dispositional explanation: obedience

• a dispositional explanation highlights the importance of the individuals personality (their disposition).
• the authoritarian personality is a personality especially susceptible to obeying people in authority and showing submission to those of higher status and dismissal to those lower, as argued by Adorno.
• • Adorno et al 1950.
  • 2000 middle class white american males.
  • measures their unconcious attitudes using the F-scale - measures tendency towards facism.
  • facism = the root of the authoritarian personality.
• • people who scored highly on the f-scale in Adorno's study identified with strong people and dismissive of the weak.
  • very conscious of their own status and showed respect to those of higher status.
  • cognitive style of fixed stereotypes of other groups.
  • strong positive correlation between authoritarian and prejudice.
• AUTHORITARIAN CHARACTERISTICS:

  1. tendency to be obedient to authority.
  2. contempt for those with inferior social status.
  3. highly conventional attitudes.
  4. inflexible in their outlook.
  5. extreme respect for authority.
  6. desire powerful leaders to enforce traditional values.
• • adorno concluded that the authoritarian personality developed as a result of harsh parenting.
  • parenting style would be one of:
  • strict discipline, expectation of absolute loyalty, impossibly high standards, conditional love.
  • adorno believed experiences create resentment, as they are unable to express themselves due to fear.
  • fears are displaced onto others who are weaker, known as scapegoating.
  • this is a psychodynamic explanation.
• LIMITATION - LIMITED EXPLANATION:

  • seems very unlikely that in pre-war Germany, the millions that displayed obedient and racist behaviour, all had an authoritarian personality.
  • social identity theory explains obedience more realistically - majority identified with the Nazi state and that is why they obeyed.
• STRENGTH - RESEARCH SUPPORT

  • milgram did interviews with a small sample of fully obedient participants who scored high on f-scale.
  • led to believe a link between obedience and the authoritarian personality
  • HOWEVER, this is correlational.
  • we can't say authoritarian personality causes obedience as many variables are involved.
• LIMITATION - METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS:

  • some say f-scale doesnt measure authoritarian personality, just measures tendency to agree.
  • they are acquiescers, agreeing regardless of the content.
  • lacks internal validity.
  • they interviewed particpants about childhood experiences, but knew test scores and who was authoritarian personality - knew hypothesis study.
• LIMITATION - CORRELATION NOT CAUSATION:

  • adorno found lots of significant correlations and that parenting style is linked with authoritarian personality.
  • however strong the correlation is, it still doesnt show causation - one variable doesnt cause the other.