Adorno's Authoritarian (dispositional factors) (key theory)

• What does Adorno's theory seek to explain?

  The causes of obedience in personality
• What characterizes the authoritarian personality?

  Exaggerated respect for authority and disdain for inferiors
• How do people with an authoritarian personality typically view others?

  They look down on people of inferior status
• What is a cognitive style associated with the authoritarian personality?

  A 'black and white', rigid style of thinking
• What do individuals with an authoritarian personality believe in?

  They believe in stereotypes and dislike change
• Where does the authoritarian personality originate from?

  Overly strict parenting and conditional love
• How does a child identify with their parents' values?

  By adopting their moral values
• What feelings do children with authoritarian personalities experience towards their parents?

  Hostility that cannot be directly expressed
• What is scapegoating according to Freud?

  Displacing hostility onto socially inferior others
• What psychological relief does scapegoating provide?

  It relieves anxiety and hostility
• What is a weakness of Adorno's theory regarding the questionnaire used?

  The F-scale has a response bias
• How does the response bias challenge the validity of Adorno's theory?

  It is based on poor evidence
• What type of data is the evidence for Adorno's theory based on?

  Correlational data
• What can we not claim about the authoritarian personality based on correlational data?

  It causes greater obedience levels
• What does the evidence suggest about the relationship between obedience and the authoritarian personality?

  Other factors may explain the link
• What limitation does the authoritarian personality have in explaining obedience?

  It cannot explain all cases of obedience
• What does the behavior of millions of Germans during the war suggest about obedience?

  Social factors also affect obedience