Dispositional Explanations

• The time period of research (Asch, Milgram, Zimbardo) came soon after the world wars
• The authoritarian personality was a type of personality argued to be susceptible to obedience and were highly submissive

  This was found after concern with obedience in nazi Germany
• Theodore Adorno and his colleagues believed obedience to be a psychological disorder, based on personality (disposition) rather than situation factors
• Adorno believed that the authoritarian personality stemmed from an overly harsh childhood ("I'll love you if...")

  This could cause resentment and hostility - scared to confront their parents and displaced their anger elsewhere
• Imprinted behaviour - Physical punishment at a young age could lead to them growing up to enforce these same rules - there is only right or wrong
• The stunting of emotions (anger, sadness, sexuality) could lead to displacement of these emotions
• No opportunity to voice opinions, so they grow up to project their own extreme opinions
• Inhibition of instincts and restriction can lead to inability to act as an adult
• Adorno and the F-scale study (1950) - Aim

  To investigate the cause of the obedient personality
• Adorno and the F-scale study (1950) - procedure

  2000 white, middle-class americas used to test unconscious bias

  Created a scale of response questionnaire (strongly agree - strongly disagree) to measure the authoritarian personality (potential for fascism scale "F-scale")

  A unique cognitive style, no fuzziness between categories of people with distinct stereotypes

  Questions such as "Sex crimes, such as rape and attacks on children, deserve more than imprisonment - such criminals should be publicly whipped or worse"
• Adorno and the F-scale study (1950) - Findings

  Those with high scores were the ones with the most authoritarian personality

  Those that scored highly identified with 'strong' people and had general contempt for those of a lower / 'weaker' class

  Excessive respect and servility to those of a higher class

  There's a positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice

  Those who scored highly had strict parents

  Right wing authoritarian characteristics - conventional, aggression towards anyone that would violate these conventions, uncritical submission to authorities
• Adorno and the F-scale study (1950) - Conclusion

  Authoritarian personality may be more obedient to authority

  Extreme respect to authority

  Contempt for those perceived with a lower status

  Highly controversial attitudes towards race, sex, and gender

  The belief in strong leaders endorsing traditional values, such as family