Dispositional Explanations Of Obedience Flashcards
What is the authoritarianism personality?
A distinct personality pattern which is characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and belief in absolute obedience/submission to authority
What is the F-Scale?
Used by Adorno to measure the different components that make up the authoritarianism personality. It contained statements such as ‘rules are there to follow not change’. Agreement is an indicative of the AP.
What did Adorno find about high scorers of the F Scale
They had been raised with authoritarian parenting, such as physical punishment. Children growing up in this system mean they believe it is the norm
What is the right wing authoritarianism?
Altemeyer refined the AP by identifying a cluster of 3 of the original personality variables that he referred to as the RWA. People with high RWA have 3 important personality characteristics that dispose them to obedience:
- Conventionalism (an adherence to conventional norms)
- Authoritarianism aggression (aggressive feelings towards those who violate these norms)
- Authoritarianism submission (uncritical submission to legitimate authorities)
How did Altemeyer test the relationship between RWA and obedience levels?
Participants were ordered to give themselves increasing levels of shock when they made a mistake on a learning task. There was a significant correlation between RWA scores and level of shock p’s were willing to give themselves. However, when they were instructed by the experimenter to administer a v strong shock for not trying, most p’s did this without question, regardless of their RWA scores.
How did Milgram and Elms test whether obedient behaviour is situational or dispositional?
They used 40 p’s who had been in Milgram’s original study; 20 obedient p’s and 20 defiant p’s. They all completed the MMPI scale (measuring a range of personality variables) and the F scale (measuring their authoritarianism). They were also asked open questions about relationships w parent during childhood, and their attitudes to their experimenter(Authoritative figure)/learner in Milgram’s original study.
What did Milgram and Elms find?
They found higher levels of authoritarianism amongst p’s classified as obedient. They found significant differences between obedient/defiant p’s that were consistent with the ideas of the authoritarian personality. For example, obedient p’s had more negative relationships with their father and described them in more negative ways. They also viewed the experimenter more admirable than the learner in Milgram’s original study. This shows that obedient participants have higher traits of authoritarianism
What is a limitation of authoritarian personality explanation of obedience ? (Based on Mg…)
A lot of the research support for the link between AP and obedience is based on Milgram style tasks. However, these have been criticised for their lack of internal validity and demand characteristics. Therefore, the explanation is flawed as it is based on flawed evidence.
How did Dambrune + Vatine overcome the problem of flawed explanation/evidence.
By using an ‘immersive virtual environment.’ An actor who took the role of the learner was filmed and displayed on a computer screen. The participants were shown this video and informed that the shocks weren’t real, however they got emotionally involved and reacted as if the shocks were real. This is a strength because although the p’s knew the shocks were fake, they still obeyed: and so the evidence isn’t flawed.
