Obedience: Dispositional Explanations Flashcards
What is a dispositional explanation?
Explanation of behaviour highlights the importance of the individual’s personality
Who investigated into why Nazi soldiers were so willing to persecute and kill members of minority groups, such as Jews during WW II; could it be blamed on a personality trait?
Adorno
When did Adorno investigate into this?
1950
What did Adorno claim?
Particular personality type is more likely to obey an authority
What did Adorno et al. (1950) investigated in to?
The causes of an obedient personality in a study of more than 2000 middle-class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups.
What did Adorno et al. (1950) develop?
- F scale
- F=Fascist
What did the F-Scale test?
The relationship between a person’s personality type and prejudiced beliefs
What was Adorno et al (1950) procedure?
Define authoritarian personality:
A type of personality which was susceptible to obeying people in authority
- Submissive to those with high authority
- Dismissive of inferiors
What was Adorno et al (1950) findings?
-Those who scored higher were identified as ‘strong’
-higher score has particular cognitive style
+No grey areas between catergories
+Fixed and distinctive stereotypes
+Strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
Characteristics of an authoritarian personality:
- Rigid beliefs = very traditional/dislike of change
- Hostility of other groups = Dominating and bullying manner
- Intolerant of ambiguity = Cannot tolerate behaviour which is wrong
Origin of the Authoritarian personality:
- Harsh and punitive upbringing/ little love
- Fear of parents = excessive respect to authority figures
- Hatred of parents = gate and anger displaced on to others
What is the origin of the Authoritarian personality base on?
Psychodynamic approach
What did Milgram and Elms (1966) find?
Original participants who exceed to 450v showed higher on tests of authoritarianism and lower on social responsibility
Disadvantage of Milgram and Elms (1966):
-Only correlation
Why is the authoritarian personality explanation limited?
As during the WWII May Germans behaved the same but had very different personalities so not all could have had the authoritarian personality
What is an alternative explanation to the authoritarian personality explanation?
Social identity theory
Who proposed that the F-scale is politically bias?
Christie and Jahoda (1954)
Is the F-scale politically free or biased?
Biased
Why is the F-scale biased according to Christie and Jahoda (1954)?
F-scale tends to measure the tendency towards extreme right-wing ideology
Why is Adorno’s theory not a comprehensive dispositional theory?
Doesn’t explain left wing authoritariansim
Who suggested that the F-scale has a flawed methodology?
Greenstein (1969)
What did Greenstein (1969) criticise?
- The scale was all in the same order meaning possible social desirability bias
- Researcher knew the score of participants before interviewing (Reseach bias can occur)
What does the flaw in methodology mean for all the results collected by Adorno?
That they are meaningless and lacks serious validity
What the results collected by Adorno cause and effects or a correlation?
Correlation
What is the problem with results which are a correlation?
No matter how strong they neither be a cause and effect established form it
What could Adorno not claim due to results being a correlation?
That harsh parenting causes development of authoritarian personality
