Social influence - dispositional explanation for obedience

Question 1

What did Adorno investigate? Why?

Answer 1

The authoritarian personality, Adorno (1950). Like Milgram, he was interested in understanding the anti-Semitism of the Holocaust. However, he investigated whether peoples’ personalities affecting obedience instead of situational factors

Question 2

What is a dispositional explanation?

Answer 2

When an individual’s personality is an explanation for their behaviour - from his research he concluded high levels of obedience is a psychological disorder

Question 3

Which theory does this oppose?

Answer 3

Milgram’s theories - namely the agentic state theory and the legitimacy of authority theory

Question 4

Who made up the sample in his research?

Answer 4

2000 middle class, white Americans - he wanted to measure their subconscious attitudes towards other racial groups

Question 5

What was the F-scale?

Answer 5

It was used to measure the authoritarian personality. F stands for fascism

Question 6

What is fascism?

Answer 6

A mass political movement that emphasises extreme nationalism, militarism and the supremacy of the nation over the individual

Question 7

What is the relationship between the F-scale, obedience and the authoritarian personality?

Answer 7

People with authoritarian learnings scored higher on the F-scale and were more obedient

Question 8

What personality traits do people with an authoritarian personality have?

Answer 8

• They’re very conscious of their own and others’ social status, showing excessive respect and servility to those of higher status, also showing contempt for the weak
• Had a fixed cognitive style (black and white thinking) leading to stereotypes about other groups. Strong positive correlation between an authoritarian personality and prejudice
• View society as ‘going to the dogs’ and believe strong and powerful leaders are needed to enforce traditional values

Question 9

According to Adorno, where does this personality type originate from?

Answer 9

He hypothesised that the authoritarian personality is formed in childhood as a result of harsh parenting. These experiences create resentment and hostility in the child that cannot be expressed and thus these feelings are displaced onto others who are perceived as weaker, explaining a dislike for people considered inferior