An Analysis of the Barriers to Inclusion of Children with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (besd) in the Contexts of Greece and England

Author(s): Katerina Lykourgioti / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2017

Children with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) are at high risk of experiencing exclusion in both England and Greece. However, this particular category of Special Educational Needs (SEN) has so far received relatively little academic or political attention in comparison to other SEN. This paper attempts to point out the barriers that may prevent the inclusion of children with BESD both in terms of the theoretical conceptualisation of the category itself and in terms of the policies and practices that England and Greece may implement. In order to achieve a further yet coherent picture of the current situation, this paper has identified three different types of factors that may negatively influence inclusion. Therefore, by discussing the possible ideological, structural, and practical challenges, the paper aims to highlight the crucial need for further theoretical insight that would be able to inform and promote the establishment of a more cohesive and efficient legislative framework for pupils with BESD in both countries.

An Analysis of the Relationship between Teaching Concerns and Personality Traits of In-Service EFL Teachers

Author(s): Didem Atan,Demet Yaylı / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2019

This study aims at exploring the teaching concerns of a group of EFL teachers working in various school levels in terms of different variables (gender, age, professional experience, graduated program and school level), the relationship between their concerns and personality traits, and their views on their own teaching concerns. The research was designed in a convergent parallel design. A total of 200 EFL teachers working in primary, secondary and university levels participated in the study, and interviews were conducted with 18 teachers volunteering among these teachers. The results indicated that gender and the graduated program type appeared not to create a significant difference. However, it was found that as the professional experience increased, the teaching concerns decreased and primary school EFL teachers seemed to have higher concerns than the other groups of teachers. Correlation analysis revealed a significant relationship between their teaching concerns and personality traits. Qualitative results of the study suggested relatively higher levels of teaching concerns than the levels obtained with the questionnaire.

An empirical investigation of the effects of moderating and mediating variables in business research: Insights from an auditing report

Author(s): Mohammad Namazi,Navid Reza Namazi / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2017

This study examines the empirical impacts of moderating (MO) and mediating (ME) variables in business research, within the context of auditing reports. size, complexity of the operation, and risk of the firm were selected as the independent variable, moderating variable, and mediating variable, respectively. The selection was attempted over 15 years of research (1455 year-firm data) for the firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The following techniques were employed for testing the hypothesis: Pearson correlation, Levin, Lin, and Chu test, Hausman unit root, and multiple regression. The results revealed that there is a significant relationship between the size of the firm and the type of the auditing report. Moreover, a significant relationship between the size of the company and the type of auditing report is shown in the inventory value of the moderating variables. Furthermore, the same has been displayed in return on the assets and institutional ownership of the mediating variables. However, inventory and institutional ownership demonstrate a significant statistical relationship when moderating and mediating variables are considered simultaneously. The implication of this study is to demonstrate the moderating and mediating variables as significant impediments in the type of auditing report. This would change the design, theory, and implications of this research.

An investigation into problematic smartphone use: The role of narcissism, anxiety, and personality factors

Author(s): Zaheer Hussain,Mark D. Griffiths,David Sheffield / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2017

Over the last decade, worldwide smartphone usage has greatly increased. Alongside this growth, research on the influence of smartphones on human behavior has also increased. However, a growing number of studies have shown that excessive use of smartphones can lead to detrimental consequences in a minority of individuals. This study examines the psychological aspects of smartphone use particularly in relation to problematic use, narcissism, anxiety, and personality factors. Methods: A sample of 640 smartphone users ranging from 13 to 69 years of age (mean = 24.89 years, SD = 8.54) provided complete responses to an online survey including modified DSM-5 criteria of Internet Gaming Disorder to assess problematic smartphone use, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory. Results: The results demonstrated significant relationships between problematic smartphone use and anxiety, conscientiousness, openness, emotional stability, the amount of time spent on smartphones, and age. The results also demonstrated that conscientiousness, emotional stability, and age were independent predictors of problematic smartphone use. Conclusion: The findings demonstrate that problematic smartphone use is associated with various personality factors and contributes to further understanding the psychology of smartphone behavior and associations with excessive use of smartphones.

