The Authoritarian Personality

• Dispositional factors= features of the individual such as their personality, confidence or experience, which may make them more or less obedient.
• Social factors= features of the situation which may increase or decrease pressure to obey.
• Authoritarian Personality= a distinct personality pattern characterised by adherence of conventional values & a belief in obedience & submission to authority.
• The California F-scale is a personality test, designed to measure the authoritarian personality- the "f" stands for "fascist" & was developed by Adorno et al.
• The California F-scale:

  • The test involves a series of questions such as "rules are there for people to follow, not change".
  • A high score on the test indicates a more authoritarian personality, the people tended to: see the world as black & white, be rigid in their opinions & beliefs, be conventional, upholding traditional values & social rules, be more obedient to authority figures.
  • Adorno et al found that people who scored high on the F-scale tended to have parents with an authoritarian style.
  • Assumed children learn this is the norm & replicate it when they become adults- learnt obedience
• Altemeyer (1981) identified a cluster of the 3 from the original personality variable that predisposed people to obedience:

  1. Conventionalism- rigid adherence to conventional, middle-class values.
  2. Authoritarian Submission- submissive, uncritical, attitude towards legitimate authorities.
  3. Authoritarian Aggression- tendency to be on the lookout for & to condemn, reject & punish people who violate conventional values- he referred to this as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA).
• Elms & Milgram 1966 Study:

  • Follow-up study using PPs from original Milgram study (2 months later), selected 20 'obedient' (went to highest shock level) PPs & 20 'defiant' (refused to continue at some point) PPs.
  • Assessed them using a general personality scale & the California F-scale.
  • They were also assessed on their parental relationship when younger.
• Elms & Milgram 1966 Study Findings:

  • Little difference between obedient & defiant PPs on general personality scale.
  • Significant difference between them on the F-scale, ie obedient PPs scored higher on authoritarianism.
  • Also found obedient PPs had poorer relationships with their parents.
  • Obedient PPs saw the 'authority figure' as admirable.
  • Conclusion: lends support for the idea that the Authoritarian Personality is an important predictor of obedience levels.
• Evaluation of The Authoritarian Personality- Strength:

  • There is research support for authoritarian personality as an explanation of obedience.
  • Elms & Milgram Key Study indicates the theory that a highly authoritarian personality will predict obedience is likely to be valid.
• Evaluation of The Authoritarian Personality- Weakness:

  • Situational variables are more important than dispositional ones in explaining obedience, Milgram found that factors such as the proximity of the victim, the presence of a uniform & location were the primary causes for differences in obedience levels.
  • Indicates the relatively minor role of a person's disposition in predicting how much they obey, thus undermining the theory of the Authoritarian Personality in explaining obedience.
• Evaluation of The Authoritarian Personality- Weakness:

  • The theory is deterministic- the assumption that having strict & punitive parents will produce highly obedient & conventional offspring undermines the role of free-will.
  • Additionally, the majority of PPs obey in the Milgram studies & it is unlikely that they all had such harsh upbringing.
  • Indicates that the Authoritarian Personality is over-simplistic in explaining obedience.