Explanations of obedience: dispositional explanations. Flashcards
Explain what the authoritarian personality is and how it explains obedience.
Adorno argued that people with an authoritarian personality show an extreme respect for authority. They view society as weaker than it once was so believe we meed strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values. They also show contempt for those of intferior social status. This is due to their inflexible outlook on the world where everything is either right or wrong. People who are ‘other’ (e.g different ethnic group) are responsible for the ills of society according to them so they are a convenient target. Authoritarians are likely to obey orders from an authority figure even when the orders are destructive.
Explain the origins of the authoritarian personality.
Adorno believed that the authoritarian personality type forms in childhood, mostly as a result of harsh parenting. This parenting style typically features extremely strict discipline, an expectation of absolute loyalty, impossible high standards and criticism of perceived failings. Parents give conditional love based on how their child behaves. Adorno argued these childhood experiences create resentment and hostility in a child. The child cannot express these feelings directly to their parents as they fear punishment so instead the fears are displaced onto others (scapegoating).
Explain Adornos research into the authoritarian personality.
Adorno studied more than 2000 middle-class white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups. The researchers developed several measurement scales including the F scale (fascism scale). The scale is used to measure the authoritarian personality. People with authoritarian leanings identified with ‘strong’ people who were contemptuous of the ‘weak’. They were very conscious of status and showed extreme respect, deference and servility to those of higher status. They had fixes stereotypes about other groups.
Give a strength of the authoritarian personality as a dispositonal eplination for obedience. (Research support). Is there a counter argument for this?
One strength is evidence from Milgram supporting the authoritarian personality. Milgram and Elms interviewed a small sample of people who had participated in the original obedience study and asked them to complete the F-scale. The 20 obedience participants scored significantly higher on the F-scale than the comparison group. This finding supports Adorno’s view that obedient people may well show similar characteristics to people who have an Authoritarian Personality. HOWEVER, when the researchers analysed the individual participants, they found that they had a number od characteristics which were unusual for authoritarians. For example, Milgram’s obedience participants did not generally glorify their fathers, did not experience unusual levels of punishment in childhood and did not have particularly hostile attitudes towards their mothers. This means the the link between obedience and authoritarianism is complex.
Give a limitation of the authoritarian personality as a dispositonal eplination for obedience. (Limited explanation).
One limitation is that authoritiariasm cannot explain obedience behaviour in the majority of the countrys population. For example, in pre-war Germany, millions of individuals displayed obedient anti-semetic behaviour. This was despite the fact that they must have differed in their personalities in all sorts of ways. It seems extremely unlikely that they could all possess an Authoritarian personality.
Give a limitation of the authoritarian personality as a dispositonal eplination for obedience. (Political bias).
Another limitation of the F-scale is that it only measures the tendency towards an extreme form of the right-wing ideology. Researchers argued that the F-scale is a politically-biased interpretation of the Authoritarian Personality. They point out the reality of left-wing authoritarianism in the shape of Russian Bolshevism or Chinese Maoism. This means Adornos theory is not a comprehensive dispositional explanation that accounts for obedience to authority across the whole political.
Give a limitation of the authoritarian personality as a dispositional explination for obedience. (Flawed evidence).
On the positive side, research with the F-scale has provided the basis of an explanation of obedience based on Authoritarian personality. However researchers have identified that the F-scale is a flawed scale. For instance, it is possible to get a high score just by selecting ‘agree’ answers. This mens anyone with this response bias is assessed as having an Authoritarian personality.