An overview of research on romantic relationships. The case of negative emotions

Author(s): Andreea Ursu,Maria Nicoleta Turliuc / Language(s): English / Issue: 16/2018

The universal human tendency to form close relationships, the basic needs satisfied by social relationships and the centrality of them to human existence were ones of the most important reasons why people started to research the concept of close relationships and its impact on the daily life. In the last 4 decades, the studies of the interpersonal relationships have been one of the favorite areas in the social psychology. The several strong theories and highly generative research paradigms on interpersonal relationships are the result of researchers’ interest in this concept. A central role was played by the romantic relationships concept. At the beginning of the 1980s, the publication of studies on relationship types began, and later on, articles on theories about factors of formation, development, maintenance and dissolution of one romantic relationship were published. Across time, they discover that social relationships represent the context in which people experience their most intense emotions, both positive and negative. Especially, the experience and expression of emotions are influencing the formation, maintenance and dissolution of close relationships. Thus, based on these assumptions, this paper is an overview of synthesizing (a) how the concept of romantic relationships is view by different theories; (b) what are the benefits of them; and (c) which type of negative emotions are experienced within a romantic relationship.

Analysis of the hostile family environment as a predictor of aggression during adolescence

Author(s): Boris Tilov / Language(s): English / Issue: 01/2015

Anne ve Babaların Eğitim Düzeyi ve Mesleki Statüleri ile Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Cinsiyetçilik ve Muhafazakârlığı Arasındaki İlişki

Author(s): Abdulkadir Kuzlak,Burcu Çuvaş,Nuray Sakallı-Uğurlu / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 09/2017

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between mother and father education levels and vocational statuses with sexism and conservatism. 418 undergraduate students (229 females, 189 males; Mage = 22.31, SS = 3.3) were recruited for the study and completed questions regarding parent statuses as well as Ambivalent Sexism Inventory including hostile -benevolent sexism and General Conservatism Scale. Results showed that parent education levels and statuses were mostly negatively correlated with individuals’ hostile and benevolent sexism and conservatism. Besides, it is found that education level and statuses of both parents are more related with women hostile and benevolent sexism and conservatism compared to men. Finally, contradictions and compliances of findings with existing literature were discussed, theoretical and practical contributions were revealed, and some limitations were specified.

Annenin Ebeveyn Tutumlarının ve Çocuğun Annesinin Tutumlarıyla İlgili Algısının Çocuğun Duygu Tanıma Becerilerindeki Rolü

Author(s): Arzu Çalışkan Sarı,Başak Şahin-Acar / Language(s): Turkish / Issue: 12/2018

Parenting attitudes and children’s perception of parenting attitudes influence many different developmental skills of children, especially their social skills. The current study aims to examine the effects of mothers’ parenting attitudes and children’s perception of maternal parenting on children’s emotion recognition skills via the mediator role of children’s perception of parenting attitudes. One hundred and thirty 2nd-grade children and their mothers living in Ankara participated in the study. Kusche Emotion Inventory, Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran Child form (sEMBU-C) were used as measurements for children while EMBU Parent form and a demographic form were used as measurements for mothers. Results showed that children whose mothers were high in emotional warmth got higher receptive emotion scores; while children, whose mothers scored higher in rejection, got lower receptive emotion scores. In addition, children’s perception of their mothers’ emotional warmth predicted the relationship between mother’s own emotional warmth and receptive emotion scores of children positively; while children’s perception of their mothers’ rejection predicted the relationship between mothers’ own rejection and children’s receptive emotion scores negatively. Overprotection had no predictive role in emotion understanding of children. Limitations of the current study and suggestions for future studies were discussed.

Antisocial behavior: Dimension or category(ies)?

