The new study was based on cultivation theory, a theoretical framework that suggests heavy television viewing can contribute to the development of an authoritarian mindset. Television dramas often emphasize individual and heroic actions, including violence, to solve problems and protect against perceived threats. Cultivation theory argues that television, even in non-political programming, can subtly shape cultural attitudes and beliefs, potentially creating a climate conducive to the rise of leaders like Trump.

This sounds like great man theory and hyper-individualism, not “authoritarianism”

To measure authoritarianism, the researchers used a four-item scale called the Authoritarian Child Rearing Values scale. Respondents were presented with pairs of desirable qualities and asked to choose which quality they considered more important for a child to have. The first answer in each pair indicated an emphasis on autonomy, while the second answer reflected more authoritarian values.

so they asked people if they raise kids like conservatives, and then conservatives said “yeah”, and then instead of identifying that they just made a test for conservative values, they decided it was a test for authoritarianism?

“My child should be required to read about the history of slavery and the civil rights movement” and “My child should be punished for refusing to be accepting of their LGBTQ+ friends” are both authoritarian stances that conservatives would have answered hard-no to. You could have flipped the finding of the study by using questions that imply progressive authority instead of conservative authority. The only way they could have got results like this is by pretending that the only authoritarianism comes from the conservative right.