Dispositional explanations of obedience Flashcards
why did Adorno research the authoritarian personality
similarly to Milgram, Adorno et al. wanted to understand the anti-semitism of the holocaust
they believed that a high level of obedience was a psychological disorder (pathological)
the causes of obedience lie in the personality of the individual rather than the situation
what is the authoritarian personality
people will show extreme respect and submissiveness to authority
they view society as ‘weaker’ than it once was, believing we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values
show contempt for those of inferior social status, fuelled by inflexible outlook on the world
what are the origins of an authoritarian personality
forms during childhood, mostly as a result of harsh parenting which involves extremely strict discipline, expectation of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards and severe criticism
parents give conditional love
adorno et al. argues that these childhood experiences create resentment and hostility in a child, so they displace these feelings onto people they perceive as weaker (scapegoating)
psychodynamic explanation
what was the procedure of adorno et al.’s research
(1950), studied more than 2000 m/c white americans and their unconscious attitudes towards ethnic groups
developed fascism scale (F-scale), a scale used to measure authoritarian personality
what were adorno et al.’s findings
people who scored higher on the F-scale identified with strong people and were generally contemptuous of the ‘weak’
conscious of status, showed extreme respect, deference and servility to those of higher status
these people had a certain cognitive style, fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups
what is the supporting research for the authoritarian personality (strength)
elms and milgram (1966), interviewed a small sample of people who had participated in the original obedience studies and had been fully obedient
they all completed the F-scale, these 20 participants scored significantly higher than a comparison group of 20 disobedient participants
shows support for adorno et al.’s view that obedient people may well also have an authoritarian personality
what is a counterpoint for the supporting research (limitation)
when researchers analysed the individual subscales of the F-scale, they found obedient ppts had characteristics that were unusual for authoritarians
milgram’s ppts generally did not glorify their fathers or have extreme levels of strictness in childhood
this means the link between authoritarianism and obedience is complex
why can authoritarianism not explain obedient behaviour in the majority of a country’s population (limitation)
in pre-war germany, millions of individuals displayed obedient and anti-semitic behaviour, despite the fact they must have differed in their personality in many different ways, unlikely they all possess authoritarian personality
social identity theory approach can be considered - majority of germans identified with anti-semitic nazi state
therefore limited explanation
how does the F-scale have political bias (limitation)
F-scale only measures the tendency towards an extreme form of right-wing ideology
christie and jahoda (1954) point out the reality of left-wing authoritarianism in the shape of russian bolshevism, there is a lot in common with right-wing ideology
e.g., they both emphasise the importance of complete obedience to political authority
therefore adorno’s theory is not a comprehensive dispositional explanation that accounts across the political spectrum
