Right-Wing Authoritarianism in Relation to Proposed Judicial Action, Electromyographic Response, and Affective Attitudes Toward a Schizophrenic Mother

Student participants who were high vs. low on Altemeyer's (1996) Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale read background information and observed a videotaped interview concerning a schizophrenic woman who ostensibly killed her 2 young children in response to what she perceived as divine command. The woman now was functioning normally in response to medical treatment. High RWAs recommended harsher sentencing and expressed less sympathy than did low RWAs. High RWAs also evinced more facial electromyographic activity from the corrugator brow (i.e., frown) muscle while observing the interview than did low RWAs and gave the woman lower ratings on the Affective Attitudes Scale ( Crites, Fabrigar, & Petty, 1994 ).