Author(s): Mikloš Biro,Snežana Smederevac,Zdenka Novović / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2008

Classificatory systems (DSM-IV, ICD-10) use different criteria for defining a rather common antisocial disorder, traditionally referred as psychopathy. Most empirical studies of this phenomenon use Cleckley’s operational definition that was applied and amended in Hare’s revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R). In modern literature, the fact that there is less than a perfect correspondence between classificatory systems and Hare’s PCL-R is often cited as an indication that antisocial behavior is not confined to a distinct category of people but is rather a continuous personality dimension. In order to further elucidate the nosology of antisocial behaviors, a Psychopathy Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ) based on Cleckley – Hare’s criteria and consisting of 40 binary items was administered to 339 men (135 prisoners and 204 members of the general population). Four distinct clusters of respondents were identified by means of hierarchical cluster analysis: Psychopathic type (characterized by high positive scores on dimension of Unemotionality; Antisocial type (characterized by high positive scores on Social deviance dimension); Adapted type (characterized by negative scores on all dimensions); and Hyper-controlled type (characterized by extremely negative scores on dimension Social deviance accompanied with positive scores on Unemotionality dimension). Additional comparison with MMPI profiles which classified prison sample in two groups (“Psychopathic profiles” and “NonPsychopathic profiles”) shows that there is no expected compatibility between MMPI and PAQ. We conclude that Antisocial type can be treated as a distinct category, while Psychopathic type displays characteristics of dimensional distribution.

Anxiety of Students Preparing for the University Entrance Exam towards Math Lessons

Author(s): Yıldırım Bayazıt / Language(s): English / Issue: 5/2017

It is known that one of the crucial factors affecting the students’ success at math lessons negatively is math anxiety. In most general meaning, math anxiety may be defined as an anxiety and fear emerging in relation to certain math situations. The aim of this study is to find out the reasons of math anxiety observed among students attending privet courses. To collect the needed data of the study an anxiety scale was administered to 450 students attending different private courses in the city of Kırklareli, Turkey. The obtained data was processed by data processing soft-ware. After the required data interpretation steps were concluded, students’ math anxiety reasons were determined and in relation some solutions were suggested.

Apie Filosofines Dailės Terapijos Ištakas Ir Taikymo Galimybes

Author(s): Vaida Asakavičiūtė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 89/2016

The article reviews the philosophical and psychological origins of Art Therapy and its practical application possibilities. A special focus is given to the influence of the views based on philosophical and psychological ideas of art therapy functions, methods and practical significance. The article aims to highlight the positive benefits of the adoption of art therapy techniques and their effects on health of a human soul and body as well as a self-cognition. The focus is on a creative process, which is considered to be one of the most important elements of art therapy. The advantages of art therapy, such as a self-expression through colours, the personality in self-creation, the education of the personal creativeness and spirituality, are concisely presented in the paper.

Approach/avoidance personality traits as predictors of psychopathology in convicted offenders

Author(s): Katerina Naumova,Zoran Kitkanj / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2019

This study examined the role of approach and avoidance personality traits as temperamental risk factors for psychopathology using the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory as theoretical framework. Self-report measures were administered to male convicted offenders (N = 162) and controls matched for age, education, and ethnicity (N = 162). The results show higher approach and passive avoidance tendencies in the forensic sample, as well as higher psychological distress relative to controls. In the forensic sample, both approach and avoidance traits can account for a high degree of psychopathology vulnerability. However, higher behavioral inhibition system sensitivity is the primary risk factor both for general distress and various dimensions of psychopathology, while lower behavioral approach system sensitivity predicts internalizing psychopathology, paranoid, and psychoticism symptoms. The findings are discussed both in the general context of personality-psychopathology links, as well as in the forensic context of potential mental health interventions as part of rehabilitation prison programs.

Asertivni trening: Efekti tretmana, održivost promena i udeo terapeuta u terapijskom ishodu

Author(s): Snežana Tovilović / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 1/2005

In this research is shown part of results concerning evaluation study of group assertiveness training. Treatment, which has been organized as structured program of assertiveness training, has been applied on 18 groups of subjects during 9 group sessions. This treatment has been adjusted to non-psychiatric clients from our country. Groups were lead by two therapists. During 20 months of our research 215 voluntary participants of full age have joined training groups. Final sample consisted of 158 subjects who had finished treatment and who had fulfilled criteria for taking repeated measurement. Subjects had taken battery of questionnaires before the treatment and eight weeks after they had completed treatment. Subsample, which included 35 subjects from one therapist’s groups, took retest after twice longer time period. Results of conducted research have confirmed the hypothesis concerning the potentiality of assertiveness training to produce expected and significant improvements of treated subjects. Therapy effect is found on symptomatic level through reduction of symptoms of non-assertive behaviors, which were target of the treatment. Contrary to expectation interactive effect of treatment and therapist to reduction of symptoms of non-assertive behavior has been found, which implies need for further investigation of variables that are related to therapists. Through the medium of treatment therapeutic changes in structural level, in domain of general assertiveness, social anxiety and treated subjects' self-concept are produced. The effect of therapy we might consider stabled and maintained after 16 weeks of finishing the treatment.

