Dr. Milton Rokeach, 1979
Introduction
The psychology of dogmatism is as relevant today as when Dr. Milton Rokeach began his pioneering work into this enduring topic. The ideas contained within this important paper informed the development of the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale and stimulated research into the psychology of human belief systems and dogmatism as a personality trait.
The Article in Full
In this paper we will attempt to provide the theoretical groundwork for a research project on the phenomenon of dogmatism in various spheres of human activity—political, religious, and scientific. Our main purpose is to present a detailed theoretical statement of the construct of dogmatism which is guiding the research. More specifically, we will define the phenomenon of dogmatism by representing it as a hypothetical cognitive state which mediates objective reality within the person, describe the properties of its organization, and present a number of postulates regarding the relation between dogmatism and other variables. On the basis of part of such a formulation we have thus far developed a preliminary scale for measuring individual differences in dogmatism and several testable hypotheses relevant to our conceptual definition (to be reported subsequently).
A second purpose stems from the fact that our construct of dogmatism involves the convergence of three highly interrelated sets of variables: closed cognitive systems, authoritarianism, and intolerance. By virtue of this convergence it will be possible to examine certain assumptions underlying previous research on authoritarianism and intolerance with the aim of achieving a possibly broader conceptualization of these phenomena.
It is not within the scope of this paper to inquire into the social or personal conditions which give rise to dogmatism. This is considered to be an independent theoretical problem. Having defined the problem of dogmatism and its representation at the cognitive level—the main purpose of this paper—one can then seek explanations according to one's theoretical orientation.
A basic assumption guiding the present formulation is that despite differences in ideological content, analysis will reveal certain uniformities in the structure, the function, and, to some extent, even the content of dogmatism. Accordingly, attention will be directed to both political and religious dogmatism and, within each area, to diverse and even opposed dogmatic orientations. In the religious sphere, for example, one can observe expressions of dogmatic Catholicism and dogmatic anti-Catholicism, dogmatic orthodox Judaism and dogmatic antiorthodox Judaism, dogmatic theism and dogmatic atheism. In the political sphere one can observe expressions of dogmatic conservatism and dogmatic liberalism, dogmatic Marxism and dogmatic anti-Marxism.
The problem of dogmatism, however, is not necessarily restricted to the political and religious spheres. It can be observed in other realms of intellectual and cultural activity—in philosophy, the humanities, and the social sciences. To take some examples from psychology, it is possible to observe expressions of dogmatic Freudianism and dogmatic anti-Freudianism, dogmatic learning theory and dogmatic antilearning theory, dogmatic gestalt theory and dogmatic antigestalt theory, and so forth.
Dogmatism, furthermore, need not necessarily involve adherence to this or that group-shared, institutionalized system of beliefs. It is conceivable that a person, especially one in academic circles, can be dogmatic in his own idiosyncratic way, evolving a unique rather than institutionalized integration of ideas and beliefs about reality. The present formulation will attempt to address itself to noninstitutional as well as institutional aspects of dogmatism.
GENERAL SETTING FOR A COGNITIVE REPRESENTATION OF DOGMATISM
To conceptualize dogmatism adequately at the cognitive level it is first necessary to employ a set of conceptual tools in terms of which all cognitive systems, varying in degree of dogmatism, may be represented.
Organization into Belief and Disbelief Systems
Objective reality can be assumed as being represented within a person by certain beliefs or expectations which to one degree or another are accepted as true, and other beliefs or expectations accepted as false. For the sake of analysis this can be formalized by conceiving of all cognitive systems as being organized into two interdependent parts: a belief system and a disbelief system. This belief-disbelief system can further be conceived as varying in terms of its structure and content as follows:
Structure
The total structure of a belief-disbelief system can be described as varying along a continuum from open to closed. This continuum, in turn, may be conceived as a joint function of: (a) The degree of interdependence among the parts within the belief system, within the disbelief system, and between belief and disbelief systems (6, 7, 9, 12). (b) The degree of interdependence between central and peripheral regions of the belief-disbelief system (9). (c) The organization of the belief-disbelief system along the time perspective dimension (2, 3, 4, 8).
