Social Influence - Dispositional explanations for Obedience

Question 1

What is the Authoritarian Personality?

Answer 1

Refers to a person who has extreme respect for authority & is more likely to be obedient to those who hold power over them

Question 2

What does the F-scale measure?

Answer 2

It measures Authoritarian traits

Question 3

Procedure of Adorno study on authoritarian personality:

Answer 3

Investigated using the F-scale (Fascism scale) which is a questionnaire to measure authoritarian traits

Question 4

What are some examples of the F- scale?

Answer 4

Authoritarian submission: “ Obedience & respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn”

Question 5

Origins of an authoritarian personality

Answer 5

Usually formed in childhoods by strict authoritarian parenting with harsh usually physical punishments. Whereby scapegoating occurs.

Question 6

what is scapegoating?

Answer 6

Fears & or Angers are displaced onto those who are perceived as weaker

Question 7

Strength of Authoritarian Personality?

Answer 7

Point: A strength of the authoritarian personality explanation is that it provides a psychological basis for understanding obedience.

Evidence: Elms and Milgram found that participants in Milgram’s obedience studies who were highly obedient scored significantly higher on the F-scale, which measures authoritarian traits, compared to those who were less obedient.

Explanation: This suggests that certain personality traits, such as a high level of conformity and respect for authority, predispose individuals to obey authority, providing a clear psychological framework for understanding why some people are more obedient than others.

Link: This psychological basis strengthens the authoritarian personality explanation by highlighting the role of individual differences in obedience.

Question 8

Weakness of Authoritarian Personality?

Answer 8

Point: A weakness of the authoritarian personality explanation is that it relies on correlational data, which does not establish causation.

Evidence: Research has found a correlation between high scores on the F-scale, which measures authoritarian traits, and harsh parenting styles, but this does not prove that harsh parenting causes the development of an authoritarian personality.

Explanation: The observed correlation could be influenced by other factors, such as genetic predispositions or broader social influences, which are not accounted for by the authoritarian personality explanation.

Link: This reliance on correlational data weakens the authoritarian personality explanation, as it does not definitively establish that harsh parenting is the cause of authoritarian traits or subsequent obedient behavior.