Lesson 8 - Dispositional Explanations of Obedience

Question 1

What is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 1

A dispositional explanation of obedience that states that people with an authoritarian personality are more likely to obey. Authoritarian personalities have a collection of traits which enhance obedience

Question 2

What is a dispositional explanation?

Answer 2

Individuals personalities determine their behaviour, not situational influences.

Question 3

What are some of the personality traits that authoritarian people have?

Answer 3

• Servile towards people of higher status
• Hostile towards people of lower power

Question 4

How did Adorno test authoritarian personalities?

Answer 4

He created a questionnaire called the F-Scale. Involved asking how much pps agreed with statements like ‘rules are there to be followed and not changed’.

Question 5

What is a strength of authoritarian personalities?

Answer 5

Miller found that people who scored high on the F Scale were more likely to obey an order to hold electrical wiring while working on an arithmetic problem, compared to those with low scores

Question 6

What is another strength of authoritarian personalities?

Answer 6

Altemeyer ordered PPs to give themselves increasing shocks after making a mistake in a learning task. He found a high correlation between those who shocked themselves and high scores on the F scale.

Question 7

What is a weakness of authoritarian personalities?

Answer 7

Dispositional explanations can not explain obedience in entire societies, as authoritarian personalities are not common.

Question 8

Who developed the authoritarian personality?

Answer 8

Adorno

Question 9

Why did Adorno think people developed authoritarian personalities?

Answer 9

Due to strict parenting. Cannot take anger out on parents so it is deflected too weaker. Act submissive to parents and this extends to all authority.