Obedience: Dispositional explanation Flashcards
(20 cards)
What type of explanation is the Authoritarian personality?
A dispositional (personality-based) explanation for obedience.
Who developed the concept of authoritarian personality?
Theodor Adorno et al. (1950s) - to explain anti-semitism and Nazi obedience.
What are the key traits of someone with an Authoritarian personality?
- Extreme respect and submission to authority
- Belief in need for strong leaders to enforce traditional values
- contempt for those of lower status
- Rigid, black and white thinking
- Discomfort with uncertainty
Why do authoritarian people obey destructive orders?
They are drawn to power and authority and see out-groups as scapegoats for societal problems.
According to Adorno, how does authoritarian Personality develop?
through harsh parenting, strict discipline, high expectations, and conditional love.
How do these childhood experiences lead to authoritarian traits?
children cannot express anger at parents (fear of punishment) so they displace resentment onto weaker groups - a process known as scapegoating.
What was the aim of Adorno et al’s research?
To investigate the causes of the Authoritarian Personality and its link to obedience and prejudice
What was the procedure of Adorno et al’s study
Adorno et al. studied over 2000 middle-class, white American participants and measured their unconscious ethnic attitudes using tools like the F-scale (potential for fascism scale)
What is the F-scale?
A questionnaire designed to measure authoritarian traits.
Give two examples of the F-scale
- “Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues for children to learn.”
- “There is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel great love, gratitude and respect for his parents.”
What did Adorno et al. find about people with high authoritarian scores?
They:
- Identified with the strong and showed contempt for the weak
- Status conscious and showed deference to authority
- displayed rigid, black-and-white thinking and stereotypes out-groups.
What was the main correlation found in the study?
A strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice.
What did elms and Milgram (1966) find about obedient participants?
20 fully obedient participants from Milgram’s study scored significantly higher on the F-scale than 20 disobedient participants.
How does this support the Authoritarian Personality theory?
It suggests that obedient individuals may share authoritarian traits, supporting Adorno’s dispositional explanation.
What contradictory findings did elms and Milgram report?
Obedient participants did not show typical authoritarian childhood traits. (e.g. glorifying fathers, strict punishment, hostility to mothers)
What does elms and Milgram suggest about the link between authoritarian Personality and obedience.
The relationship is complex, and authoritarianism may not be a reliable predictor of obedience.
Why is authoritarian personality a limited explanation for obedience on a large scale?
It cannot account for widespread obedience, such as in Nazi Germany, where millions obeyed despite varied personalities.
What is the political bias criticism of the F-scale?
It only measured right-wing authoritarianism and ignores left-wing authoritarian regimes. (USSR)
What did Christie and Jahoda (1954) say about political bias of the F-scale?
Christie and Jahoda argues authoritarianism exists at both ends of the political spectrum.
Overall Adorno’s theory is…
It is not a comprehensive dispositional explanation, as it doesn’t cover all forms of authoritarian obedience.
