Robert A. “Bob” Altemeyer
(June 6, 1940 – February 7, 2024)
In 1957, long before he became a world authority on authoritarianism, Bob Altemeyer was holding down two jobs at the St Louis Country Club — running the “drink hole” from 9 AM to 6 PM, and working as night watchman from 10 PM to 7 AM. Some Yale alums were impressed and decided he might be material for their alma mater. They worked to get him a scholarship, and Bob later said that without them he “never would have thought of going to Yale, much less gotten there.”
Bob came to Yale as the first member of his working-class family to attend college. At Yale, he was an honors student, majoring in Industrial Administration and living in Calhoun. A quote from Dorothy Parker that Bob’s son Mike says he loved offers clues about his wry sense of humor and maybe his view of New Haven’s social scene: “If the dates at a Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.”
A conversion moment occurred in senior year as Bob was writing an assignment for Chris Argyris, “Why are you who you are?” Bob always went to Mass, but he skipped it to work on the Argyris assignment — and never went to Mass again. Writing the paper led to believe that he was not his “own” person because religion had told him who to be. A friend commented, “His conversion to a studied atheism was a major turn that pushed him into such ground-breaking work that we all learned from over the years.” Bob referenced Yale’s intellectual impact in the forward to his 1996 book, The Authoritarian Specter: “I attended a great university where a great teacher, Chris Argyris, changed my life.” That impact led Bob to graduate work at Carnegie-Mellon University, where he earned a Ph.D. in psychology and met the love of his life, his wife Jean Renaud. He taught for two years at Doane College in Nebraska before spending the rest of his career in Winnipeg at the University of Manitoba. Over more than four decades as a teacher, mentor, and researcher in the department of psychology, he was known simply as “Dr. Bob” to generations of students.
Bob became one of the world’s leading authorities on authoritarianism, a topic he fell into by accident while in graduate school. As he tells the story, “When I took the Ph.D. exams at Carnegie-Mellon University, I failed a question about a famous early effort to understand the authoritarian personality. I had to write a paper to prove I could learn at least something about this research, which had gotten itself into a huge, hairy mess by then. I got into it because it presented a long series of puzzles to be solved, and I love a good mystery.”
Trying to understand how democratic societies can slide toward intolerance and repression, he developed the Right‑Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scale, a tool for studying authoritarian tendencies in citizens. Bob framed authoritarianism as a personality, not an ideological, trait. The people who scored high on his scale preferred submission to established authorities, were more willing to engage in aggression on authorities’ behalf, and were more willing to sacrifice other people’s rights and freedoms in the service of law and order. They would tend to believe, for example, that ICE officers were probably justified in shooting protestors in Minneapolis. He also found that authoritarians tend to be “equal opportunity bigots” who harbor prejudice against many groups other than their own. He found that authoritarians often have a dangerous willingness to sacrifice others’ rights and freedoms. His research, reported in books such as Right‑Wing Authoritarianism, Enemies of Freedom, The Authoritarian Specter, and The Authoritarians, has influenced scholars, journalists, and citizens around the world. If you want to read some of Bob’s thinking, you can find his 2006 book, The Authoritarians, available for free at https://theauthoritarians.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TheAuthoritarians.pdf. Bob wrote, “I realize that my making this book available for free on the internet raises questions about my judgment, especially since I am a psychologist.” But he felt its message was important enough to deserve the widest possible audience.
In later years, Bob turned his attention to the contemporary threats posed by authoritarian movements in the U.S. He co‑authored Authoritarian Nightmare with John Dean to help the public understand the psychological dynamics of Donald Trump’s MAGA followers. (Bob donated royalties from that book to Yale.) Though his conclusions were often sobering, his motivation was fundamentally hopeful: he believed that careful research and clear thinking could arm democracies against their worst impulses.
