obedience dispositional explanations Flashcards
procedure
adorno et al 1950
investigated causes of obedience personality in a study with over 2000 middle class white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
used the f scale to measure this authoritarian personality
findings
adorno et al
those who scored high on the f scale(authoritarian leanings) identified with strong people and contemptuous of the weak , very conscious of their own and others status
authoritarian people had a cognitive style where there was no fuzziness between categories of people , with fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups .
positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
authoritarian characteristics
adorno concluded people with an authoritarian personality have the tendency to be obedient to authority
they have an extreme aspect for authority and submissiveness to it
had a contempt to those that had an inferior status to them , and Hugh conventional views towards sex race and gender .
tradition views on country family and religion , inflexible on their outlook
right or wrong uncomfortable on uncertainty
origin of authoritarian personality
adorno et al
authoritarian personality is developed from childhood as a result of harsh parenting . typically with strict discipline and severe crticisms of perceived failings or conditional love depending on the Childs behaviour .
adorno argued that these experiences create resentment and hostility in the child , but the child cannot express these feelings so are displaced too others that are percieved as weaker.
this explains a central trait of obedience to higher authority which is a dislike for people considered to be social inferior or who belongs to other social groups
PHYSCHODYNAMIC APPROACH
research support
strength
milrgam and elms 1966
conducted interviews with a small sample of fully obedient participants , who scored high on the f scale . eliding they may be a link between obedience and authoritarian personality .
merely a correlation between the two measured variables , impossible to draw conclusions from as a third factor may be involved .
limited explanation
weakness
any explanation of obedience in terms of indvidual personality will find it hard to explain obedient behaviour in the majortys of a countrys population .
eg pre war Germany millions of individuals all displayed obedient racist and anti semtic behaviour . must all ave differences in personality not all authotarian would be a wrong assumption .
limitation of Adornos theory because it is clear that an alternative explanation is much more realistic , social identity explains this ,n the majority of Germany identified with the anti semtic nazi state and scape goated the outgroup of jews .
political bias
weakness
f scale measures the tendency towards one extreme form of right wing ideologies
Christine and jahoda 1954
argued that this is a politically biased interpretation of authoritarian personality . extreme left and right wing ideologies have much in common like the emphasis on the importance to complete obedience to legitimate powers .
a limitation as its not a comprehensive dispositional explanation that can account for obedience to authority across the whole political spectrum .
methological problems
weakness
greenstein 1969
describes the f scale as “a comedy of methological errors “
all questions were worded in the same direction.
it was highly possible to get a high score on the f scale by ticking the same lie of boxes down each side of the page
people who agree with the items on the f scale are not authoritarian but merely acquisers and the test is measuring the ability to agree to everything .
correlation not causation
weakness
adorno measured significant correlation between auhtortiairianism and prejudice against a minority group
however their is no proof it was more then a correlation as the variables are open to influence rom a third factor
adorno could not successfully claim hat harsh parenting style cause the development of an authrotiarian personality .
