obedience: dispositional explanations

• DISPOSITIONAL EXPLANATIONS


  Explanation emphasizing individual personality importance.
• KEY STUDY FOR AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY

  Adorno et al. (1950) on authoritarian personality.
• ADORNO ET AL STUDY

  - studied unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups (2000 middle class white Americans)

  - several scales were developed like f scale

  - authoritarians who scored high of the f scale and other measures identified 'strong' people and were contemptuous with the 'weak'

  - they were conscious of their own and others, showing excessive respect and deference to those of higher status

  - they also had no 'fuzziness' between categories of people, with fixed/distinctive stereotypes of other groups

  METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES WITH THE STUDY

  - authoritarianism can't explain a whole countries behaviour/views (eg: germans behaviour can't be explained by having same behaviour/personality)

  - the explanation is based of flawed mythology (suggests data collected is meaningless and the concept of authoritarian personality lacks validity)
• F-SCALE (adorno et al)

  Measures potential for fascism in individuals.
• AUTHORITY RESPECT (Adorno)

  Belief that obedience is crucial for children.
• FINDINGS OF ADORNO ET AL

  Authoritarians show contempt for weaker individuals.
• CONSCIOUSNESS (adorno)

  Awareness of one's own social status.
• STEREOTYPES (adorno)

  Fixed categories for social groups.
• CHARACTERISTICS (adorno)

  Traits defining authoritarian personality types.
• SUBMISSIVENESS (adorno)

  Tendency to obey authority figures unquestioningly.
• SOCIAL CONTEMPT (adorno)

  Disdain for individuals of lower social status.
• CONVENTIONAL ATTITUDES (adorno)

  Traditional views on race and gender roles.
• CONDITIONAL LOVE (Adorno)

  Parental affection dependent on child's behavior.
• RESENTMENT (adorno)

  Unexpressed anger redirected towards others.
• DATA COLLATION (adorno)

  Questionable meaning of collected authoritarianism data.
• CHILDHOOD ORIGIN (Adorno)

  Authoritarian personality develops from strict upbringing.
• HOSTILITY (adorno)

  Fear of parents manifests as aggression towards others.
• IDENTIFICATION (adorno)

  Authoritarians identify with strong, dominant figures.
• FASCISM (adorno)

  Political ideology characterized by authoritarian power.
• SOCIAL STATUS (Adorno)

  Position of individuals within societal hierarchy.
• AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY (Adorno)

  - type of personality that Adorno argued was especially susceptible to obeying people in authority

  - supposedly submissive to those of higher status, and dismissive to inferiors