Thank you for a superb article. I remember reading about the 1994 Global Change Experiment and being horrified that people could be like that. But it did explain Hitler and his regime. I just never anticipated it in America.
I think that is a reason that the majority of Americans are not as alarmed as they should be. They can't believe it is true here. They can't believe that there is no rational or fact based center of these people to reach. This is now who they are.
But all the clear and repeated warnings from scholars, psychologist, prior followers, some politicians and regular people were insufficient to overcome our denial that people could be this damaged and do all this evil.
And from the studies and experience, it now seems that ouster is all that works. We have a evil nightmare to deal with. I grieve for all involved.
Like I mentioned in another comment, this was an article I didn’t want to write, not because I lacked the words, but because I didn’t want to admit we were really here. In just the past six months, MAGA has grown noticeably more radical. And unfortunately, the research continues to be right: it’s going to take far more than facts to undo this kind of psychological conditioning.
That 1994 Global Change experiment genuinely gave me chills. Watching how high-RWA minds collapsed cooperation and defaulted to war, it’s not just a story from the past. It’s playing out in real time. Third-wave authoritarianism has a firm grip on the world now, and MAGA is its American engine.
My heart hurts. I’m a white 76 year old woman whose father fought in the Pacific. I grew up with an older brother who was cruel to me and my mother my whole life. He was obsessed with Nazi Germany and Hitler since he was 12. He is a true Trump supporter. After this last election I made the decision that for my own mental wellness I had to disconnect from him completely. I haven’t communicated in any form since November 5. This information has really helped me to understand why there was never the possibility of ever breaking through his wall of anger and cruelty.
I still can’t believe my beautiful country has so many really sick people and that I am witnessing the destruction of our Democracy.
Thank you for helping me see more clearly the danger we are in.
Again, your sharing of knowledge in an excellent narrative is greatly appreciated. Now I understand the motivations behind MAGA and why its adherents are incapable of changing their beliefs even when the truth is fed to them by credible sources. Most people do not understand the mechanisms behind cults, believing these people are merely stupid and that Trump is merely an evil being. I wish his niece, a clinical psychologist, would write more clearly about Trump's mental disturbances in a way that would serve the public better. Personally, I find her writing to be too vague and clouded by her personal bias.
I find quite a few MAGA faithful trolling social media posts that have a Democratic or liberal perspective. Now I understand why they're doing it, that their identity is threatened.
Thanks for sharing this well written and documented writing on the current issue society is facing with supporters of the MAGA philosophy. When others understand the reasoning behind their decisions for voting for those like Trump the key question becomes how do you reach them in order to reason with them? My fear is there is no effective way to reach them but my hope is we can find a way to construct a dialogue where we can. I plan to at least share your information. Thank you.
Thank you for reading, and you're welcome. Honestly, I didn’t want to write this piece. Not because I didn’t have the words, but because I didn’t want to admit we were really at this point. I kept hoping MAGA would come around. But they’re not.
The research is consistent, and it keeps pointing to the same hard truth: people who score high in these authoritarian traits tend to cause harm, and rarely change. Reaching them will take a level of effort and patience most of us don’t have time for.
Meanwhile, Trump, their authoritarian figurehead, is moving fast. Each win, each criticism, each lie only deepens their devotion. It's a whirlwind of domination, not persuasion. And at this stage, it’s not a debate anymore. It’s psychology unfolding in real time.
It does, and there have been consistencies in RWA research, and they've been drowned out by other issues plaguing the world over the decades. We were warned a few decades ago, but the majority did nothing.
I appreciate the clarity of your statements. it makes me wonder - is this a result of our basic social structure? In that, the superficial and shallow society we have created - following the Kardashians and the like? A belief in American Exceptionalism without what appears to be real foundation? Or, is it a result of mass propagandization by those such as the Pioneer Fund - and now the Heritage Foundation, and the publications they distribute to solidify the defense of ungrounded principles? Is it the idea that academic involvement is for geeks and not the celebrities who are 'making' money, hence, real people? Thank you for helping me find my way through this incredibly complex mindset.
