]. Moscow, 2001. 170 p.
4. Enikolopov S.N., Meshkova N.V. Napravleniya issledovaniya predubezhdennosti v zapadnoj psihologii mezhgruppovyh otnoshenij [Directions of research of prejudice in the Western psychology of intergroup relations]. Voprosy psihologii = Questions of psychology, 2007, no. 1, pp. 148–158. (In Russ.).
5. Kornilova T.V. Novyj oprosnik tolerantnosti–intolerantnosti k neopredelennosti [A new questionnaire of tolerance-intolerance to uncertainty]. Psihologicheskij zhurnal = Psychological journal, 2010. Vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 74–86. (In Russ.)
6. Kornilova T.V., Smirnov S.D. Tolerantnost' k neopredelennosti i kreativnost' u prepodavatelei i studentov [Tolerance to uncertainty and creativity among teachers and students]. Voprosy psikhologii = Questions of psychology, 2012, no. 2, pp. 117–126. (In Russ.)
7. Leontev A.A. Pedagogicheskoe obshchenie [Pedagogical communication]. Moscow: Publ. Nalchik, 1996. 367 p.
8. Lazyuk I.V. Issledovanie tolerantnosti k neopredelennosti u studentov [The study of tolerance to uncertainty in students]. Reflexio = Reflexio, 2020. Vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 21–31. DOI:10.25205/2658-4506-2020-13-1-21-31
9. Malakhova S.I. Svyaz' psikhometricheskogo intellekta s lichnostnoi samoregulyatsiei studentov. Diss. dokt. psikhol. nauk. [The connection of psychometric intelligence with personal self-regulation of students. Dr. Sci. (Psychology) diss.]. Moscow, 2013. 227 p.
10. Maslova N.F. Stil rukovodstva uchitelya kak sposob social'no-psihologicheskogo vozdejstviya [The teacher's leadership style as a way of socio-psychological impact]. Rukovodstvo i liderstvo = Mentoring and leadership, 1973, pp. 45–53. (In Russ.).
11. Reznik S. «Face building» i drugie sostavlyayushchie obraza sovremennogo rukovoditelya v obrazovanii ["Face building" and other components of the image of a modern leader in education]. Lidery obrazovaniya = Leaders of education, 2005, no. 8–9, pp. 123–124. (In Russ.).
12. Sobkin V.S., Fomichenko A.S. Vliyanie otnoshenij mezhdu uchitelem i uchenikom na akademicheskie dostizheniya uchashchihsya [The influence of relations between a teacher and a student on the academic achievements of students]. Upravlenie obrazovaniem: teoriya i praktika = Education management: theory and practice, 2015, no. 3 (19), pp. 34–54. (In Russ.).
13. Sobkin V.S., Fomichenko A.S. Ponimanie uchitelyami prichin proyavleniya agressii uchashchihsya k pedagogu [Understanding by teachers of the reasons for the aggression of students to teacher]. In Sobkin V.S. (ed.). Trudy po sociologii obrazovaniya [Proceedings of the sociology of education]. Moscow: Institut sociologii obrazovaniya RAO, 2012. Vol. 16, no. 28, pp. 137–147. (In Russ.).
14. Furman E. Nekotorye trudnosti diagnostiki depressii i suicidal'nyh tendencij u detej [Some difficulties in the diagnosis of depression and suicidal tendencies in children]. Zhurnal prakticheskoj psihologii i psihoanaliza = Journal of practical psychology and psychoanalysis, 2003, no. 1, p. 1 (In Russ.).
15. Altemeyer B., Hunsberg B. Authoritarianism, Religious Fundamentalism, Quest, and Prejudice. The international journal for the psychology of religion, 1992, no. 2(2), pp. 113–133.
16. Altemeyer B. Right-wing authoritarianism. Winnipeg: Publ. University of Manitoba Press, 1981. 352 p.
17. Altemeyer B. The Authoritarians. Winnipeg: Publ. University of Manotoba. Free edition, 2006. Available at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxxylK6fR81rckQxWi1hVFFRUDg/view (Accessed 24.05.2021).
18. Cohen A.R., Stotland E., Wolfe D.M. An experimental investigation of need for cognition. J. Abnorm. Soc. Psychol, 1955. Vol. 51, no 2, pp. 291–294.
19. Duriez B., Van Hiel A. The march of modern fascism. A comparison of social dominance orientation and authoritarianism. Personality and Individual Differences, 2002, no. 32(7), pp. 1199–1213. DOI:10.1016/s0191-8869(01)00086-1
20. Frenkel-Brunswick E. Tolerance towards ambiguity as a personality variable. The American Psychologis, 1948, no. 3, pp. 268–272.
21. Fromm E. Escape from freedom. New York: Publ. Farrar & Rinehart, Inc, 1941. 305 p.
22. Hallman R.J. The Necessary and Sufficient Conditions of Creativity. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 1963, no. 3(1), pp. 14–27.
23. İci A., Öksüz Y. The Relationship between Authoritarian Personality and Liking of Children Levels of Teacher Candidates. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2014, no. 116, pp. 3203–3207. DOI:10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.735
24. Kestere I., Kalke B. Controlling the image of the teacher’s body under authoritarianism: the case of Soviet Latvia (1953–1984). Paedagogica Historica, 2017, no. 54(1-2), pp. 184–203. DOI:10.1080/00309230.2017.1358289
25. Lewin K., Lippitt R., White R.K. Patterns of Aggressive Behavior in Experimentally Created “Social Climates.” The Journal of Social Psychology, 1939, no. 10(2), pp. 269–299. DOI:10.1080/00224545.1939.9713366
26. Nicol A.A.M. Social Dominance Orientation, Right-Wing Authoritarianism, and their relation with leadership styles. Personality and Individual Differences, 2009, no. 47(6), pp. 657–661. DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2009.06.004
27. Rokeach M. Political and religious dogmatism: An alternative to the authoritarian personality. Psychological Monographs: General and Applied, 1956, no. 70(18), pp. 1–43. DOI:10.1037/h0093727
28. Rubinstein G. Two Peoples in One Land: A Validation Study of Altemeyer’s Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale in the Palestinian and Jewish Societies in Israel. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 1996, no. 27, pp. 216–230.
29. Sidanius J., Pratto F. Social dominance: An intergroup theory of social hierarchy and oppression. Publ. Cambridge University Press, 2001. 401 p.
30. Sidanius J., Pratto F., Sinclair S., van Laar C. Mother teresa meets Genghis Khan: The dialectics of hierarchy-enhancing and hierarchy-attenuating career choices. Social Justice Research, 1996, no. 9(2), pp. 145–170. DOI:10.1007/bf02198077
31. Silveira R.T. The Teacher-Student Relationship from a Gramscian Perspective. Educação & Realidade, 2017. Vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 97–114.
32. Shashkov A.V, Maznichenko M.A., Kravchenko L.V., Ivanova M.N. Students’ Social-Perceptive Attitudes toward the Chosen Pedagogical Profession and the Correlation between these Attitudes and their Personal Characteristics. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 2020, no. 9(1), pp. 145–159.
33. Thompson M.M., Naccarato M.E., Parker K.C.H., Moskowitz G.B. The personal need for structure and personal fear of invalidity scales: Historical perspectives, present applications and future directions. Cognitive social psychology: The Princeton symposium on the legacy and future of social cognition. Ed. G. Moskowitz – Mahwah. N. J.: Erlbaum, 2001, pp. 19–39.