The Specter of Authoritarianism Among Criminal Justice Majors

Authoritarianism has been an influential concept in social science research. Furthermore, researchers have long been concerned about the potential dangers of authoritarianism within the criminal justice system. The current study uses Altemeyer's RWA Scale to measure and compare levels of authoritarianism between criminal justice majors and non-criminal justice majors in a sample of undergraduate students. Results indicate that criminal justice majors, males, and lower-division students have higher mean RWA scores than non-criminal justice majors, females, and upper-division students. However, it is male criminal justice majors who demonstrate the highest levels of authoritarianism. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.