the authoritarian personality

what is the authoritarian personality?

a distinct personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority

what 3 variables did altemeyer (1981) identify that high RWA people possess?

• conventionalism

• authoritarian aggression

• authoritarian submission

what is conventionalism?

an adherence to conventional norms & values

what is authoritarian aggression?

aggressive feelings towards people who violate norms

what is authoritarian submission?

uncritical submission to legitimate authorities

what was the aim of elms & milgrams research?

to see if the obedient participants in milgram’s original research were more likely to display authoritarian personality traits in comparison to disobedient pps

what was the sample in elms and milgram’s research?

20 disobedient pps & 20 obedient pps

what was the procedure used in elms and milgram’s research?

• several personality questionnaires e.g., the F-scale, MMPI

• open-ended interviews about parents, teacher and learner

what were the results of elms and milgram’s research?

• obedient pps scored higher on the F-scale

• little difference on MMPI

• obedient pps less close to fathers during childhood and admired experimenter

what is the independent personality?

a personality type that makes someone behave independently and they refuse to obey the orders of authority figures

what are the strengths of dispositional explanations of obedience?

• Milgrams & Elms

• F-scale is standardised - helped future research measure personality - increases reliability

what are the weaknesses of dispositional explanations of obedience?

• F-scale might be methodologically flawed - Greenstein: acquiescence bias - all Qs in same direction - demand characteristics/non-valid findings

• F-scale is politically biased - Christie & Jadhoda: right wing so does not account for left-wing authoritarianism

• cannot explain mass obedience - e.g., Germans had different personalities in WWII yet all obeyed the Nazis

what is the F-scale?

was developed in california in 1947 as a measure of authoritarian traits or tendencies

what is dispositional?

explanations of behaviours such as obedience that emphasises them being caused by an individual’s own personal characteristics rather than situational influence

what is right-wing authoritarianism?

a cluster of personality variables that are associated with a ‘right-wing’ attitude to life