For all his professional renown, Bob was equally devoted to the classroom. His introductory and social psychology lectures were legendary for their humor, clarity, and memorable demonstrations. He delighted in finding ways to make abstract concepts stick — a secret “code word” like “hippocampus” that former students could shout across a mall years later, or a carefully staged “ESP” demonstration that he would later debunk to teach the value of skepticism and critical thinking. Many of his students went on to careers in psychology and related fields; many more simply carried his lessons into their everyday lives, becoming more careful thinkers and more responsible citizens.
Away from work, Bob was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He and Jean built a warm, lively home filled with books, music, movies, and conversation. Bob was an avid collector of recordings and films, cheerfully migrating his entire collection each time technology changed format. He possessed a remarkable memory — whether for childhood addresses, the lyrics of Gilbert and Sullivan, or the fortunes of his beloved St. Louis Cardinals — and a quick, dry wit that remained with him even as his health declined.
Bob is survived by his wife Jean; by his children and their partners; and by his grandchildren. He also leaves behind countless students, colleagues, and readers who will continue to draw on his work to understand and defend democratic values.
Those who knew Bob will remember him for his intellectual integrity, his insistence on evidence over ideology, his compassion for ordinary people caught up in dangerous movements, and his unwavering commitment to using science in the service of a freer, fairer world. His family takes comfort in knowing that his research, his teaching, and his example will continue to illuminate how we might better resist authoritarianism in all its forms.
Bob’s sense of humor was pervasive even on the subject of death. He indicated in his Health Care Directive: “I wish to be cremated… . I would like to be definitely and completely dead when this happens. No electrical activity whatsoever in the cerebral cortex will do as a criterion. If, however I say I’d like to take a walk, as I am being delivered to the crematorium, please indulge me.”
His children commented: After seven decades or more of agnosticism and spirituality-spurning, he is now finally perhaps able to get to the bottom of it all – won’t he be surprised if he has discovered he still exists after all?
[We are grateful to Jean Renaud Altemeyer for her many contributions to this account of Bob’s life.]
Tributes from Bob’s family and friends:
What a lovely, well written memorial to Bob. It made me realize once again what a remarkable man he was, and how fortunate we were to have him as a close friend.
The obit elicited the whole range of emotions and lots of interesting memories… I was smiling, laughing out loud and crying…the crying keeps coming back which makes me smile because it’s just like bob to keep poking around in my head to make me think more and more… thanks
Thanks for sharing this effort. I think he would be happy with its scope and content. I confess to not have gotten the joke about Yale prom dates, however.
Very interesting and true to life. I laughed at the part about “cheerfully migrating his entire collection” of music and films whenever the technology changed.
The obituary is again a great compliment to Bob’s life and contributions to science. I learned some new interesting insights into Bob’s early life and education.
Thanks so much for sharing this remarkable essay. I read it to Harry over our breakfast table. I’ll pass it along to veterans of Jossey-Bass and to our son Dorian, also a Yalie. It’s compelling. I hope it moves more and more people to read Bob’s books.
This was so wonderful to read. I find it funny that studying with Bob made me an even stronger Catholic.
A one-of-a-kind obit, befitting Dr. Bob.
Many thanks for starting my day on such a lovely note. This is beautiful. It paints such a wonderful picture of the special and relevant human that Bob was. I didn’t know Bob well, I was only in his company a few times, but I feel I know him better now. (ps I may copy his directive line for mine.)
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Twice so far.
I never followed Bob’s path into psychology, but it is no exaggeration, and as I told Bob in our email exchanges, that he was among a small handful of people who influenced my personal and intellectual development. Like many others, I will never forget him.
Nice job! Brings back lots of conversations.
I’m wondering if any of the Yale alum golfers that got Bob started, kept in touch, or had any idea what they had unleashed.
Wow, very informative. A lot of things I had never heard about him before.
Of course I am impressed that of all his children, the prodigal son is mentioned by name.
This is terrific!
Many thanks for sharing it.
And at the risk of sounding sexist, I too, like Mike, find the Dorothy Parker quote funny.