Content
One can further describe all belief-disbelief systems in terms of the formal content of centrally located beliefs, especially those having to do with beliefs about authority and people in general.
A COGNITIVE REPRESENTATION OF DOGMATISM
In line with the above considerations we will now define dogmatism as (a) a relatively closed cognitive organization of beliefs and disbeliefs about reality, (b) organized around a central set of beliefs about absolute authority which, in turn, (c) provides a framework for patterns of intolerance and qualified tolerance toward others. A cognitive organization is considered to be closed to the extent that there is (a) isolation of parts within the belief system and between belief and disbelief systems, (b) a discrepancy in the degree of differentiation between belief and disbelief systems, (c) dedifferentiation within the disbelief system, (d) a high degree of interdependence between central and peripheral beliefs, (e) a low degree of interdependence among peripheral beliefs, and (f) a narrowing of the time perspective.
More specifically, in the relatively closed belief-disbelief system there is assumed to be a relation of relative isolation among the various parts of the belief system and between belief and disbelief systems. The latter, in turn, is composed of a series of disbelief subsystems, each arranged along a gradient of similarity to the belief system, the most similar disbelief subsystems being represented as regions most adjacent to the belief system. Each of these disbelief subsystems is conceived, to the extent that it is part of a closed system, as being relatively less differentiated than the belief system and, the farther away their positions from the belief system, as increasingly dedifferentiated with respect to each other.
Belief-disbelief systems can also be represented along a central-peripheral dimension. The more closed the system the more the central part corresponds to absolute beliefs in or about authority, and the more the peripheral part corresponds to beliefs and disbeliefs perceived to emanate from such authority.
With respect to the time perspective dimension, increasingly closed systems can be conceived as being organized in a relatively future-oriented or past-oriented direction rather than in terms of a more balanced orientation of past, present, and future.
With regard to the content of dogmatism, while the specific content of both central and peripheral parts may vary from one particular ideological system to another, it is possible to specify that in general the formal content of the central part of the system, to the extent it is closed, has to do with absolute beliefs in and about positive and negative authority, either external or internal, and related beliefs representing attempts on the part of such authority to perpetuate itself. Furthermore, the central part can be conceived to provide a framework for the organization of other beliefs representing patterns of rejection and qualified acceptance of people in general according to their patterns of agreement and disagreement with the belief-disbelief system.
DOGMATISM DISTINGUISHED FROM RIGIDITY
Before going on to elaborate further on our conceptual definition of dogmatism, it may be illuminating first to distinguish the construct of dogmatism in a general way from that of rigidity. Both dogmatism and rigidity refer to forms of resistance to change, but dogmatism is conceived to represent a relatively more intellectualized and abstract form than rigidity. Whereas dogmatism refers to total cognitive organizations of ideas and beliefs into relatively closed ideological systems, rigidity, when genotypically conceived, refers solely to the degree of isolation between regions (7, 12) or to a "property of a functional boundary which prevents communication between neighboring regions" (6, p. 157); when phenotypically conceived, rigidity is denned in terms of the way a person or animal attacks, solves, or learns specific tasks and problems (11). Thus, dogmatism is seen as a higher order and more complexly organized form of resistance to change. While dogmatism may well be hypothesized to lead to rigidity in solving specific problems, the converse is not necessarily the case. Rats, the feebleminded, and the brain-injured, for example, can be characterized as rigid (also compulsive, fixated, perseverative, inflexible) but hardly as dogmatic.
Furthermore, whereas rigidity refers to person-to-thing or animal-to-thing relationships, dogmatism is manifested almost necessarily in situations involving person-to-person communication. Thus, we speak of a person as tying his shoelaces or solving an arithmetic problem rigidly, but of a professor, a politician, an orator, a theoretician, or an art critic as expressing himself to others dogmatically.
A final differentiation, closely related to the preceding, is that dogmatism has a further reference to the authoritarian and intolerant manner in which ideas and beliefs are communicated to others. Thus, the range of behavior considered under the rubric of dogmatism is considerably broader than rigidity and at the same time of possibly more intrinsic interest to the sociologist, the political scientist, and the historian, as well as the psychologist.
