A new psychological study suggests that feelings of psychological distress and perceived social grievances contribute to authoritarian attitudes among people on the political left. The findings provide evidence that left-wing authoritarianism is heavily influenced by a belief that society is deeply unjust and oppressive toward marginalized groups. The research was published in the Journal of Political Ideologies. Savannah Love and Rachael Sharman conducted the research to better understand the psychological forces driving extreme political behavior on the left side of the spectrum. Sharman is a senior lecturer and undergraduate program coordinator in psychology at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s School of Health. “Extreme political polarization poses a real risk to society and is on the increase across most Western democracies,” Sharman said. The researchers noted that individuals at both extremes share similar psychological traits. “Extremists exist on both ends of the right/left-wing spectrum and have more in common than they would like to admit, in particular a psychological predisposition toward intolerance,” Sharman explained. While right-wing extremism has a long history of academic study, left-wing …