Obedience - Dispositional Explanations Flashcards
What is Adorno’s Authoritarian Personality?
He argued people with an AP show an extreme respect for and submissiveness to authority. They view society as weaker than it once was, so believe we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values. These make AP people more likely to obey authority figures. They show contempt for those of a lower social status - those who are different to them in ethnicity or social status are responsible for the ills of society and a convenient target for destructive orders.
What is the origin of the Authoritarian Personality?
Forms in childhood as a result of harsh parenting, featuring strict discipline, an expectation of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards and severe criticism of perceived failings. Parents give conditional love, and these experiences create resentment and hostility so their fears are displaced onto the weaker - scapegoating.
What was Adorno’s procedure?
He studied more than 2000 middle-class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards ethnic groups. They used the F-scale to measure the Authoritarian personality (potential-for-fascism scale).
What were Adorno’s findings?
That people with authoritarian leanings identified with strong people and had contempt for the weak, were very conscious of their own status and showed extreme respect, deference and servility to a higher status. They also had absolutist thinking and had a strong correlation with prejudice.
What is the strength - research support?
Milgram interviewed a small sample of fully-obedient participants and found the 20 obedient participants scored higher than 20 disobedient participants. The two groups were mainly different on authoritarianism. This supports Adornos view.
What is the limitation - not fully authoritarian?
When researchers analysed the sub scales, they found the obedient participants didn’t glorify their fathers, have a punishing childhood or have hostile attitudes towards the mother. This means the link must be complex.
What is the limitation - limited explanation?
It cannot explain obedience in an entire population - in pre-war Germany millions displayed obedient and anti-semitic behaviour, despite the fact they must have different personalities. A social identity theory approach seems more likely. Therefore Adorno’s theory is limited because an alternative explanation is more realistic.
What is the limitation - political bias?
the F-scale only measures the tendency towards a particular ideology. Christie and Jahoda argued the F-scale is a politically-charged interpretation in the shape of Russian Bolshevism. This means Adorno’s theory only accounts for obedience on one side of the political spectrum.
