Social Influence: Dispositional influences

Question 1

Who studied dispositional influences?

Answer 1

Adorno et al

Question 2

Why were dispostional influences studied?

Answer 2

Adorno et al wanted to understand the anti-semitism of the holocaust and believed that unquestioning obedience is a psychological disorder

Question 3

What are the characteristics of an Authoritarian personality?

Answer 3

Especially obedient, exaggerated respect, expressing contempt for people of infererior social status

Question 4

How does an authoritarian personality form?

Answer 4

There is a psychodynamic explanation where harsh parenting in childhood with conditional love creates hostility and resentment in child due to feelings they can’t express which they displace on weaker

Question 5

How were dispositional explanations studied?

Answer 5

Adorno et al studied the unconscious attitudes of more than 2000 mc white americans towards ethnic groups

Question 6

Who were Adorno et al’s ppts?

Answer 6

More than 2000 middle class white americans

Question 7

What was used to study dispositional explanations?

Answer 7

The F-Scale included statements such as ‘obedience and respect for authority is one of the most important virtues for a child to learn’

Question 8

What is an example of an F-scale statement?

Answer 8

Obedience and respect for authority are one of the most important virtues for a child to learn

Question 9

What was found from the F-Scale study?

Answer 9

People who scored highly identified with strong people and were aware of the weak, showing excessive respect for those with higher status

Question 10

What style of thinking do people who score highly on the F-scale have?

Answer 10

Cognitve style with no fuzziness between groups and fixed distinct stereotypes about other groups

Question 11

What is the strength that suggests that there is evidence to show authoritarians are obedient?

Answer 11

• Elms + Milgram studied 20 fully obedient milgram ppts
• They scored higher on scale compared to control of 20 disobedient ppts
• Obedient ppl share same characteristics as authoritarians

Question 11

What did Elms + Milgram study as a strength of dispositional explanations?

Answer 11

20 fully obedient milgram ppts scored higher on f scale compared to control of 20 disobedient ppts

Question 12

What is the limitation that suggests authoritarianism can’t explain a whole countries behaviour?

Answer 12

• Millions of Germans displayed disobedient and antisemetic behaviour but can’t all have same personality
• Germans identified with Nazi state so social identity theory may be better explanation

Question 13

What is the limitation that suggests the F-scale contains political bias?

Answer 13

• Christie + Jahoda suggest F-scale has tendency to measure right wing ideology but both left and right insist on complete political obedience
• Adorno’s explanation isn’t sufficient because it ignores left wing ideology

Question 14

What do Christie + Jahoda suggest as a limitation of dispositional explanations?

Answer 14

The F-scale only measures right wing ideology and ignores left even though both require political obedience

Question 15

What is the limitation of dispositional explanations that suggests that there are methodological issues?

Answer 15

• Acquiescience bias where all statements are in one direction
• Questions aren’t read carefully and tick in same place may result in extreme authoritarisanism even if this isn’t the case
• Invalid

Question 16

What are the titles of all the evaluation points of dispositional explanations?

Answer 16

• Evidence that authoritarians are obedient
• Can’t explain whole country
• Political bias
• Methodological issues

Question 17

Who are the key thinkers of dispostional explanations?

Answer 17

• Adorno et al
• Elms + Milgram
• Christie + Jahoda