Obedience :Dispositioanl Explanation Flashcards
thoedor adorno and colleagues wanted to understand
anti semitism of the holocaust
copmare adorno research to milgram
drew diff conclusions
adorno beloieved high level of obedience was a
psychological disorder
they belieieved gthe causes of the psychological disroder of high obedience was in the …. rather than
personality of the indi rather than situation
dispositional explanation
adorno argued people with high obedience show what 2 things
extreme respect and submissiveness to authority
view society as weaker than it once was - so believe we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce trad vlaues such as love of country and family
adorno argued people wwith high obedience showed 2 characteristics
these characterisitcs make pople with an authotarian perosnality more liekly t
obey orders from a source of authority
people with authotarian personalities also show contempt for those of
inferior social status
why do people with authotarian personalities have contempt for those of inferior social status/ what is this fuelled by
fuelled by inflexible outlook on the world
what does inflexible outlook of th eworld mean
for them there are - no grey areas
everything eithe rright or wrong
what are AP uncomfortbale with
uncertainity
those with an AP are uncomfortable with uncertainity therefore , people who are other (e.g belong to a diff ethinic group) are resposnible for the
ills of society
‘other’ people are what to authotarians
convenient target
authotarians are likely to obey orders from authority figures even when
such orders are destructive
e.g nazi germany
adorno et al believed authotarian personaloty types form in
and why
childhood
mostly as result of harsh parenting
describe the parenting style of authotarian perosnlaity children 5 things
strict discipline
expectation of absolute loyalty
impossibly high standards
sever criticisms of percieved failings
conditional love
what did adono argue about the childhoofd xp that ap people had
create resentment and hostility in a child
whats key about the resntment and hostility ap childhood xp
kid cant express feeligs against parent as fear punishment
as kids cant express fellings against parents as fear punsihment what happens instead
fears dsiplaced onto others who they percieve to be weaker - scapegoating
as kids not able to express feleling as fearf punishment of parent and instead use scapegiating what does this explain
hatred towards people percieved as socially inferior /who belong to other social groups
what is hatred towards people considred to be socially infeoior or a part of other social groups a central feature of
obedience to a hgiher authority
what type of explanation is orgigins of authotarian personlaity
psychodynamic
adorno theory based on
research data
who did adorno study and what about them
more than 2000 middle class white americans
their unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups
how did researchers test unconscious attittudes towards ethnic minorities
severla measurment scales including potential for fascism (f scale)
f scale used to measure
AP
Give example of f scale item
obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues a child should learn
how did people with Authotarian leaning score on f scale and scales
high
explain 4 results/traits of obedience , of authotarian leanings people
identified with strong people
generally contemptuous of the weak
conscoius of status - own and others
showed xtreme defense , respect , servility to those of higher status
these are traits of obedience
adorno also found AP had a certain
cognitive styke
what was the cognitive style of AP people
no fuziness between categories of peple
AP have what ind of steroetypes about ‘other peope’
FIXED
DISTINCTIVE
WHAT WAS CORRELATION BETWEEN AP and Prejudice
strong positive correlation
found by adorno
LIMITATION - LIMITED EXPLANATION
Although the results of Elms and Milgram suggest a link between authoritarian personality and obedience
, these results are x
and it is therefore difficult to draw x conclusions about the exact x of the obedience.
In addition, there are many other x x that contribute to obedience, including x, xand x.
Therefore, although it is likely that authoritarian personality contributes to obedience,
a range of situational variables can affect the level of this x - so it doent provide a complete explanation
Although research has suggested a link betwee authoritarian personality and obedience
, these results are correctional
and it is therefore difficult to draw meaningful conclusions about the exact cause of the obedience.
In addition, there are many other situational factors that contribute to obedience, including proximity, uniform and location.
Therefore, although it is likely that authoritarian personality contributes to obedience,
a range of situational variables can affect the level of this contribution.
THIS THERFORE
LIMITATION - negating evidence
research by x and Meleon (1990) found that x-educated people are more likely to display x personality characteristics,
than xx people.
If these claims are x then it is possible to conclude that it is x authoritarian personality x that lead to x, but levels of x.
therfore limiting adornos AP explanation
research by Middendorp and Meleon (1990) found that less-educated people are more likely to display authoritarian personality characteristics,
than well-educated people.
If these claims are correct then it is possible to conclude that it is not authoritarian personality characteristics that lead to obedience, but levels of education.
therfore limiting adornos AP explanation
LIMITATION - methodology
limitation of the x
It is possible that the F scale suffers from xx or xx, where participants provide answers that are x acceptable.
For example, participants may appear x authoritarian because they believe that their answers are the x ‘x’ and consequently they are x classified as authoritarian when they are x.
this can reduce the x validity of the findings. This means that x
findings may not be x so the authoritarian personality may not be a good
x for obedience.
limitation of the methodology
It is possible that the F scale suffers from response bias or social desirability, where participants provide answers that are socially acceptable.
For example, participants may appear more authoritarian because they believe that their answers are the socially ‘correct’ and consequently they are incorrectly classified as authoritarian when they are not.
this can reduce the internal validity of the findings. This means that Adorno’s
findings may not be accurate so the authoritarian personality may not be a good
explanation for obedience.
