Social learning : Dispositional explanation for obedience

Question 1

Define dispositional explanation

Answer 1

Any explanation of behaviour that is based on an individual’s personality

Question 2

Who researched authoritarian personality?

Answer 2

Adorno et al.

Question 3

Describe the Authoritarian Personality

Answer 3

• extreme respect for authority
• completely obey and are submissive to those with higher status
• dismissive of those they perceive as inferior
• inflexible + rigid outlook on the world - black and white thinking (strong or weak)
• view people who are different to them as inferior + blame them for when things go wrong

Question 4

Explain where the Authoritarian personality stems from in terms of the psychodynamic theory

Answer 4

Psychodynamic theory - a persons personality stems from their childhood and is influenced by their parents

Adorno believed that AP develops during childhood as a result of overly strict and harsh parenting. This can lead to child feeling hatred and resentment towards their parents however since they cannot directly express these feelings, they are displaced onto people they see as weaker (scapegoating).

Question 5

Describe the procedure for Adorno’s research

Answer 5

Adorno et al.
- studied over 2000 Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
- researchers developed measurement scales, including the F-scale (potential-for-fascism scale) used to measure AP

Question 6

Describe the findings of Adorno’s research

Answer 6

• people who scored highly on F-scale (indicating AP) identified with ‘strong’ people and were contemptuous towards those they perceived as ‘weak’
• they showed extreme respect to those of higher status
• people with AP had a certain cognitive style (black and white thinking) - fixed stereotypes about other groups - Adorno found strong positive correlation between AP and prejudice

Question 7

Evaluate the AP as an explanation of obedience

Answer 7

Strength:

• Support from other research
  
  • Milgram + Elms interviewed 20 P.s from original obedience studies who had been fully obedient - assessed higher on F-scale than group of 20 disobedient P.s - links AP and obedience
    COUNTERPOINT - these obedient p.s didn’t experience extremely harsh parenting - challenges Adorno’s explanation of development of AP

Limitations:

• Authoritarianism cannot explain many real-life egs of mass obedience - eg Nazi Germany unlikely that every member possessed AP, alternative explanations: social identity theory, collective scapegoating of fear
  
  • Adorno’s theory = limited, low ecological validity
• Issues with F-scale
  
  • People tend to agree with statements, social desirability bias
  • explanations based on F-scale research may lack validity