The Authoritarial Personality^

Question 1

Authoritarian Personality?

Answer 1

respect for authority
more likely to be obedient to those who hold power over them

Question 2

Aim (Adorno)

Answer 2

investigate if there is a relationship between a person’s personality and prejudice

Question 3

Procedure (Adorno)

Answer 3

• 2000 middle class, white American
• developed several scales to measure (F scale)

Question 4

Findings (Adorno)

Answer 4

• people with a.p. identify with strong people
• conscious of status, show respect
• positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice

Question 5

Altemeyer

Answer 5

• refined the concept of Auth. P.
• conventionalism
  : keep to trad. values
• auth. aggression
  : agressive to those who violate the norms/values

Question 6

Procedure (Altemeyer)

Answer 6

• participants ordered to give themselves increasing shocks at a mistake
• correlation between RWA scores and level of shocks people were willing to use

Question 7

Aim (Elms & Milgram)

Answer 7

investigate if the obedient in M were more likely to display auth.p. VS disobedient

Question 8

Procedure (Elms & Milgram)

Answer 8

• 20 obedient to 450V
• 20 disobedient refused to continue
• all did questionnaires (F Scale)
  : open questions about family relations

Question 9

FIndings (Elms & Milgram)

Answer 9

• obedient score higher on F Scale than disobedient
• obedient less close with fathers
  : admired experimenter

Question 10

Conclusion (Elms & Milgram)

Answer 10

obedient in M’s had higher levels in the authoritarian personality VS disobedient

Question 11

Variations (AO3 Location)

Answer 11

• obedience levels varies when
  : locations was changed 48%
  : proximity (40%)
• it was the situation than the personality important in explaining obedience

Question 12

Methodological Problems

Answer 12

• using the F-Scale to measure authoritarianism is methologically flawed
• scale is worded in a conforming direction
  : response bias or tend to agree
• the F-scale is not for measuring autharitarianism

Question 13

Alternative Explanation

Answer 13

• can criticise the link for identifying a correlation between two variables
• : correlational relationship can’t establish cause and effect
• Middendorp & Meloen
  : less educated are more authoritarian and obedient than well educated
• instead of authoritarianism causing obedience, lack of education could be responsible