Asmenybé Maxo Schelerio Aksiologijoje

Author(s): Loreta Anilionytė / Language(s): Lithuanian / Issue: 57/2008

The article considers the concept of personality as it is presented in the phenomenology of German philosopher Max Scheler, who elaborated this concept within the frameworks of his axiological ethics in polemics with Kant’s rationalistic approach to man. Also the article indicates the differences in the concept of personality noticeable in the early and late Scheler’s writings.

Attachment styles: A motivational framework of personality dispositions in selection and counseling

Author(s): Martin Seitl,Miroslav Charvát / Language(s): English / Issue: 1/2018

The aim of the study is to propose a framework based on personality dynamics to interpret the results of a personality questionnaire used by occupational psychologists during management counseling, personnel selection, and employee development. The source for the interpretative framework is the attachment dynamics arising from the adult attachment theory (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). The study also demonstrates how the interpretative framework may be applied to employees’ personality trait data. The study builds on the results of implemented meta-analyses (Barrick & Mount, 2012; Barrick, Mount, & Judge, 2001) which claim that the question of the relation of personality structure and work behavior criteria, participating in overall job performance, has been resolved. However, the knowledge that is missing is the circumstances under which structural characteristics in the form of traits and dispositions are asserted, i.e. what dynamic personality processes lead to the manifestations of the dispositions which an employee is more or less equipped with, in specific situations. The current results show that one of the theories that offers an insight into motivational processes affecting the manifestation of personality dispositions in work behavior is the adult attachment theory, and in particular the attachment theory in the workplace (Engel & Straatmann, 2017; Harms, 2011; Leiter, Day, & Price, 2015; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). The theory originally proposed by Bowlby (2010), and further developed by his colleagues, surpassed the borders of developmental and clinical psychology, and currently finds its applications in other fields; such as psychology of work and organizations. The knowledge on the dynamics of the attachment working models which start to develop in early childhood and continue to develop throughout a person’s life was first applied on interpersonal situations at work. These were impacts of experience anticipation in, a) self-efficacy and b) availability of others for relationships as well as immediate experience of relationships. Later findings showed that the impact of prevailing working models of attachment - the so-called attachment styles - affects the behavior beyond the framework of interpersonal situations because the attachment system is evolutionarily older than other systems developing in a person during childhood and adolescence (e.g. exploratory). Through the interpersonal history, the attachment dynamics thus influences the present and anticipated behavior of an individual, thus affecting the relational and nonrelational criteria of work behavior. We assume, in regard to the above mentioned, that the attachment motivational processes shall predict the manifestations of personality traits and dispositions forming a wide spectrum of work behavior. The attachment motivational processes may be operationalized through the major forces of attachment dynamics. The primary and dominant force is to obtain and maintain the real or imaginary closeness of key attachment figures in the situation of danger, threat, and uncertainty. While the success of primary strategy enables the activation of exploratory and other systems of behavior independent on relational topics, a failure hinders the activation of other systems and leads to the perseveration of the security topics and activation of one or two secondary strategies of attachment dynamics also affecting the perception of nonrelational areas (Mikulincer & Shaver, 2007). The secondary strategies correspond to the constituents of internal working models of attachment; namely attachment anxiety (the degree of experiencing self-efficacy) and attachment avoidance (the degree of experiencing the availability of others). The results of