The intergenerational transmission of need for closure underlies the transmission of authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice

Previous research has identified need for closure (NFC) as an important motivational cognitive basis of authoritarianism and prejudice. However, to date, the role of NFC in the

intergenerational similarity in authoritarianism and prejudice has remained unclear. In a sample of 169 parent-child dyads, we investigated the similarity between parents and children

in NFC and tested whether this intergenerational similarity may account for the intergenerational similarity in authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice. Our results revealed that parental levels of NFC were indeed concordant with the levels of NFC in their

children. Even more importantly, parental NFC was indirectly related to child authoritarianism and prejudice in two ways. The first pathway proceeded through the direct

relationships between parental and children’s levels of authoritarianism and prejudice. The

second pathway, however, bypassed parental levels of authoritarianism and prejudice and

proceeded through the intergenerational similarity in NFC. Our findings thus indicate that a

significant portion of children’s levels of authoritarianism and anti-immigrant prejudice can

be explained by parents–child similarity in motivated cognition. Implications for developmental theories of prejudice acquisition are discussed.