adorno Flashcards
A01.1
adornos personality theory is based on the idea that individual differences is due to personality which is due to their upbringing by parents and childhood experiences- used to measure antisemitism
Adorno used 3 key research methods
psychometric testing- the f-scale, questionnaire statements rate: strongly agree, strongly disagree, agree, disagree e.g. ‘ obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtueschildren should learn’ ‘ what the youth needs most Is strict discipline, rugged determination and the will to fight for family and the country’
case studies- such as the nazis who were just ‘ doing what they were told’
clinica interviews on childhood experiences looking at situational aspects such as strict parents.
A03.1
strength-triangulation, quant and qual data, questionnaireand interview increasing reliability and validity, adding depth and adding to crediviility of the idea that, strict parents leads to authoritarian personality which leads to obedience
weakness- correlational can’t say that strict parents causes authoritiarinism and authoritarianism causes obedience as there’s no direct cause and effect, not a complete explanation of obedience.
A01.2
theory is based on psychodynamic concepts: that adulthood personality Is based on childhood experiences and the use of defence mechanisms
people who have authoritarian personality have parents who demand complete obedience and have a parenting style of conditional live where there love and affection is based on how they behave, therefore this leads to the defence mechanism of displacement where the child displaces their anger they have for their parents onto weak targets such as minority groups as they fear onishment from their parents
scapegoating outwardly idolise parents but fear them on an unconscious level - this leads them to perceive the world to be full of people who need to be defined as they were in childhood- this explains obedience to authority as they use the defence mechanism reaction formation, dislike people who are considered to be socially inferior or belong to other social groups
A03.2
strength- elms supports as he found that obedient and disobedient puts had differing childhoods and levels of authoritarianism. this supports adornos suggestions that children that are obedient had strict and punitive parents who demanded complete obedience compared to those that didn’t, they als had high authoritarianism. therefore supporting and adding credibility to adornos theory
weakness- although a high majority- 75%?? obeyed authority in his study although they wouldn’t all have the same childhood and personality, therefore there may be other factors involved such as situational not always dispositional
application
although adornos findings may have some weaknesses it has stemmed further research into this field to improve and modernise such as altemeyer who redeveloped in the 1980’s RWA strengthening adornos theory making it more credible and applicable to chatting society.
