Unlabeled Fascist Attitudes

Abstract

The Unlabeled Fascist Attitudes scale, developed by A. L. Edwards in 1941, is a seminal instrument in the study of political and social psychology. It was designed to measure underlying sympathies towards fascist attitudes and ideology among the general public in the United States without explicitly using the term “fascism” in the items themselves. This approach aimed to bypass social desirability bias and capture subtle inclinations toward authoritarianism, nationalism, and anti-democratic sentiment during a period of rising global political tension. The original scale comprised 26 items, later revised to 22, measured using a 5-point agreement scale.

Keywords

Fascism, Political Attitudes, Authoritarianism, Social Psychology, Edwards Scale, Nationalism, Likert Scale, Political Science, Anti-democratic sentiment.

Authors

Allen L. Edwards.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Unlabeled Fascist Attitudes scale was to quantify the prevalence and intensity of authoritarian and anti-democratic beliefs within a population. Edwards sought to create a measure that could detect “incipient fascism” by focusing on specific attitudes related to obedience, militarism, racial superiority, and restriction of civil liberties, rather than relying on overt endorsement of a political label.

Published shortly before the United States entered World War II, the scale served a critical function in early social psychology research, providing empirical data on how deeply entrenched certain anti-democracy beliefs were in society, thereby informing broader discussions regarding the psychological vulnerability to authoritarian regimes.

Construct

The scale measures a latent construct often referred to as proto-fascist or pre-authoritarian tendencies. These tendencies manifest across several dimensions, including extreme nationalism, dogmatic obedience to authority, anti-intellectualism, hostility towards minority groups (racial and religious), support for militarization, and a rejection of fundamental democratic principles like free speech and equal participation. It is conceptually distinct from, but highly correlated with, later measures of authoritarianism, such as the F-Scale developed by Adorno and colleagues.

The items cluster around themes such as the suppression of dissent, support for strong, centralized government power, ethnocentrism and racial hierarchy, and a preference for discipline and loyalty over intellectual development. The “unlabeled” nature ensured that researchers could measure genuine predispositions toward fascist attitudes rather than relying on politically charged self-identification.

Validity

While formal, modern validity studies using advanced statistical techniques are limited for this 1941 instrument, Edwards demonstrated initial evidence of its construct validity through its ability to differentiate groups expected to hold opposing political viewpoints. The scale was found to correlate significantly with other measures of political conservatism and dogmatism available at the time, supporting its conceptual alignment with measures of anti-democratic sentiment.

The validity of the instrument was anchored in its ability to capture subtle yet pervasive anti-democratic beliefs. Later research, particularly that compiled by Robinson and Shaver (1969), confirmed the utility of these items in broader political attitude measurement, providing external validation for the underlying concepts measured.

Reliability

Edwards (1941) reported initial reliability data, typically based on internal consistency measures such as split-half reliability. Although the specific coefficient values are often not cited in the original publication using contemporary terminology, early research indicated satisfactory internal consistency for the time period, suggesting the items measured a relatively homogenous underlying construct. The revision of the scale, which excluded four specific items, was likely performed to enhance overall internal consistency and measurement precision.

Factor Analysis

Early factor analysis of the scale was rudimentary compared to contemporary standards. However, the items generally exhibited a strong primary factor loading, consistent with a single dimension of general fascist or anti-democratic inclination. Later analyses (e.g., Robinson & Shaver, 1969) often incorporated these items into broader factor analyses of psychological attitudes, where they consistently loaded onto dimensions related to political conservatism, authoritarianism, and intolerance, confirming the scale’s unidimensional focus on anti-democratic ideology.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report Psychological Attitudes Scale

Format: 26 statements (original version); 22 statements (revised version). Responses are measured on a 5-point Likert Scale using the following options:

• I strongly agree with this statement
• I agree with this statement
• I am uncertain about this statement
• I disagree with this statement
• I strongly disagree with this statement

Language Available: English

Population Group: General Adult Population

Age Group: Adults (Typically college students or general population samples used in early research)

Population Details: Primarily developed and tested on American samples in the early 1940s during a period of high sensitivity to the spread of fascist attitudes globally.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement or disagreement with each statement. Scoring involves assigning numerical values (e.g., 5 for strong agreement with a fascist statement, 1 for strong disagreement), with reverse scoring applied to anti-fascist items (e.g., Items 4, 5, 7, 11).

