obedience: dipositional explanation ao1

Question 1

Name the dispositional explanation of obedience

Answer 1

The authoritirian personality

Question 2

How did the authoritarian personality come about

Answer 2

Adorno and colleagues wanted to understand anti semitism during the holocaust

Question 3

Who did study on authoritarian personality and when

Answer 3

Adorno et al 1950

Question 4

Adorno et al 1950 study sample size

Answer 4

2000 middle class white American

Question 5

Adorno et al 1950 procedure

Answer 5

Looked at ppts and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
Developed F scale (Fascism scale) used to measure authoritarian personality.

Question 6

Give 2 examples of f scale

Answer 6

• Obedience and respect for authority are there most important virtues children should learn
• there is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel a great love, gratitude and respect for his parents

Question 7

Findings of Adorno et al 1950

Answer 7

• People with authoritarian leanings (scored highly on the f scale) identified with strong people
• they showed excessive respect to those of higher status
• they found authoritiran people had a cognitive style. They had no fu

Question 8

What did Adorno think was the origin of the authoritarian personality

Answer 8

It’s formed in childhood as a result
of harsh parenting
Parenting is extremely strict, high
expectations and criticism upon failure
Love conditional on how child behaves

Question 9

Effect of harsh parenting in forming authoritarian personality

Answer 9

These experiences create hostility
and resentment in the child but
they can’t express their feelings
directly on to their parents
They instead displace their fears
onto others who they see as
weaker
This explains the trait of
obedience to higher authority
which is a dislike for people
considered to be socially inferior. Known as scapegoating