Nevitt Sanford
He was the major figure in preparation of The Authoritarian Personality. He later made major contributions to the field of higher education—especially student development. Caught up in and played a major role in the loyalty oath conflicts at the University of California. While more than 200 faculty members at this university originally refused to sign this oath that was mandated by a repressive (and communist-phobic) government, virtually all of them eventually gave in and signed the oath.
Nevitt was only one of 11 professors who refused to sign the oath. He was fired along with his 10 colleagues. Nevitt eventually ended up at Stanford University. Following a successful lawsuit filed during the late 1950s, Nevitt Sanford’s appointment at the University of California was reinstated. Nevitt Sanford resigned from the University of California after only one day back at this university. He later started the Wright Institute—which initially featured social-critical analysis as well as training in psychodynamic-oriented psychotherapy. It seems that the authoritarian personality was to become not just a phenomenon to be studied at a distance. It became a political reality that impacted directly on Nevitt Sanford’s life.
Daniel Levinson
The youngest member of the California Study Group, Daniel Levinson became known later for his work on adult development in mid-life. He was a major figure in this field. It seems that his interest in the sources of authoritarian perspectives and practices expanded out to an interest in the ways all adults are molded and changed by the world in which they were not only brought up but also continued to encounter during their mature years.
Else Frenkel-Brunswick
This remarkable woman was not only a pioneer in the rise of women as research psychologists (and psychoanalysts), she was also witness to many social forces that influenced her interest in the authoritarian personality. She left Europe to escape the holocaust (as a Jew). Later she was caught up like Sanford in the loyalty oaths of the University of California. Along with her husband, the noted young psychologist, Egon Brunswick, Else struggled with the pressure of conformity to the political dictates associated with the oath.
In addition, she was faced with the challenge of caring for her husband during a long period of illness. Egon Brunswick eventually committed suicide. Despondent regarding his death, Else Frenkel-Brunswick soon committed suicide herself. One of us [WB] conducted an extensive interview with Nevitt Sanford about the loyalty oaths. He contended that the suicide of both Egon and Eliza could be attributed in large part to stress associated with the loyalty oaths. As was the case with Nevitt Sanford, the authoritarian personality came after Else Frenkel-Brunswick when she lived in Europe –and now when she moved to the United States. Authoritarianism destroyed her life.
