Obedience: Authoritarian (Dispositional) Flashcards
Who proposed this theory using research as support?
Adorno et al (1950)
What sample did Adorno use in his research?
2,000 college students from America
List the 3 research methods used.
1) Case studies (e.g. the Nazis)
2) Psychometric testing (e.g. the F-scale questionnaire)
3) Clinical interviews (e.g. revealing aspect of their childhood)
What did Adorno use to measure authoritarianism?
A questionnaire called the ‘F-scale’.
What does the ‘F’ stand for in ‘F-scale’?
Fascism
What type of scale did Adorno use in his questionnaires?
5 point Likert scale.
What did a high score on the F-scale represent?
High authoritarianism
Give 3 examples of the statements that would appear on the F-scale.
1) Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn
2) Sex crimes deserve more that imprisonment (e.g. public whipping or worse)
3) Human nature being what it is, there will always be war and conflict
List 3 characteristics that would be associated with authoritarianism.
1) Hostility towards anyone they see as different to them and their in-groups and dealing with those who disobey with aggression
2) Submissive to authority figures with belief others should do the same
3) Obsession with ranks and status
What conditions did Adorno believe that authoritarianism developed under?
- Having parents who demanded absolute obedience
- This suppressed the ability to express their hostility towards them for fear of punishment
- Their hostility gets displaced towards minority groups due to seeing them as safer targets.
What is the process of an individual displacing their anger towards minority groups called?
Scapegoating
Define ‘reaction formation’.
It is a defence mechanism someone uses when they feel something however outwardly show the opposite.
How does reaction formation relate to an authoritarian personality?
If someone has an authoritarian personality they may outwardly idolises their parents whilst inwardly fearing and loathing them.
Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘evidence’ points.
P - Adorno (1950) supports
E - He found that those who scored highly on the F-scale shared similar traits
E - And so supports the idea of an authoritarian personality
P - Elms (1998) supports
E - He interviewed 2 groups of ppts in Milgram’s study (20 defiant/20 obedient) and found that the obedient group were less close to their fathers during childhood
E - And so supports the idea that authoritarian personality is a result of childhood
Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘how’ points.
P - Adorno (1950) has low reliability
E - The information on ppts’ childhood was drawn from their own recollections (retrospective data)
E - And so the authenticity of the results cannot be certain as people’s memories can be inconsistent so harder to compare
P - Adorno (1950) has low validity
E - Used self-report data in F-scale questionnaires
E - And so people are likely to give answers they deem socially desirable which would not be an accurate reflection of their true personality