The original PDF containing this instrument can be downloaded here: https://www.psc.isr.umich.edu/dis/infoserv/isrpub/pdf/Measuresofsocialpsychologicalattitudes_2928_.PDF

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not applicable (Historical figure)

Affiliation Email addresses: Not applicable (Historical figure)

Correspondence Address: Correspondence related to the scale’s subsequent use is often directed toward the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, which archived and published its details in later compilations.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

Test Year: 1941 (Original publication).

The scale items are generally considered to be in the public domain for academic and non-commercial research use due to their age and inclusion in standard academic compilations (e.g., Robinson & Shaver, 1969). Researchers are advised to cite the original Edwards (1941) publication.

Reference’s

• Edwards, A. (1941). Unlabeled fascist attitudes. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 36, 579-582.

• Edwards, A. L. (1944). The signs of incipient fascism. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 39(3), 301-316.

• Robinson, John P., Shaver, Phillip R. (1969). Measures of Political Attitudes. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Items of the Unlabeled Fascist Attitudes

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

1. Children should be taught to be more obedient and to have more respect for authority by the public schools.
2. Whatever best serves the interests of government is generally right.
3. The public schools should place more emphasis upon physical training and loyalty and less upon the development of intellectual functions. *
4. Everyone should have the full liberty of propagandizing for what he believes to be true.*
5. The masses of people are capable of determining what is and what is not good for them.
6. America has reached a higher state of civilization than any other country in the world and as a consequence has a culture which is superior to any other.
7. People should be given the opportunity to hear all sides of a question‚ regardless of how controversial it is.*
8. Over 10% of the population is incapable of democratic participation in government by reason of their lack of inherited abilities.
9. Generally speaking‚ women are less intelligent and efficient than men.
10. The superior people in any culture are justified in dominating national affairs by force if necessary‚ because of the very fact that they are superior.
11. Many people who claim they believe in democracy have unconscious prejudices and attitudes which would make them sympathetic to a fascist movement.*
12. Because many of the minor political parties merely confuse national issues‚ all political parties except the two major ones should be abolished.
13. The right to vote should be restricted to those individuals who have a specified amount of private property and therefore have a direct concern in the welfare of the country.
14. A large percent of the taxes which citizens pay is wasted in an effort to educate individuals who are not capable or worthy of being educated.
15. The right of the working classes to c all a general strike should be abolished because it is a potential threat to democracy and is not in the general interest of society.
16. Patriotism and loyalty to one’s country are more important than one’s intellectual convictions and should have precedence over them.
17. A standing array of 2‚000‚000 men or over is necessary for our national defense at all times.
18. Government should attempt to persuade people to have more children and if necessary restrict birth control information for the benefit of our national defense.
19. In the national interest‚ private schools should either be abolished or restricted in their teachings so that the control of education is largely in the hands of the federal government.
20. Regardless of who our next president is‚ he must be a strong intelligent man and be given full power to run things i n the interest of the people.
21. Certain religious sects whose beliefs do not permit them to salute the flag; should either be forced to conform or else be abolished.
22. There will always be superior and inferior races in the world and in the interests of all concerned it is best that the superior continue to dominate the inferior.
23. Our foreign markets are a vital necessity to our prosperity and must be protected at all costs.
24. Women have more ability and are more efficient at tasks around the home and as a result their rightful place is in the home and not in the business world.
25. Minor forms of military training such as drill‚ marching‚ and simple commands should be made a part of the elementary school educational program.
26. Academic freedom is all right in principle‚ but instructors in high schools and colleges should not be allowed to express their convictions concerning their subject matter.

* These items were not included in the revised scale