Authoritarian personality

• define dispositional explanation 


  explanation of behaviour that hilights the importance of the individuals personality
• define authoritarian personality 


  a type of personality that adorno argued was especially suseptible to obeying people in authority
• What does a dispositional explanation highlight in behavior?

  The importance of the individual's personality
• What is the Authoritarian Personality (AP) according to Adorno?

  A personality type especially susceptible to obeying authority
• What did Adorno and his colleagues aim to understand through their research?

  The anti-Semitism of the Holocaust
• How did Adorno's conclusions differ from Milgram's regarding obedience?

  Adorno believed high obedience was a psychological disorder
• What are the characteristics of individuals with an Authoritarian Personality?

  Extreme respect for authority and contempt for inferiors
• How do people with an Authoritarian Personality view society?

  They believe society is weaker and needs strong leaders
• What is the psychological outlook of individuals with an Authoritarian Personality?

  They have an inflexible worldview, seeing things as right or wrong
• What is scapegoating in the context of the Authoritarian Personality?

  Displacing resentment onto perceived weaker groups
• What parenting style contributes to the formation of the Authoritarian Personality?

  Harsh parenting with strict discipline
• What correlation did Adorno et al. find in their research?

  A strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice
• What is the significance of the F-scale in Adorno et al.'s research?

  It measures the potential for Authoritarian Personality
• How does conditional love affect children according to Adorno et al.?

  It creates resentment and hostility in the child
• What did Milgram and Elms find regarding obedient participants in their study?

  Obedient participants scored higher on the F-scale than disobedient ones
• What alternative explanation is suggested for the obedience of the German population during the Holocaust?

  Identification with the anti-Semitic Nazi state and scapegoating
• What limitation does Adorno's theory have regarding the majority of a population's obedience?

  It cannot explain obedience in individuals with differing personalities
• What political bias is associated with the F-scale according to Christie and Jahoda?

  It only measures extreme right-wing ideology
• What commonality do extreme right-wing and left-wing ideologies share?

  Both emphasize complete obedience to political authority
• What criticism did Fred Greenstein have regarding the F-scale?

  It is a flawed scale with methodological errors
• How can a high score on the F-scale be misleading?

  It can result from response bias by selecting 'agree' answers