High obedience seen as a psychological disorder caused by individual personality rather than situation
Destructive authority
Problems arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive
Destructive authority
Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot using their legitimate powers for destructive purposes
Destructive authority
Milgram's study, when the Experimenter used prods to order participants to behave in ways that went against their consciences
Authoritarian Personality
A psychological disorder where obedience is pathological, caused by the personality of the individual rather than the situation
Authoritarian Personality
Extreme respect for and submissiveness to authority
Belief that society is 'weaker' so needs strong leaders to enforce traditional values
Contempt for those of inferior social status
Inflexible 'black and white' thinking
Origins of Authoritarian Personality
Formed in childhood due to harsh parenting featuring strict discipline, expectation of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards and severe criticism
Adorno et al. (1950) studied over 2000 middle-class, white Americans and their unconscious attitudes towards other ethnic groups
Adorno et al. developed the F-scale to measure Authoritarian Personality
Authoritarian people identified with 'strong' people, were conscious of status, and showed extreme respect, deference and servility to those of higher status
Authoritarian people had a 'black and white' cognitive style with fixed stereotypes about other groups, and a strong positive correlation was found between authoritarianism and prejudice