POSTULATES INVOLVING THE COGNITIVE STRUCTURE OF DOGMATISM
To the extent that the belief-disbelief system is closed, it is subjected to continual stresses and strains from objective and social reality. Reality can be coerced into congruence with the belief-disbelief system by virtue of the arrangement of parts within the belief-disbelief systems, within and between the central and peripheral regions thereof, and by virtue of its organization along the time perspective dimension.
A. Isolation within and between Belief and Disbelief Systems
The greater the dogmatism the greater are the assumed degree of isolation or independence between the belief and disbelief systems and the assumed degree of isolation among the various parts of the belief system. On the basis of these considerations we introduce the following postulates:
1. Accentuation of differences between belief and disbelief systems.
The greater the dogmatism the more will the belief system be perceived as different in content or aim from the disbelief system (e.g., Catholicism and Protestantism; the United States and the USSR; fascism and communism; psychoanalysis and behaviorism).
2. The perception of irrelevance.
The greater the dogmatism the more will ideological arguments pointing to similarities between belief and disbelief systems be perceived as irrelevant.
3. Denial.
The greater the dogmatism the greater the denial of events contradicting or threatening one's belief system (e.g., on grounds of "face absurdity," that the true facts are not accessible, that the only available sources of information are biased because they are seen to emanate from the disbelief system, etc.).
4. Coexistence of contradictions within the belief system.
In line with the assumption that in increasingly closed cognitive organizations there is relatively more isolation among subparts of the belief system, as well as between belief and disbelief systems, it is postulated that the degree of adherence to contradictory beliefs will vary directly with the degree of dogmatism. Some examples of contradictory beliefs are an abhorrence of violence together with the belief that it is justifiable under certain conditions; expressions of faith in the intelligence of the common man and at the same time the belief that the masses are stupid; a belief in democracy and along with this the belief that our country can best be run by an intellectual elite; a belief in freedom for all but at the same time the belief that freedom for certain groups should be restricted; a belief that science makes no value judgments about "good" and "bad" but also that scientific criteria are available for distinguishing "good" theory from "bad" theory, and "good" experiment from "bad" experiment (13).
B. The Disbelief Gradient
We have already indicated that in relatively closed systems there is relative isolation between belief and disbelief systems. However, the various disbelief subsystems cannot all be assumed to be equally isolated from the belief system. Rather, degree of isolation can further be conceived as varying with the degree of perceived similarity of the various disbelief subsystems to the belief system. Those disbelief subsystems most similar to the belief system can be represented as regions most adjacent to the belief region and, hence, in relatively greater communication or interaction with the belief system than less similar disbelief subsystems.
1. Strength of rejection of various disbelief subsystems.
The greater the dogmatism the more will the disbelief subsystem most similar to the belief system (factional or "renegade" subsystems) be perceived as threatening the validity of the belief system and hence the greater the tendency to exert effort designed to reject this subsystem and the adherents thereof. For example, with an increase in dogmatism there will be an increasingly militant rejection of Protestantism by the Catholic, of reformed Judaism by the more conservative Jew, of Trotskyism and Titoism by the Communist, and vice versa. In the academic realm, too, the greater the dogmatism the more antagonism there will be among representatives of divergent views within a single discipline as compared with related disciplines.
2. Willingness to compromise.
Even though a person or group may reject a disbelief system it is often necessary, for the sake of achieving political or religious aims, to form working alliances with other individuals or groups. It is here postulated that such compromising varies inversely with dogmatism: the greater the dogmatism the less compromise there will be with adherents to the disbelief subsystem closest to the belief system.
C. Relative Degrees of Differentiation of Belief and Disbelief Systems
In our cognitive representation of dogmatism we have assumed that the greater the dogmatism the more differentiated the belief system will be as compared with the disbelief system. Moreover, various disbelief subsystems have been assumed to become relatively more dedifferentiated with respect to each other the farther away their positions from the belief system.
The following postulates are based upon these considerations:
1. Relative amount of knowledge possessed.
The greater the dogmatism the greater the discrepancy between degree of knowledge of facts, events, ideas, and interpretations stemming from the belief system and any one of the disbelief subsystems. Thus, for example, with an increase in dogmatism there will be an increasing discrepancy in the Freudian's knowledge of classical psychoanalysis as compared with Adlerian psychology or learning theory.