[Topic 6] - The authoritarian personality

Question 1

What do dispositional explanations propose?

Answer 1

• Dispositional explanations propose that obedience is caused by personality characteristics rather than situational factors.

Question 2

What is the Authoritarian personality?

Answer 2

• A specific personality type that has been proposed to explain obedience to authority is the Authoritarian personality
• People with an A.P tend to see the world in black and white, enforce strict adherence to social rules and are rigid thinkers who obey to authority

Question 3

What does the ‘California F- Scale’ questionnaire measure?

Answer 3

• The California F-scale measures the different components of the AP.
• An AP is indicated by strongly agreeing with statements such as “obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn”
• Altemeyer refined the concept of the AP.
• His right-wing authoritarianism personality has three important characteristics that predispose people to obedience.
• These are conventionalism, authoritarian aggression and authoritarian submission

Question 4

What did Adorno propose?

Answer 4

• Adorno proposed that the AP was a result of authoritarian parenting style.
• They found that parents of high F scale scorers tended to emphasise obedience and physically punished their children
• He argued that children who grow up in an authoritarian family see this system as the norm and acquire the same authoritarian attitudes through learning and imitation. This makes them more likely to behave obediently.

Question 5

Evaluation 1: There is a relationship between authoritarianism and obedience

Answer 5

• There is a relationship between authoritarianism and obedience
• For example, Elms and Milgram found higher authoritarianism levels in 20 obedient participants in Milgram research compared with 20 disobedient participants
• A further finding was that obedient participants reported being less close to their fathers in childhood compared with disobedient participants
• But many obedient participants also reported having good parental relationship, so this may not be the best explanation for obedience

Question 6

Evaluation 2: The social context may be more important than personality factors

Answer 6

• The social context may be more important than personality factors
• Milgram’s research showed variations in social context, such as location which caused a difference in obedience levels.
• He argued that they were a better predictor of obedience than personality factors
• It was the specific social situation participants found themselves in that caused them to obey not their personality
• Therefore according to milligram a person’s AP may not be the best explanation for obedience