Authoritarian personality- dispositional explanation

• What is an authoritarian personality

  Favour obedience to authority over personal freedom. state of mind believing in obedience and administrating that belief through domination of those beneath them
• what was Adornos F scale questionnaire (procedures)

  Test for authoritarian personality as thought obedience is result of personality type
• What was found from adornos F scale

  High score meant high obedience to people of higher status, hostility to lower status, rigid opinions and traditional beliefs
• Why did people score high on F scale

  Harsh childhood. children angry at parents yet fear punishment of confrontation so later idolise authority and obedient nature
• Strength of authoritarian personality for obedience

  fully obedient participants of milgrans shock test did F scale test and scored high - shows obedient people have authoritarian personality
• Weakness of authoritarian personality

  Participants of shock test who did F scale test had unusual traits for authoritarian personality individuals. Suggests a complex link of situational and disposition
• Weakness of authoritarian personality

  alternative theory (social identity theory). authoritarian personality doesnt explain all people. for example when entire country does something (Nazism) its unlikely they all have authoritarian personality instead they are following crowd
• Weakness of authoritarian personality

  F scale flaw. test had methodological issues, high score was agreeing majority of time so a response bias could be incorrectly labelled. This lowers validity