Dispositional Explanation of Obedience Flashcards
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
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
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
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