the measurements of the experienced attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance may be applied to interpret to what extent work behavior, predicted by Five Factor Theory questionnaires and other directions, will be influenced by the secondary attachment strategies. The data applied to the interpretative framework was acquired from a set of 185 working population respondents (79 men and 106 women) aged from 20 to 59. The set was compiled having taken into account the gender, age, and education quotas for the Czech population according to the data of the Czech Statistical Office. Respondents’ participation in the research was voluntary. The degree of respondents’ attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, as sources of motivation affecting the manifestations of traits in behavior, was verified by a questionnaire titled; Experiences in Close Relationships (Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Seitl, Charvát, & Lečbych, 2016). To diagnose the personality traits, we used the widely used Business-Focused Inventory of Personality (Hossiep, Paschen, Hoskovcová, & Vybíralová, 2003) which contains scales corresponding to the Five Factor Theory as well as scales beyond the borders of this theory. The inventory gives static descriptions of 14 personality traits affecting work behavior and conditioning success in different types of occupations. To achieve the aims of the study, the acquired data were evaluated using correlation coefficients and linear regression. Besides the attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, the predictors were also gender and age which influence the attachment motivational processes during a lifetime. The criterion variables were the traits measured by the Business-Focused Inventory of Personality. Interpreting the obtained predictor effects on criterion variables we used the framework proposed by Fraley (2012). The framework enables an interpretation of the effect of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance in a parallel manner in the sense of attachment styles. The analysis showed a connection of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance towards 13 out of 14 observed traits. No connection was identified in the trait Conscientiousness. The results of the linear regression revealed that Flexibility and Self-Confidence were best predicted by the secure attachment style. In Flexibility, a low age has a specific effect; but on the contrary, a higher result on the scale of Self-Confidence is correlated with a higher age and male gender. The secure attachment style predicts Sensitivity, but age does not appear as a predictor there. It is positively correlated with gender, and women in particular show a higher sensitivity. Action Orientation, Sociability, Working under Pressure, and Emotional Stability are predicted by secure and avoidant attachment styles. Action Orientation, moreover, is supported by a higher age, and Sociability by female gender. Openness to Contact, Team Orientation, and Assertiveness are predicted by secure and anxious attachment styles. The acquired results have been applied to a new interpretative framework that proposes a key based on which respondents will tend to manifest traits identified by a personality questionnaire in their behavior. Whereas in respondents with a secure attachment style the manifestations of personality traits will be connected with the motivators outside the relationships, respondents with anxious attachment or avoidant attachment styles will tend to manifest or not to manifest a personality trait in a specific situation while being influenced by their relational needs. Especially, situations that are in anxious style respondents connected with a lack of support, appreciation, and acceptance or situations that are in avoidant style respondents connected with an emotional load or interpersonally unclear and confusing situations, will exert pressure on the behavior subduing or intensifying the personality traits in favor of reducing unpleasant experience related to the primary attachment system. The results of the study may concurrently be used as a tool in diagnosing the traits and secondary attachment strategies as a functional whole, providing information on the personality traits and situations under which the traits will be manifested in behavior. In particular, the proposed interpretative framework is intended for use in personnel selection and counseling.

