Dispositional explanation

• What does dispositional explanation mean?

  Any explanation of behaviour that highlights the importance of the individual’s personality. Such explanations are often contrasted with situational explanations
• What is the authoritarian personality?

  A type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority. such individuals are thought of to be submissive of those of higher status and dismissive of inferiors
• The authoritarian personality

  Adorno and his colleagues wanted to understand the anti-semitism of the holocaust. Their research led them to draw very different conclusions from milgrams study. They believed that a high level of obedience was basically a psychological disorder. They believed they the cause of such a disorder lie in the personality of the individual rather than in the situation
• Authoritarian personality and obedience

  Shows extreme respect (and submission) to authority. Such people view society as ‘weaker’ than it once was, so believe we need strong and powerful leaDre’s to enforce traditional values such as love of country and family. Also show contempt of those inferior social status. Everything is either right or wrong and are uncomfortable it’s uncertainty. Therefore people who belong to a different ethnic group are the source of ills of society.
• Origins of authortarian personality (1)

  Adorno believes this personality type forms in childhood, resulting from harsh parenting such as extremely strict discipline, expectations of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards and serve criticism of perceived failings. Also only give controlled love.
• Origins of Authoritarian personality (2)

  Adorno argued that these childhood experiences create resentment and hostility in the child. But the child cannot express this to the parent because of fear, so their fears are displaced onto others who they perceive to be weaker, in a process known as scapegoating. This explains the hatred towards people considered to be socially inferior or who belong to other social groups, a central feature of obedience to a higher authority. This is a psychodynamic explanation
• Adorno eat al.’s research (1950) procedure

  Studied more than 2000 middle class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups. Researchers developed several measurement scales, Including The potential-for-fascism scale (f scale). This scale is used to measure authoritarian personality.
• Adorno eat al.’s research (1950) findings

  people with authoritarian learnings (high on F scale) identified with strong people and generally contemptuous os the weak. They were very conscious of their status - these traits are the basis of obedience. Also had a certain cognitive style in which there was no ‘fuzziness’ between categories of people (black and white thinking). They had fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups. strong correlation between authortarian personality and prejudice
• Evaluation of authoritarian personality (research support)

  Milgram and Alan Elms (1966) interviewed a small ample of people who had participated in the original obedience studies and been fully obedient. All Completed the F scale test (and other measures) as part of interview. the completely obedient people (20) scored significantly higher on F scale test than a comparison group of 20 disobedient participants. These findings support Adorno’s views that obedient people may well show similar characteristics to people who have an authoritarian personality
• Evaluation -> counterpoint to milgrams supporting Authoritarian personality

  However, when researchers analysed the individual sub-scales of the F scale, they found that the obedient participants had a number of characteristics that were unusual for authoritarians. For example unlike authoritarians, Milgrams obedient participants generally did not glorify their fathers, did not experience unusual levels of punishment in childhood and did not have particularly hostile attitudes towards their mothers. Meaning the link between authoritarianism is complex
• Evaluation -> limitation of authoritarian personality (limited explanation)

  Authoritarianism can‘t explain obedient behaviour in the majority of the country’s population. In pre-war Germany, millions of individuals displayed obedient and anti-Semitic behaviour. It seems extremely unlikely there they could all posses an authoritarian personality. Alternative view - majority of German people identified with the anti-Semitic Nazi state, and scapegoated the ‘outgroup’ of jews, a social identity theory approach. Alternative explanation is more realistic
• Evaluation of authoritarian personality -> limitation ( political bias)

  F scale only measures the tendency towards an extreme from of right-wing ideology. Richard Christie & Marie Jahoda (1954) argued the F scale is a politically based interpretation of Authoritarian personality. Both right and left wing emphasise importance of complete obedience to political authority. Adorno’s theory is not comprehensive disposition explanation that accounts fro obedience to Authority across the whole political spectrum.