Authoritarian personality

Question 1

Authoritarian personality

Answer 1

The belief that people should completely obey or submit to their authority figures, and suppress their own beliefs.

Question 2

F-scale

Answer 2

Developed in 1947 as a measure of authoritarian traits or tendencies.

Question 3

Dispositional

Answer 3

Explanation of behaviours such as obedience emphasise them being caused by an individual’s own personal characteristics rather than situational influences within the environment.

Question 4

Right-wing authoritarianism

Answer 4

A cluster of personality variables that are associated with the ‘right wing’ attitude to life.

Question 5

Who first identified the Authoritarian personality?

Answer 5

Adorno et al (1950)

Question 6

Elms and Milgram (1966) - Procedure

Answer 6

A follow-up study using 20 obedient and 20 disobedient participants from Milgram’s study. Each completed the MMPI and the authoritarianism F-scale. They were also asked about their upbringing and their attitudes to the experimenter and the learner.

Question 7

Elms and Milgram (1966) - Findings

Answer 7

Little difference in MMPI scores. Higher authoritarianism in obedient participants. Obedient participants reported being less close to their fathers and saw the authority figure as more admirable than the learner.

Question 8

AO3

Question 9

Research evidence for the authoritarianism/obedience link

Answer 9

Dambrun and Vantine (2010) used an immersive virtual environment. Participants still felt the situation was real. Significant correlation found between RWA scores and max shock level, supporting the link.

Question 10

The social context is more important

Answer 10

Milgram argued that situational factors (e.g., proximity of the victim) explained obedience better than personality. Purely dispositional explanations lack flexibility. (Milgram, 1974)

Question 11

Differences between authoritarian and obedient participants

Answer 11

Elms and Milgram found that obedient participants often had good parental relationships, contradicting the authoritarian personality profile. It is unlikely that all obedient participants came from harsh backgrounds.

Question 12

Causal relationship may be illusory

Answer 12

Research suggests education might explain both authoritarianism and obedience. Less-educated individuals are more authoritarian and obedient. Education, not authoritarianism, may be the root cause.