Attachment to parents and friends as a context for development of self-concept in adolescence: The personality traits as mediators

Author(s): Ksenija Krstić / Language(s): English / Issue: 4/2016

The aim of the research is to study developmental relations between attachment to mother, father and friends and dimensions of adolescents’ self-concept. More specifically, we examine if this relation is direct or mediated by some personality construct. A sample of 878 students (13 and 16 years old) from Belgrade urban lower secondary and upper secondary schools participated in this research. Participants completed ECR for mother, father and friend; Self-perception profile for adolescents and NEOFFI. The results have indicated that dimensions of attachment are correlated with dimensions of self-concept, and that they can explain 13% of variance in dimensions of self-concept. When the personality traits are introduced as mediators, attachment dimensions explain only 4.5% of variance in self-concept. The quality of attachment relations with parents is not related to adolescents’ self-concept, while attachment to friends is correlated with social dimensions of self-concept. Hence, this study suggests that adolescents with particular parental attachment styles differ according to their self-concept profiles, but that peer attachment is important for adolescents’ social self. Beside that, this study reveals significant gender differences: relation between parental and peer attachment and adolescents’ self-concepts is not the same for boys and girls.

Attention as a Factor in the School Performance of Adolescents

Author(s): Radmila Milovanović / Language(s): English / Issue: 3/2017

Attention represents a core of cognitive activity, it is an essential element of meaningful information processing and a key factor in self-regulation which is necessary for academic success. Despite this, there is only a small number of studies that examine the relationship between attention and school performance of adolescents. The aim of this research is an attempt to identify the components of attention which are relevant for academic achievement in adolescence. In addition, the aim of the research is also to determine potential differences with regard to the respondents’ gender. The sample included 350 adolescents, aged between 14 and 16 years (M=15.2), matched for their intelligence quotient, from different towns in Serbia. The following instruments were used – the Digit Span Test, Digit Symbol-Coding, the Trail Making Test, the Stroop Test, the Concentration Achievement Test (for measuring the components of attention), Raven’s Progressive Matrices (as a measure of intelligence). The results indicate that academic achievement is highly significantly associated with a certain configuration of components of the function of attention (goal-oriented selectivity, resistance to distractions, attention maintenance and concentration), and that the performance of students with poor academic achievement differs significantly from the performance of students with better academic achievement (p < 0.01). The results imply that the academic achievement or failure of adolescents cannot be interpreted without taking into account the characteristics of their attention. In addition, the results also indicate the necessity to establish an educational program with an aim to encourage the development of the assessed components of attention, in order for adolescents to attain academic achievements adequate to their intellectual capabilities.

Attitudes toward globalization and identity styles

Author(s): Alicja Senejko,Zbigniew Łoś / Language(s): English / Issue: 2/2016

The main aim of the article is to show the possible relations between attitudes toward globalization as described by Senejko and Łoś and the specificity of identity styles as described by Berzonsky. The participants were 601 people aged 16-26 – school students, university students, and working people from the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship, Poland. We used the following instruments: The World–I Questionnaire (measuring attitudes toward globalization) and the Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5). The results obtained in correlational analyses and cluster analyses show that people with a strongly manifested accepting attitude toward globalization are characterized mainly by the informational style and the least strongly by the normative and diffuse-avoidant styles. As the results showed, the critical attitude toward globalization occurs in the form of two clusters: (1) with strong critical and accepting attitudes (people with this configuration of attitudes exhibit a strongly expressed informational identity style and commitment and a weakly expressed normative style); (2) with strong critical and fearful attitudes (individuals with this configuration of attitudes mainly exhibit the normative identity style and commitment). People with a strongly expressed fearful attitude toward globalization typically use the diffuse-avoidant or normative styles, while the least strongly expressed identity style in this group is the informational style and commitment. Cluster analysis made it also possible to distinguish people with a distanced attitude toward globalization, characterized by fairly strong identity commitment.

Autismus jako společenskovědní téma

Author(s): Michael Geisler / Language(s): Czech / Issue: 1/2016

Knowledge on autism has undergone a rapid development over the past few decades, as well as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis rates increasing dramatically. These changes emphasize the need for increased services and wider specialised support for people with ASD and their families. Autism is not only a medical, psychological or special pedagogical topic it is also a social issue. There have been several sociological studies on the topic conducted abroad, however the Czech case is specific in several aspects due to the political-cultural context of the country. Apart from a few exceptions, the topic has not been reflected in Czech social science. The present paper will introduce five approaches to autism based on research which has been conducted abroad and will also discuss to which extent they are applicable in the Czech Republic. The ideas presented are a multidisciplinary combination of sociology of knowledge, historical sociology, sociology of health and illness, cultural anthropology and disability studies. The subtopics discussed include: the social construction of autism, the development of knowledge on autism, social movements related to autism, autism across cultures and lastly, causes of the increasing prevalence of autism.

Autoritarna ličnost: Psihoanaliza antisemitizma i predrasuda

Author(s): Bojan Todosijević / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 2/2008

The Authoritarian Personality is one of the most influential studies in social psychology, yet it has been subjected to different, often contradictory interpretations. This paper argues that the most important element of the authoritarian personality theory is the analysis of the psychological functionality of prejudice. Using psychoanalytic conceptual tools, the authors described the psychological logic behind apparently contradictory prejudices, and the function of prejudice in personal psychological ‘economy’. In this way, Adorno et al. ‘psychoanalyzed’ both prejudice and the prejudiced. The first part of the paper presents the original research, with the particular focus on the less familiar aspects. The second part reviews the reactions to the Authoritarian Personality, and analyzes some of the better known criticisms and objections. The paper ends with the review of recent research trends inspired by Adorno et al.’s theory.