Dispositional Explanation Authoritarian Personality

Question 1

What does Authoritarian Personality argue?

Answer 1

This dispositional explanation argues that certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience

Question 2

Who investigated the causes of obedient personality in a study with more than 2000 middle class white Americans?

Answer 2

Adorno Et AL

Question 3

What did Adorno use to measure authoritarian personality?

Answer 3

F - scale (fascism)

Question 4

What does the F in F-scale stand for?

Answer 4

Fascist

Question 5

What were the people like who scored high on the F-Scale? (4)

Answer 5

People who scored high:
1) Identified with ‘strong’ people
2) were generally disrespectful and had a hatred for the ‘weak’
3) Conscious of their and others social status
4) Showed excessive respect to authority

Question 6

What were people who scored high on the F-Scale conscious of?

Answer 6

Theirs’s and others social status

Question 7

Who did people who scored high on the F-Scale show excessive respect to?

Answer 7

Authority

Question 8

Authoritarian people had no ‘_________’ between categories of people

Answer 8

Fuzziness

Question 9

What are some characteristics of Authoritarian Personality? (6)

Answer 9

1) Tendency to be especially obedient to authority
2) Have excessive respect for authority
3) Hatred to people who have lower social status
4) Traditional thoughts on race, gender and sex
5) View society as going downhill and think we need strong and powerful leaders to change it
6) Outlook is either black or white, no uncertainty

Question 10

What could some origins be for Authoritarian Personality? (5)

Answer 10

1) Vert strict discipline
2) Expectation of complete loyalty
3) Impossibly high standards
4) Severe criticisms of failures
5) Conditional love

Question 11

What could these origins for Authoritarian Personality cause in a child?

Answer 11

Resentment and hostility

Question 12

Where are fear and angers of Authoritarian Personality displaced onto?

Answer 12

People who are weaker

Question 13

Evidence from Milgram supporting the authoritarian personality

What is a strength of authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience?
[4]

Answer 13

1. Evidence from Milgram supporting the authoritarian personality
2. Milgram imterviewed a sample of people who were in originak obedience studies and were fully obedient
3. Completed a F scale test and these 20 obedient participants scored highly on F scale compared to other disobedient participants
4. Show Adorno et al’s view that obedient people show same characteristics to people with Authroitarian Personality

Question 14

What is a limitation of authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience?
[4]

Answer 14

1. Authroitarianism can’t explain obedient behaviour in a whol country
2. In pre-war germany, millions showed obedient, racist and anti-semitic behaviour
3. This was despite the fact they differed in personalities - seems unlikely that they all possess authroitarian personality