Dispositional explanations

• Who conducted research on the Authoritarian Personality in relation to anti-Semitism during the Holocaust?

  Theodor Adorno and his colleagues
• What did Adorno et al. believe about the causes of high levels of obedience?

  They believed it was a psychological disorder rooted in the individual's personality.
• What type of explanation did Adorno et al. propose for the Authoritarian Personality?

  A dispositional explanation
• What are two characteristics of individuals with an Authoritarian Personality according to Adorno et al.?

  They show extreme respect for authority and believe in strong leaders to enforce traditional values.
• How do people with Authoritarian Personalities view society?

  They view society as weaker than it once was and believe in the need for strong leaders.
• What is the attitude of individuals with Authoritarian Personalities towards those of inferior social status?

  They show contempt for those of inferior social status.
• What psychological outlook do people with Authoritarian Personalities have?

  They have an inflexible outlook, seeing the world in black and white with no grey areas.
• What process do children with Authoritarian Parenting experience that leads to the Authoritarian Personality?

  They experience resentment and hostility that is displaced onto others due to fear of punishment.
• What is scapegoating in the context of the Authoritarian Personality?

  It is the process of displacing resentment onto others perceived as weaker.
• What parenting style contributes to the development of the Authoritarian Personality?

  Harsh parenting characterized by strict discipline and conditional love.
• What did Adorno et al. find about the cognitive style of authoritarian individuals?

  They had fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups and no 'fuzziness' between categories of people.
• What correlation did Adorno et al. find between authoritarianism and prejudice?

  There was a strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice.
• What scale did Adorno et al. develop to measure Authoritarian Personality?

  The potential-for-fascism scale (F-scale)
• What did Adorno et al. find about individuals who scored high on the F-scale?

  They identified with strong people and were contemptuous of the weak.
• What did Adorno et al. conclude about the obedient participants in Milgram's study?

  They scored significantly higher on the F-scale than disobedient participants.
• What did Milgram and Elms find when analyzing the individual subscales of the F-scale?

  Obedient participants had characteristics that were unusual for authoritarians.
• What limitation did Adorno et al.'s theory face regarding the majority of a country's population?

  It cannot explain obedient behavior in the majority of individuals who may not possess an Authoritarian Personality.
• What alternative explanation did researchers suggest for the obedient behavior of the German population during the Nazi regime?

  They identified with the anti-Semitic Nazi state and scapegoated the outgroup of Jews.
• What did Christie and Jahoda argue about the F-scale?

  It is a politically-biased interpretation of Authoritarian Personality.
• What commonality do extreme right-wing and left-wing ideologies share according to the critique of Adorno's theory?

  Both emphasize the importance of complete obedience to political authority.
• What is a limitation of Adorno's theory regarding its applicability across the political spectrum?

  It does not account for obedience to authority across the whole political spectrum.
• What are the key features of the Authoritarian Personality according to Adorno et al.?

  • Extreme respect for authority
  • Belief in strong leaders to enforce traditional values
  • Contempt for those of inferior social status
  • Inflexible worldview (black and white thinking)
  • Scapegoating of perceived weaker groups
• What are the strengths and limitations of Adorno et al.'s research on the Authoritarian Personality?

  Strengths:

  • Supported by Milgram's findings on obedient participants scoring high on the F-scale.

  
  

  Limitations:

  • Cannot explain obedient behavior in the majority of a population.
  • Politically biased interpretation of Authoritarian Personality.
  • Does not account for left-wing authoritarianism.