So how do you stop the non-Order, Radical Tradition, Authoritarian, psychological traits? Early education explaining such traits, and rationale for rejecting them? How do you lose the appeal of toxic authority and racism from human behavior?
The implication that the problem is a psychological one suggests either a disease state, like personality disorder, or something akin to radicalisation or indoctrination as you might see with religious fundamentalists for example. My question is where did it come from? MAGA supporters are presumably not born that way. What happens to overpower their abilities to think rationally (or do they score low on that anyway)?
Motivated reasoning sounds just like Confirmation bias. Rational thinkers however can recognise and try to allow for their confirmation bias. What makes the MAGA group different?
This all makes so much sense. Trying to help a trumper accept facts is indeed one of the more frustrating things I’ve ever attempted. Your explanation here helps me understand why. Thank you.
Also - interesting example of what happens in world simulations when different types of people are put in charge.
Very helpful analysis - for a Brit! It might be worth updating this to mention last year's book "The Politics of Antagonism – security narratives and the remaking of political identity" by Georg Loefflmann which also explores the "collective narcissism" issue
Really appreciate this well documented perspective on the psychological underpinnings of MAGA authoritarianism, and its devastating consequences for our country, society and world. Is there research out there also suggesting how people caught in what appears to be a vicious cycle permeating all of our politics and society in America now can be reached? It seems like finding common goals and ways to interact in person on kitchen table issues is how some are considering bridging the divide. Much of what you say here fits within Michael Sandel (The Tyranny of Merit) view that multiple groups in our society have been poisoned by the myth of poisonous meritocracy, that you get what you deserve (from prosperity gospel to MAGA and their perception that elites are sneering at them/putting them down which shuts down avenues for communication towards a common cause). It’s very thought provoking, though remedies sound exceptionally challenging to find.
Thank you for a superb article. I remember reading about the 1994 Global Change Experiment and being horrified that people could be like that. But it did explain Hitler and his regime. I just never anticipated it in America.
I think that is a reason that the majority of Americans are not as alarmed as they should be. They can't believe it is true here. They can't believe that there is no rational or fact based center of these people to reach. This is now who they are.
But all the clear and repeated warnings from scholars, psychologist, prior followers, some politicians and regular people were insufficient to overcome our denial that people could be this damaged and do all this evil.
And from the studies and experience, it now seems that ouster is all that works. We have a evil nightmare to deal with. I grieve for all involved.
Like I mentioned in another comment, this was an article I didn’t want to write, not because I lacked the words, but because I didn’t want to admit we were really here. In just the past six months, MAGA has grown noticeably more radical. And unfortunately, the research continues to be right: it’s going to take far more than facts to undo this kind of psychological conditioning.
That 1994 Global Change experiment genuinely gave me chills. Watching how high-RWA minds collapsed cooperation and defaulted to war, it’s not just a story from the past. It’s playing out in real time. Third-wave authoritarianism has a firm grip on the world now, and MAGA is its American engine.
Thank you for reading, and you're welcome.
Would it be possible for you to share a link to the report on the 1994 Global Change Experiment?
The archived website that no longer exists - https://web.archive.org/web/20020805124207/http://www.mts.net/~gcg/index.html
The experiment is mentioned in Rob Altemeyer's Authoritarian Specter (1996) and Authoritarian Nightmare (2020)
My heart hurts. I’m a white 76 year old woman whose father fought in the Pacific. I grew up with an older brother who was cruel to me and my mother my whole life. He was obsessed with Nazi Germany and Hitler since he was 12. He is a true Trump supporter. After this last election I made the decision that for my own mental wellness I had to disconnect from him completely. I haven’t communicated in any form since November 5. This information has really helped me to understand why there was never the possibility of ever breaking through his wall of anger and cruelty.
I still can’t believe my beautiful country has so many really sick people and that I am witnessing the destruction of our Democracy.
Thank you for helping me see more clearly the danger we are in.
