Dispositional explanation: authoritarian personality

• Dispositional explanation for obedience


  The dispositional explanation for obedience ignores situational factors and says that personality is the most important factor in predicting how obedient an individual is.
• What is the authoritarian personality according to Adorno?

  It is a dispositional explanation for obedience characterized by a belief in absolute obedience to authority.
• How is the authoritarian personality developed according to Adorno?

  It results from overly strict and rigid parenting that socializes a child to obey authority unquestioningly.
• What do individuals with an authoritarian personality tend to be aware of?

  They are very aware of social status.
• What values do individuals with an authoritarian personality typically hold?

  They are conventional and have a high amount of respect for those in positions of authority.
• What is the relationship between the authoritarian personality and obedience rates?

  Individuals with an authoritarian personality tend to have high obedience rates.
• What is proposed to be a consequence of strict parenting?

  It can result in prejudice.
• How does strict parenting affect a child's feelings?

  It makes the child feel constrained.
• What psychological effect does feeling constrained have on a child?

  It creates aggression.
• Why might a child displace aggression onto others?

  Because they are afraid of being disciplined by their parents.
• Who do children with strict parenting typically displace their aggression onto?

  People they see as weak or inferior.
• What is a common attitude of individuals with an authoritarian personality towards minority groups?

  They are usually hostile towards them.
• How does hostility towards minority groups affect individuals with an authoritarian personality?

  They are less likely to be influenced by minority groups advocating for disobedience.
• What is the overall effect of an authoritarian personality on social change?

  They typically maintain the status quo.
• Measuring the authoritarian personality 


  To measure an individual’s degree of authoritarian personality, Adorno constructed the F-scale questionnaire. This comprises of a series of statements such as “obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn” and “people can be divided into two distinct classes: the weak and the strong”. Respondents then agree or disagree with each statement on a scale. The higher an individual scores, the more authoritarian they are.
• What does the authoritarian personality refer to?

  A personality type characterized by a belief in absolute obedience to those of perceived higher status
• How is the authoritarian personality proposed to develop?

  It results from overly strict and rigid parenting
• What feelings do strict and rigid parenting create in children with an authoritarian personality?

  Feelings of aggression that are displaced onto minority groups
• What is a strength of the authoritarian personality as a dispositional explanation for obedience?

  It has received supporting evidence
• What did Elms and Milgram (1966) find in their research regarding obedient participants?

  Obedient participants scored highly on the F-scale as a measure of authoritarianism
• Why has the use of the F-scale been criticized?

  All statements are worded in the same conforming direction towards authoritarianism
• What limitation does response bias present in the authoritarian personality explanation for obedience?

  It questions the credibility of the supporting evidence from Elms and Milgram
• What does the correlational nature of the evidence imply about the authoritarian personality and obedience?

  It means cause and effect cannot be established
• What is a potential confounding variable in the relationship between authoritarianism and obedience?

  Level of education
• How does level of education relate to authoritarianism and obedience?

  Those with lower education levels are more likely to score high on authoritarianism and obey authority
• What limitation does the authoritarian personality have in explaining obedience in entire social groups?

  It cannot easily account for mass obedience in societies
• What example is given to illustrate the limitation of the authoritarian personality in explaining obedience?

  The obedient behavior of millions in pre-war Germany
• How does the agentic state theory explain obedience?

  Individuals act on behalf of an authority figure and diffuse responsibility onto them
• What evidence supports the agentic state explanation for obedience?

  Milgram’s proximity variations show how increased feelings of responsibility decrease obedience rates
• Why might situational explanations be more appropriate than the authoritarian personality in explaining obedience?

  Situational explanations are supported by more credible research evidence