The Authoritarian Personality

Question 1

Describe dispositional factors in obedience

Answer 1

• Milgram believed there was a complex personality basis to obedience. He noted in his study created a conflict in those who had a deeply rooted disposition not to harm others, but a strong tendency to obey authority.
• Some were driven by the former or the latter which led Milgram and others to explore the possible dispositional basis of obedience, and became interested if obedient behaviour emerged under specific conditions or if it was a response to a personality pattern, the Authoritarian Personality.

Question 2

Describe fascism and link it to obedience

Answer 2

• Political ideology where a government is dictatorial and oppresses all criticism and opposition
• It is authoritarian in nature as there’s demanding strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom

Question 3

What is the authoritarian personality?

Answer 3

Type of personality that Adorno argued was susceptible to obeying people in authority. Such individuals are thought to be submissive to those of higher status and dismissive to inferiors

Question 4

What are characteristics of the authoritarian personality?

Answer 4

• Blind allegiance to conventional beliefs about right and wrong
• Respect and obedience to those in authority
• Belief in aggression towards those who don’t have the same conventional beliefs
• Project their own feelings or inadequacy, rage and fear onto a weak group.

Question 5

Describe the F scale

Answer 5

• Adorno developed the F-scale survey to see how prejudiced people were, the F stands for fascist
• The test was developed to help research into the authoritarian personality
• The average score obtained by the American participants tested in 1950 was 3.84, with men averaging lower

Question 6

What was the aim of the F-scale?

Answer 6

To see if an authoritarian personality was the cause of anti-Semitism that lead to the Holocaust

Question 7

What was the method of the F-scale?

Answer 7

Adorno developed the F-scale to measure the authoritarian personality. A questionnaire given to 20,000 middle-class, white Americas, to assess whether they were fascist

Question 8

What were the results of the F-scale?

Answer 8

Those with an authoritarian personality identified with ‘strong’ people and looked down on the ‘weak’. They prioritised statuses, excessive respect, and were passive to those with higher levels of authority. They had fixed stereotypes and were prejudice of some groups e.g. homosexuals

Question 9

What was the conclusion of the F-scale?

Answer 9

Those with an authoritarian personality are very obedient to authority, showing extreme respect and submissiveness

Question 10

Describe the procedure of Elms and Milgrams study

Answer 10

• Elms and Milgram did a follow-up study using participants that previously took part in Milgram’s study. They selected 20 ‘defiant’ (refused to continue) and 20 ‘obedient’ participants (gave the final shock)
• Each participant completed the MMPI scale (measuring a range of personality variables) and the F scale measuring authoritarianism
• Participants were asked open-ended question, including relationship with parents in childhood and attitude to ‘experimenter’ and ‘learner’ in the original Milgram study

Question 11

Describe the findings of Elms and Milgram’s study

Answer 11

• They found little differences between obedient and defiant participants on MMPI variables.
• Higher levels of authoritarianism in those classified as obedient, compared to those ‘defiant’
• Significant differences between obedient and defiant participants that were consistent with the authoritarian personality. e.g. obedient participants were less close with their fathers during childhood, and were more likely to describe them in negative terms
• Obedient participants saw authority figure in Milgram’s study as admirable and the learner less which wasn’t the case for defiant participants. Suggesting that the obedient group was higher on the trait of ‘authoritarianism’

Question 12

Give evaluation for the authoritarian personality (research support)

Answer 12

• Milgram and Elm’s study supports the authoritarian personality as a factor influencing obedience
• They interviewed 20 ‘obedient’ and 20 ‘defiant’ participants and the obedient ones scored higher on the F-scale and they admired the authority influence in Milgram’s study, while the defiant didn’t. Suggests obedient individuals may have more authoritarian traits
• However, when results were analysed closely they found obedient participants showed characteristics uncommon in authoritarian individuals. For example, unlike authoritarians, many ‘obedient’ participants reported good relationships. This discrepancy challenges the link between obedience and authoritarians

Question 13

Give evaluation for the authoritarian personality (social context)

Answer 13

• Social context is more important than personality. Milgram accepted that dispositional factors may have some influence on obedience, but believed situational factors were more significant in obedience
• He showed that altering social context. for example in his proximity variations there were altered levels of obedience regardless of personality.
• Suggests that the authoritarian personality alone can’t explain obedience and a focus on situational factors may be appropriate

Question 14

Give evaluation for the authoritarian personality (large scale)

Answer 14

• Authoritarianism can’t explain obedient behaviour in the majority of a country’s population
• For example, in pre-war Germany, millions displayed obedient and anti-semitic behaviour and it’s unlikely they all had the authoritarian personality. The social identity approach suggests it may be that Germans identified with the anti-semitic state instead.
• This suggests that the authoritarian personality may be limited when explaining large scale obedience.