Obedience: Dispositional Explanation

Question 1

What did Adorno believe a high level of obedience was?

Answer 1

A pathological disorder with the cause of the disorder lying in the personality of the individual rather than the situation.

Question 2

What did Adorno et al argue people with an authoritarian personality show?

Answer 2

1. Extreme respect to authority.
2. They view society weaker than it once was - believe we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values.
   - Both characteristics make people more likely to obey orders from a source of authority.

Question 3

What do people with an authoritarian personality show for those of inferior status?

Answer 3

Contempt which is fuelled by their inflexible outlook - everything is right or wrong - they are uncomfortable with uncertainty.

Question 4

To people with an authoritarian personality what are ‘others’ in society?

Answer 4

Responsible for the ills of society - convenient targets for authoritarians who are likely to obey orders from authority figures even when such orders are destructive.

Question 5

When did the authoritarian personality develop according to Adorno et al?

Answer 5

Developed in childhood as a result of harsh parenting.

Question 6

What does harsh parenting feature?

Answer 6

Extremely strict discipline, an expectation of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards and severe criticism of perceived failing.

Question 7

What did Adorno et al argue childhood experiences create?

Answer 7

Resentment and hostility but this cant be expressed directly against the parent because of the fear of punishment - fears are displaced onto others perceived to be weaker - scapegoating. (Psychodynamic explanation).

Question 8

Adorno et Al’s procedure

Answer 8

• Studied more than 2000 middle0class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups.
• Researchers developed measurement scales including potential-for-facism (f-scale).

Question 9

Findings of Adorno et Al’s research

Answer 9

• People with authoritarian learnings identified with strong people and were generally contemptuous of the weak.
• Very conscious of status and showed extreme respect, defence and servility to those of higher status.
• Found that authoritarian people had a certain cognitive style in which there was no fuzziness between categories of people.
• Fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups.
• Found a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice.

Question 10

Evaluation: Milgrams research supports authoritarian personality

Answer 10

• Milgram interviewed a sample of people who had been fully obedient and participated in his original study.
• 20 obedient ppts scored significantly higher overall on the F-scale than a comparison group of 20 disobedient ppts.

Question 11

Evaluation: Some psychologists suggest the F-scale isn’t accurate

Answer 11

• It’s possible to get a high score by just agreeing with every answer.
• So anyone with this response bias is assessed to have an authoritarian personality.

Question 12

Evaluation: authoritarianism cant explain obedient behaviour in the majority of the country’s population

Answer 12

• Pre-war Germany there were millions of people showing obedient, racist and anti-Semitic behaviour.
• It is unlikely that all these people displayed authoritarian personality’s.
• A different view is that the majority of German people identified with ant-Semitic Nazi state and scapegoated the out group of Jews.
• Alternative approach is more realistic.

Question 13

Evaluation:ethnocentric

Answer 13

• Study conducted of only Americans when Adorno et al wanted to understand why people acted the way they did in the holocaust.