Authoritarianism, leader acceptance, and group cohesion.

An examination of the validity of the Frommian compromise between leader-centered and member-centered theories of group cohesiveness is made, using a sample of enlisted men of the Air Defense Command. The variables of authoritarianism and leader-acceptance were measured in this sample by means of Likert-type scales. The Frommian hypothesis is supported to some extent, since, as expected, under conditions of military organization, more high authoritarians than low apparently accept or idealize their formally designated leader; and, attractive force of the group is apparently stronger for high than for low scorers on the authoritarianism scale. The strong positive association between leader acceptance and group cohesion, for high authoritarians, that is expected on the Frommian hypothesis is not found. A discussion of the Frommian compromise is then made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)