Social Influence: Dispositional explanation for Obedience

Question 1

What is an authoritarian personality??

Answer 1

A personality characterised by extreme obedience and unquestioned respect for authority figures

Question 2

Who and when created the idea of the authoritarian personality??

Answer 2

Adorno in 1950!

Question 3

What did Adorno use to measure the authoritarian personality??

Answer 3

The F-scale (Fascism scale)

Question 4

What demographic and how many of them completed the F-scale??

Answer 4

2000 white American males

Question 5

What are the traits that Adorno proposed were results of having an authoritarian personality??

Answer 5

• More obedience
• Respect social hierarchies and authority figures
• Look down on people ‘below them’ in the social hierarchy

Question 6

What did Adorno claim about personalities?

Answer 6

That they stem from childhood!

Question 7

What did Adorno state that parents with authoritarian personalities are likely to do??

Answer 7

• Exert strong discipline
• Have high expectations of their child
• Exert a version of love based on conditions

Question 8

What did Adorno explain as a reason for people with authoritarian personalities looking down upon those ‘below them’ in social hierarchies??

Answer 8

They can’t express hostility towards their parents due to being strict so instead aim this towards people they believed to be inferior (e.g ethnic minorities)

Question 9

What was the main strength of Adorno’s concept??

Answer 9

Elms and Milgram (1966) - Investigated whether ppts in Milgram’s original study who obeyed had authoritarian traits as opposed to those who didn’t, which they did.
Obedient ppts scored higher on the F-scale and were close to their fathers.

Question 10

What is a strength of Adorno’s F-scale??

Answer 10

It uses standardised procedure so it can be replicated and therefore has high reliability

Question 11

What were 2 weaknesses of Adorno’s F-scale??

Answer 11

Christie and Jahoda (1954) -> F-scale measures tendency towards extreme right-wing ideology (politically biased as doesn’t explain obedience towards left-wing authoritarianism)

Middendorp and Meleon (1990) -> Less-educated people are more likely to show authoritarian traits than educated people (obedience is more caused b y education levels than authoritarian personalities)

Question 12

What were the generalisability and validity of Adorno’s F-scale??

Answer 12

Not generalisable -> All white, American males
Low internal validity -> Social desirability bias (questionnaire)