4.1.1 DISPOSITIONAL EXPLANATION FOR OBEDIENCE Flashcards

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1
Q

what is the dispositional explanation?

A
  • not all psychologists accept that obedience can be explained by factors of the situation / social structure
  • they reason that there must be some importance of the personality (disposition) of the individual
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2
Q

who was Adorno?

A
  • he was interested in investigating why Nazi soldiers were so willing to persecute and kill members of minority groups, like Jews during WW2
  • he claimed a particular personality type is more likely to obey an authority
  • a high level of obedience is basically a psychological disorder
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3
Q

what was Adorno’s procedure?

A

Adorno et al. (1950)
- investigated the causes of an obedient personality in a study
- more than 2000 middle-class white Americans
- studied their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
- developed an ‘F’ scale (fascists scale) to measure the relationship between a person’s personality type + prejudiced beliefs

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4
Q

what were the findings of Adorno’s procedure?

A
  • those who’d scored highly on the ‘F’ scale identified with ‘strong’ ppl and were generally contemptuous of the ‘weak’
  • were conscious of their own and others’ status
  • high scorers had a particular cognitive style
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5
Q

what were some pros of Adorno’s study?

A
  • no grey areas between categories of ppl
  • they had fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other ppl
  • there was a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
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6
Q

so what is the authoritarian personality?

A
  • submits to the authority of those in a higher position
  • is authoritative towards ppl of lower status
  • shows excessive and blind obedience to authority
  • conventional and conformist
  • suspicious and hostile of strangers
  • rigid thinkers, strict obedience to social rules + hierarchies
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7
Q

what did Adorno say caused the authoritarian personality?

A
  • very strict upbringing by critical + harsh parents
  • the individual in question isn’t able to express hostility towards their parents (for being strict + critical)
  • the person would then transfer this aggression/hostility onto safer targets, namely those who are weaker
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8
Q

what did the scores on the F test mean?

A
  • high score = high authoritarian personality = more likely to obey orders
  • low score = low authoritarian personality = less likely to obey orders
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9
Q

what are 3 limitations of Adorno’s study? (research)

A

1) Christie and Jahoda (1954)
- they argued that the F scale is politically biased, extreme right wing interpretation of the authoritarian personality
- pointed out that extreme left-wing personalities also show high levels of authoritarianism
- evidence of this can be seen in shape of Russian Bolshevism and Chinese Maoism

2) authoritarianism cannot explain why a majority population, like Germany, would be obedient
- post-war Germany millions still showed obedient, racist + fascist behaviour
- despite them must having differed in their individual personalities

3) evidence is flawed by Greenstein (1969)
- stated that it was possible to get a high score just by putting ‘agree’ as your answers
- meaning anyone w a response bias, would be deemed as an authoritarian personality

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