The F Scale: Final form

Fifty years ago, the Authoritarian Personality studies attempted to "construct an instrument that would yield an estimate of fascist receptivity at the personality level."

This online, interactive F Scale presents that instrument in its final form. Additional infomation, including an explanation of the personality variables the F Scale tries to measure, is given below after the questionnaire. So take the F Scale now --- and enjoy!

[1] Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[2] A person who has bad manners, habits, and breeding can hardly expect to get along with decent people.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[3] If people would talk less and work more, everybody would be better off.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[4] The business man and the manufacturer are much more important to society than the artist and the professor.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[5] Science has its place, but there are many important things that can never be understood by the human mind.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[6] Every person should have complete faith in some supernatural power whose decisions he obeys without question.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[7] Young people sometimes get rebellious ideas, but as they grow up they ought to get over them and settle down.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[8] What this country needs most, more than laws and political programs, is a few courageous, tireless, devoted leaders in whom the people can put their faith.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[9] No sane, normal, decent person could ever think of hurting a close friend or relative.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[10] Nobody ever learned anything really important except through suffering.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[11] What the youth needs most is strict discipline, rugged determination, and the will to work and fight for family and country.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[12] An insult to our honor should always be punished.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[13] Sex crimes, such as rape and attacks on children, deserve more than mere imprisonment; such criminals ought to be publicly whipped, or worse.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[14] There is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel a great love, gratitude, and respect for his parents.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[15] Most of our social problems would be solved if we could somehow get rid of the immoral, crooked, and feebleminded people.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[16] Homosexuals are hardly better than criminals and ought to be severely punished.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[17] When a person has a problem or worry, it is best for him not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things.

Disagree Strongly	Disagree Mostly	Disagree Somewhat	Agree Somewhat	Agree Mostly	Agree Strongly
1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.

[18] Nowadays more and more people are prying into matters that should remain personal and private.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[19] Some people are born with an urge to jump from high places.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[20] People can be divided into two distinct classes: the weak and the strong.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[21] Some day it will probably be shown that astrology can explain a lot of things.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[22] Wars and social troubles may someday be ended by an earthquake or flood that will destroy the whole world.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[23] No weakness or difficulty can hold us back if we have enough will power.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[24] It is best to use some prewar authorities in Germany to keep order and prevent chaos.
[You'll have to pretend it is 1946 when you answer this one.]

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[25] Most people don't realize how much our lives are controlled by plots hatched in secret places.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[26] Human nature being what it is, there will always be war and conflict.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[27] Familiarity breeds contempt.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[28] Nowadays when so many different kinds of people move around and mix together so much, a person has to protect himself especially carefully against catching an infection or disease from them.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[29] The wild sex life of the old Greeks and Romans was tame compared to some of the goings-on in this country, even in places where people might least expect it.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

[30] The true American way of life is disappearing so fast that force may be necessary to preserve it.

Disagree
Strongly Disagree
Mostly Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Somewhat Agree
Mostly Agree
Strongly

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Your F Score is:

Note: this questionnaire uses JavaScript and requires Netscape Navigator version 2.0 or higher, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 or higher, or other browser capable of handling JavaScript.

If your score is... You are...

Less than 2 A whining rotter.

2 to 3 A liberal airhead.

3 to 4.5 Within normal limits; an appropriate score for an American. (The overall average score for groups tested in the original study is listed in the 1950 publication as 3.84, with men averaging somewhat higher and women somewhat lower.)

4.5 to 5.5 You may want to practice doing things with your left hand.
5.5 or higher Have trouble keeping the lint off your black shirts?

The following table shows the personality variables the F Scale attempted to measure, and the questions in the F Scale instrument that were deemed to measure these variables. Please note that a single question may measure more than one variable.

Variable Questions measuring variable

Conventionalism: Rigid adherence to conventional, middle-class values. 1, 2, 3, 4

Authoritarian Submission: Submissive, uncritical attitude toward idealized moral authorities of the ingroup. 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Authoritarian Aggression: Tendency to be on the lookout for, and to condemn, reject, and punish people who violate conventional values. 2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Anti-intraception: Opposition to the subjective, the imaginative, the tender-minded. 3, 4, 17, 18

Superstition and Stereotypy: The belief in mystical determinants of the individual's fate; the disposition to think in rigid categories. 5, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22

Power and "Toughness": Preoccupation with the dominance-submission, strong-weak, leader-follower dimension; identification with power figures; overemphasis upon the conventionalized attributes of the ego; exaggerated assertion of strength and toughness. 8, 11, 12, 20, 23, 24, 25, 30

Destructiveness and Cynicism: Generalized hostility, vilification of the human. 26, 27

Projectivity: The disposition to believe that wild and dangerous things go on in the world; the projection outwards of unconscious emotional impulses. 18, 22, 25, 28, 29

Sex: Exaggerated concern with sexual "goings-on." 13, 16, 29

Well, there you have it. For more information, consult T. W. Adorno et al., The Authoritarian Personality (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1950). It should be noted here that that the authors concluded that it had "still to be demonstrated" if the F-scale actually did, in fact, measure fascist receptivity at a personality level. They were sure it measured something --- but not exactly sure what. T. W. Adorno returned to the University of Frankfurt, where he amused himself as a principal figure in the Frankfurt school of "critical theory", producing a Freudian-Marxist melange of pseudo-scientific speculative foolishness that is now, thank God, thoroughly discredited.

Back to Chuck Anesi's home page
©Copyright 1997 Chuck Anesi mailto:anesi@anesi.comall rights reserved

If your score is...	You are...
Less than 2	A whining rotter.
2 to 3	A liberal airhead.
3 to 4.5	Within normal limits; an appropriate score for an American. (The overall average score for groups tested in the original study is listed in the 1950 publication as 3.84, with men averaging somewhat higher and women somewhat lower.)
4.5 to 5.5	You may want to practice doing things with your left hand.
5.5 or higher	Have trouble keeping the lint off your black shirts?

Variable	Questions measuring variable
Conventionalism: Rigid adherence to conventional, middle-class values.	1, 2, 3, 4
Authoritarian Submission: Submissive, uncritical attitude toward idealized moral authorities of the ingroup.	1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Authoritarian Aggression: Tendency to be on the lookout for, and to condemn, reject, and punish people who violate conventional values.	2, 3, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
Anti-intraception: Opposition to the subjective, the imaginative, the tender-minded.	3, 4, 17, 18
Superstition and Stereotypy: The belief in mystical determinants of the individual's fate; the disposition to think in rigid categories.	5, 6, 19, 20, 21, 22
Power and "Toughness": Preoccupation with the dominance-submission, strong-weak, leader-follower dimension; identification with power figures; overemphasis upon the conventionalized attributes of the ego; exaggerated assertion of strength and toughness.	8, 11, 12, 20, 23, 24, 25, 30
Destructiveness and Cynicism: Generalized hostility, vilification of the human.	26, 27
Projectivity: The disposition to believe that wild and dangerous things go on in the world; the projection outwards of unconscious emotional impulses.	18, 22, 25, 28, 29
Sex: Exaggerated concern with sexual "goings-on."	13, 16, 29