STUDIES OF AGGRESSIVE SOCIAL ATTITUDES: III. THE ROLE OF PERSONAL AND FAMILY SCORES.

The article studies aggressive social attitudes, with special emphasis on the role of personal and family scores. Contemporary American psychology is so wholeheartedly genetic in orientation that no objection will probably be raised to the suggestion that social attitudes stem from childhood experiences. It has been suggested by different authors that the attitudes of the adult toward authority, toward existing institutions, and toward national symbols are significantly related to the emotional experiences of childhood. The article author believes that it is unfortunate that so many psychologists believe that only correlations of great magnitude are important. One must expect many factors besides parent-antagonism to determine the child's deviation from his elders on social questions. This article summarizes data collected over a period of several years, on the interaction of family patterns and aggressive social attitudes. The main instrument employed has been the inventory of social attitudes previously described.