Again, your sharing of knowledge in an excellent narrative is greatly appreciated. Now I understand the motivations behind MAGA and why its adherents are incapable of changing their beliefs even when the truth is fed to them by credible sources. Most people do not understand the mechanisms behind cults, believing these people are merely stupid and that Trump is merely an evil being. I wish his niece, a clinical psychologist, would write more clearly about Trump's mental disturbances in a way that would serve the public better. Personally, I find her writing to be too vague and clouded by her personal bias.
I find quite a few MAGA faithful trolling social media posts that have a Democratic or liberal perspective. Now I understand why they're doing it, that their identity is threatened.
Thanks for sharing this well written and documented writing on the current issue society is facing with supporters of the MAGA philosophy. When others understand the reasoning behind their decisions for voting for those like Trump the key question becomes how do you reach them in order to reason with them? My fear is there is no effective way to reach them but my hope is we can find a way to construct a dialogue where we can. I plan to at least share your information. Thank you.
Thank you for reading, and you're welcome. Honestly, I didn’t want to write this piece. Not because I didn’t have the words, but because I didn’t want to admit we were really at this point. I kept hoping MAGA would come around. But they’re not.
The research is consistent, and it keeps pointing to the same hard truth: people who score high in these authoritarian traits tend to cause harm, and rarely change. Reaching them will take a level of effort and patience most of us don’t have time for.
Meanwhile, Trump, their authoritarian figurehead, is moving fast. Each win, each criticism, each lie only deepens their devotion. It's a whirlwind of domination, not persuasion. And at this stage, it’s not a debate anymore. It’s psychology unfolding in real time.
Yes, you are so correct.
This all makes so much sense. Thank you for laying it out so clearly.
It does, and there have been consistencies in RWA research, and they've been drowned out by other issues plaguing the world over the decades. We were warned a few decades ago, but the majority did nothing.
I appreciate the clarity of your statements. it makes me wonder - is this a result of our basic social structure? In that, the superficial and shallow society we have created - following the Kardashians and the like? A belief in American Exceptionalism without what appears to be real foundation? Or, is it a result of mass propagandization by those such as the Pioneer Fund - and now the Heritage Foundation, and the publications they distribute to solidify the defense of ungrounded principles? Is it the idea that academic involvement is for geeks and not the celebrities who are 'making' money, hence, real people? Thank you for helping me find my way through this incredibly complex mindset.
So how do you stop the non-Order, Radical Tradition, Authoritarian, psychological traits? Early education explaining such traits, and rationale for rejecting them? How do you lose the appeal of toxic authority and racism from human behavior?
Great article, thank you.
The implication that the problem is a psychological one suggests either a disease state, like personality disorder, or something akin to radicalisation or indoctrination as you might see with religious fundamentalists for example. My question is where did it come from? MAGA supporters are presumably not born that way. What happens to overpower their abilities to think rationally (or do they score low on that anyway)?
Motivated reasoning sounds just like Confirmation bias. Rational thinkers however can recognise and try to allow for their confirmation bias. What makes the MAGA group different?
Keep up the good work.
This all makes so much sense. Trying to help a trumper accept facts is indeed one of the more frustrating things I’ve ever attempted. Your explanation here helps me understand why. Thank you.
Also - interesting example of what happens in world simulations when different types of people are put in charge.
Very helpful analysis - for a Brit! It might be worth updating this to mention last year's book "The Politics of Antagonism – security narratives and the remaking of political identity" by Georg Loefflmann which also explores the "collective narcissism" issue
Really appreciate this well documented perspective on the psychological underpinnings of MAGA authoritarianism, and its devastating consequences for our country, society and world. Is there research out there also suggesting how people caught in what appears to be a vicious cycle permeating all of our politics and society in America now can be reached? It seems like finding common goals and ways to interact in person on kitchen table issues is how some are considering bridging the divide. Much of what you say here fits within Michael Sandel (The Tyranny of Merit) view that multiple groups in our society have been poisoned by the myth of poisonous meritocracy, that you get what you deserve (from prosperity gospel to MAGA and their perception that elites are sneering at them/putting them down which shuts down avenues for communication towards a common cause). It’s very thought provoking, though remedies sound exceptionally challenging to find.