Dispositional Explanation Flashcards
what do not all psychologists accept about obedience?
that it can be fully explained by factors in the situations or social strucute
what explanations are there for obedience?
several dispositional explanations of obedience - but the most influential concerns Authoritarian Personality
define dispositional explanation
any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality (their disposition)
these explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations
define authoritarian personality
type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority
such individuals are also thought to be submissive to those of higher + dismissive inferiors
what can lead to AP?
constantly harsh and critical parenting can lead to the development of AP when the child becomes an adult
similar to Milgram, what did Adorno want to understand?
the antisemitism of the holocaust
what did Adorno and his colleagues research lead to?
very different conclusions from Milgram
what did Adorno + his colleagues believe?
that a high level of obedience was basically a psychological disorder (pathological)
what did they believe about the disorder?
that it lie in the personality of the individual rather than in the situation - it is a dispositional explanation
what did Adorno argue about people with AP?
that they show extreme respect for (and submissiveness ) authority
how do AP people view society?
as ‘weaker’ than it once was - so believe we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values such as love of country and family
what do both of these characteristics make AP people more likely to do?
obey orders from a source of authority
what do AP people show contempt for?
those of an inferior social status
fuelled by their inflexible outlook on the world - for them , there are no grey areas
everything is either right or wrong - they are uncomfortable with uncertainty
so people who are ‘other’ (belonging to a different ethnic group) means what to AP?
responsible for the ills of society
they are often targets for AP people who are likely to obey orders from authority figures, even when such orders are destructive (as in Nazi Germany )
when does Adorno believe AP type is formed?
in childhood , mostly as a result of harsh parenting
what is typically involved in this parenting style?
extremely strict discipline
an expectation of absolute loyalty
impossible high standards
severe criticism of perceived failings
parents give conditional love - which means that their love an affection for their child depends on how they behave
what did Adorno argue about these childhood experiences?
they create resentment + hostility in a child but the child cannot express these feelings directly against their parents because they fear punishment
so what is happening?
their fears are displaced onto others who perceive to be weaker , in a process known as scapegoating
therefore, what does this explain?
the hatred toward people who are considered to be socially inferior or belong to other social groups
a central feature of obedience to a higher authority
this is a psychodynamic explanation
what did Adorno 1950 base their theory on?
research data
explain the procedure 1950s ?
Adorno studied more than 2000 middle class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes toward other ethnic groups
what did the researchers develop?
several measurement scales: including potential-for-fascism scale (F-scale)
what is the F-scale used to measure ?
Authoritarian Personality
what are two examples of findings from the F-Scale ?
‘obedience and respect for authority are most important virtues for children to learn’
‘there is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel great, love, gratitude and respect for their parents’
what did people with authoritarian leanings identify with?
‘strong’ people and were generally contemptuous of the ‘weak’
what are AP people conscious of ?
their status and of others and showed extreme respect , deference and servility to those of a higher status
these traits are the basis of obedience
what did Adorno find about the cognitive style?
that AP people had a certain cognitive style - a way of perceiving others
in which there was no ‘fuzziness’ between categories of people (eg ‘black and white thinking’)
what did AP people also have?
distinct and fixed stereotypes about other groups
what did Adorno find?
a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
what is a strength of Adorno?
evidence from Milgram supports the Authoritarian personality
what did Milgram and Alan Elms 1966 do ?
they interviewed a small sample of people who had participated in the original obedience studies and been fully obedient
they all completed the f-scale and other measures as part of the interview
what was found from these 20 obedient participants?
they scored significantly higher on the overall f-scale than a comparison group of 20 disobedient participants
how were the two groups different?
in terms of Authoritarianism
what do these findings suggest?
it supports Adorno’s view that obedient people may well show similar characteristics to people who have an authoritarian personality
what was found when the researcher analysed the individual subscales of the f-scale?
they found that obedient participants had a number of characteristics that were unusual for authoritarians
e.g.- unlike authoritarians , Milgram’s obedient participants generally did not glorify their fathers , did not experience unusual levels of punishment in childhood and did not have particularly hostile attitudes toward their mother
what does this mean?
the link between obedience and authoritarianism is complex
the obedient participants were unlike authoritarians in so many ways that authoritarianism in unlikely to be a useful predictor of obedience
what is a limitation?
authoritarianism can’t explain obedient behaviour in the majority of a country’s population
give an example of this?
in pre-war Germany, millions of individuals displayed obedient and antisemitic behaviour
this was despite the fact that they must have differed in their personalities in all sorts of ways
it seems unlikely that they could all possess an AP
what is an alterative view?
that the majority of the german people identified with the antisemitic nazi state - and scapegoated the outgroup of jews
a social identity theory approach
therefore, what can be suggested ?
Adorno’s theory is limited because an alternative explanation is much more realistic
what is another limitation >
the F-scale only measures the tendency toward an extreme form of right wing ideology
what did Christie and Jahoda 1954 argue?
that the F-scale is a politically biased interpretation of AP
they point put the reality of left wing authoritarianism in the shape of Russia Bolshevism or Chinese Maoism
how do extreme right wing and left wing ideologies have a lot in common?
they both emphasise the importance of compete obedience to political authority
what does this mean?
that Adorno’s theory is not a comprehensive dispositional explanation that accounts for obedience across the whole political spectrum
on the positive side, what has the f-scale provided an explanation of ?
it has provided the basis of an explanation of obedience based on AP
but what does Greenstein 1969 call the F-scale?
‘a comedy of methodological errors’
because of the seriously flawed scale
for instance, it is possible to get a high score, just by selecting agree
this means that anyone with this response bias is assessed as having authoritarian personality
