Dispositional explanation

Question 1

Where does Adorno believe that our personality come from?

Answer 1

Our parents - but not in a biological way

Question 2

How does Adorno believe that the personality came about?

Answer 2

• He suggested that the parents were controlling and the child could not express themselves growing up.
• The childs ‘hostility’ towards the parents bottled up and they displaced this onto people who they saw as inferior.

Question 3

What are some characteristics of an Authoritarian personality?

Answer 3

• Always obey authority figures
• Hold traditional views such as love for the country
• View society as weaker than it once was
• Highly conventional attitudes towards sex, race and gender
• Believe we need strong and powerful leaders

Question 4

What kind of participants were studies during Adorno’s F-scale study?

Answer 4

2000 middle class, white Americans

Question 5

What kind of people were those who scored highly on the F-scale?

Answer 5

Very conscious of status and showed extreme respect for those of higher status

Question 6

What kind of sterotypes does those with an Authoritarian perosnality hold?

Answer 6

Fixed and distinctive

Question 7

One strength is the evidence from Milgram’s experiment supporting the Authoritarian personality. - Explain this point

Answer 7

• Milgram interviewed a small amount of people who took part in the F-scale.
• These 20 obedient participants scored higher on the F-scale than the 20 disobedient participants.
• This supports Adorno’s view that obedient people may well show similar characteristics to those with an Authoritarian personality.

Question 8

One limitation is that authoritarianism can’t explain all obedient behaviour. - Explain this point

Answer 8

• For example, in Nazi Germany.
• Individuals in Nazi Germany showed racist and anti semitic behaviour even though they must have differing personalities.
• Is unlikely they would all have an Authoritarian personality.
• Therefore, Adorno’s view is limited as it doesn’t explain all obedience.

Question 9

A limitation is that the F-scale only measures the tendency towards an extreme form of right wing ideology. - Explain this point

Answer 9

• The F-scale is a politically biased interpretation of the Authoritarian personality.
• However, right wing and left wing have a lot in common.
• For example, they both emphasise the importance of complete obedience to authority.
• This means Adorno’s theory doesn’t account for obedience across the whole political spectrum.