# Double Highs [[Bob Altemeyer]]'s term for individuals who score high on *both* the [[RWA Scale]] (authoritarian submission, aggression, conventionalism) and [[Social Dominance Theory]]'s SDO scale (preference for group-based dominance and hierarchy). In Altemeyer's research, this is the most dangerous personality profile in the authoritarianism literature — a "lethal union" that combines the follower's moralized aggression with the leader's drive to dominate. ## Why They're Distinctive Most people who score high on the RWA Scale are [[Authoritarian Followers]] — submissive, conventional, aggressive when sanctioned by authority, but not particularly interested in personal power. Most people who score high on SDO are [[Authoritarian Leaders]] — dominance-seeking, manipulative, strategically amoral, but without the follower's deep conviction that the existing moral order must be defended. These are different personality profiles driven by different psychological needs. Double Highs have both. They believe the in-group's moral order is sacred *and* that they personally should be in charge of enforcing it. They carry the follower's certainty that enemies are real and must be punished *and* the leader's willingness to manipulate, deceive, and exploit to accumulate power. Where a pure social dominator uses ideology instrumentally and a pure authoritarian follower defers to authority sincerely, a Double High does both — they believe their own propaganda *and* are willing to cheat to advance it. ## Altemeyer's Findings In *The Authoritarian Specter* (1996) and *The Authoritarians* (2006), Altemeyer reported that Double Highs, compared to people high on only one scale or neither: **Are the most prejudiced.** They show the highest levels of prejudice against racial minorities, immigrants, LGBT people, and religious out-groups — exceeding both high-RWA-only and high-SDO-only individuals. The two dispositions multiply rather than merely add: the follower's sanctioned aggression combines with the leader's dominance orientation to produce prejudice that is both morally certain and strategically deployed. **Are the most supportive of political violence.** In experimental scenarios, Double Highs are the most willing to endorse extralegal action against political opponents, the most willing to support government repression of dissent, and the least committed to democratic procedural norms. **Are the most Machiavellian.** They score highest on [[Machiavellianism]] measures — willingness to manipulate, deceive, and exploit. But unlike pure social dominators, whose Machiavellianism operates without moral cover, Double Highs cloak their manipulation in the language of moral defense. They lie to protect the group. They cheat because the enemy is cheating worse. The moralization of manipulation makes it harder to detect and harder for the manipulator to feel guilty about. **Are overrepresented among political elites.** Altemeyer found that Double Highs, while rare in the general population, appear at elevated rates among people who seek and hold political power — elected officials, party operatives, movement leaders. The combination of dominance-drive and moral certainty both motivates the pursuit of power and provides the psychological armor to exercise it without self-doubt. ## The Lethal Union Altemeyer called the Double High combination a "lethal union" because it closes the gap between follower and leader that normally constrains authoritarian movements. Pure authoritarian followers need a leader to follow — without direction from authority, their aggression remains latent. Pure social dominators need followers to dominate — without a base, their power-seeking has no mass. But Double Highs can serve as *both*: they can mobilize other followers (because they share the followers' worldview and speak their language) and they can pursue dominance (because they share the leader's drive). They are the bridge between the movement's base and its power structure. This bridging role makes Double Highs natural candidates for the inner circle of authoritarian movements — the lieutenants, enforcers, and operational leaders who translate a leader's impulses into organized action. They are also the most likely to *become* the leader, because they combine the strategic intelligence of the social dominator with the moral conviction that attracts followers. ## The [[Dark Triad]] Connection The Double High profile overlaps substantially with the [[Dark Triad]] — subclinical narcissism, [[Machiavellianism]], and [[Psychopathy]]. [[Malignant Narcissism]] — the combination of narcissistic grandiosity with antisocial behavior, paranoia, and sadistic pleasure in domination — describes the extreme end of the Double High spectrum. Not every Double High is a malignant narcissist, but the trait distributions point in the same direction: self-aggrandizing, manipulative, morally certain, and willing to inflict harm. ## Contemporary Relevance Altemeyer's Double High framework has been applied to contemporary political figures without naming specific individuals as diagnoses — the framework describes a measurable personality profile, not a clinical label. The relevant observation is structural: political systems that elevate Double Highs to leadership positions while supplying them with a mobilized high-RWA base produce the conditions for authoritarian governance. The question for democratic institutions is whether the checks — judicial independence, press freedom, electoral integrity, legislative autonomy — can constrain the Double High leader-follower system before it captures the state. [[Donald Trump]]'s political career has been analyzed through this framework by political psychologists drawing on Altemeyer's work. The analysis focuses on the structural pattern — dominance-seeking combined with moralized in-group defense, supported by a mobilized high-RWA base — rather than claiming clinical diagnosis. Altemeyer himself addressed this directly in his post-2016 commentary, arguing that the Double High framework predicted the dynamics of the Trump era with unusual precision. ## See Also - [[Bob Altemeyer]] — developed the Double High concept - [[RWA Scale]] — measures the follower dimension - [[Social Dominance Theory]] — provides the SDO scale measuring the leader dimension - [[Authoritarian Followers]] — the high-RWA-only profile - [[Authoritarian Leaders]] — the high-SDO-only profile - [[Dark Triad]] — the overlapping personality trait cluster - [[Malignant Narcissism]] — the extreme end of the spectrum - [[Machiavellianism]] — the manipulative disposition elevated in Double Highs - [[Narcissistic Personality Disorder]] — clinical construct related to the narcissistic component - [[Donald Trump]] — the contemporary case study for the framework - [[Authoritarianism]] — subject hub