Dispositional Explanation of Obedience Flashcards

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1
Q

What is an authoritarian personality?

A
  • Adorno argued that AP is a collection of traits developed due to a strict upbringing - may include physical punishment
  • Thus the child learns not to retailiate hostilely to parents as its unacceptable and leads to further punishment
  • This explains obedience in people with an AP as they are highly obedient to those they perceive as having a higher social status
  • They are very aware of social status making them hostile to those perceived as having lower social status
  • They tend to have traditional beliefs that don’t easily change
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2
Q

What did Adorno find about authoritarian personality?

A
  • Found those who had high scores on the F-Scale (had APs) were very conscious of their own and others’ status showing excessive respect for those in positions of authority above them
  • This shows that AP is associated with greater respect for authority
  • Thus it makes sense that it would lead to increased obedience
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3
Q

How is reductionism a weakness?

A
  • A weakness of the theory is that it is reductionist
  • Adorno oversimplifies obedience to having an AP
  • This is a weakness because there are other personality factors that affect how obedient someone is
  • Even if someone had a strict upbringing they are more likely to act on their own ideas if they have an internal locus of control rather than obey authority figures
  • Thus obedience is influenced by other personality factors which may prevent someone from developing an AF
  • As Adorno ignores this, his explanation is incomplete and reduces in validity
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4
Q

How is determinism a weakness?

A
  • A weakness of Adorno’s theory is that it’s deterministic
  • The idea of having an AP is that you will develop one if you have a strict upbringing
  • This suggests that strict parenting always leads to development of an AP, however, this doesn’t account for free will
  • Children may choose to rebel against their strict parents and so not develop an AP or become more obedient
  • Thus as the explanation doesn’t consider free will and how it prevents the development of an AP it presents a negative outlook on behaviour
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