Authoritarian Personality

Question 1

What is the authoritarian personality

Answer 1

A strict compliance to traditional values and a belief in absolute obedience and submission to authority. This comes from a harsh disciples childhood leading to hostility. Individuals displace these feelings onto weaker individuals like minority groups

Question 2

Explain Adorno’s research

Answer 2

Adorno used 2000 white middle class participants to complete different scales including the F scale that measured racism and authoritarianism. He found hat individuals who scored highly on the F scale showing an authoritarian personality showed disrespect towards the ‘weak’ and excessive respect to those higher in power

Question 3

A03 support for the authoritarian personality

Answer 3

Elms and milgram used 20 obedient and 20 disobedient participants from original study and asked participants to complete a personality questionnaire that involved the F scale. Obedient participants scored much higher on the F scale

Adorno’s findings

Question 4

A03 limitations for authoritarian personality

Answer 4

Cultural bias- not generalisable

Self report data may cause demand characteristic which lowers the validity of the study

Data is correlational so no cause and effect can be established