dispositional factors in obedience

what was the background of Adorno’s research?

to understand antisemitism of the Holocaust

what was the aim of Adorno’s reearch?

to find that obedience was driven by innate dispositional factors, not the situational factors Milgram suggested

what was the sample?

2000+ middle-class white Americans

what was the procedure of Adorno’s research?

• developed several scales to investigate unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups

• included F-scale which tested for fascism

• participants would rate how far they agree with statements, e.g.:

  • ‘Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn.’

what were the findings of Adorno’s research?

• those who scored high on F-scale identified with ‘strong’ people and were generally contemptuous of the ‘weak’

• very conscious of own and others’ social status

• cognitive style where had fixed and distinctive stereotypes about other groups

• strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice

what was the conclusion of Adorno’s research?

high levels of obedience was a psychological disorder, and called this the authoritarian personality

what are the tendencies of people with an authoritarian personality?

• especially obedient to authority

• have extreme respect for authority and submissiveness to it

• show contempt for people they perceive as having inferior social status

• believe we need strong and powerful leaders to enforce traditional values such as love of country, religion, and family

what is the origin of the authoritarian personality?

formed in childhood as a result of:

• harsh/strict parenting - expectation of loyalty, high standards, severe criticism

• conditional love - parents’ love and affection entirely depends on how child behaves

what do these childhood experiences lead to?

• creates resentment and hostility in the child, but can’t express feelings directly to parents due to fear of consequences

• so displace fears onto others who are perceived to be weaker

  • this process is known as scapegoating

the authoritarian personality explanation is a … explanation as…

• psychodynamic

• focuses on idea that our childhood experiences are a key factor in our adult behaviours

what are the weaknesses of dispositional factors in obedience?

• findings are correlational not casual

• political bias

• F-scale possibly measuring compliance

• too deterministic and reductionist

findings are correlational not casual

• researchers conducted interviews on small sample of obedient participants who scored highly on F-scale

• found that the link between obedience and authoritarian personality is just a correlation

• impossible to draw conclusion that authoritarian personality causes obedience as may be a third factor involved

• must question internal validity of Adorno’s theory

political bias

• F-scale measures tendency towards extreme form of right-wing ideology so is politically biased

• Adorno’s explanation therefore can’t account for obedience to authority across the spectrum of different political views

• therefore decreases ecological validity of theory

F-scale possibly measuring compliance

• every item in the F-scale is worded in the same direction

• possible to get a high score for authoritarianism by just ticking same line of boxes in a column

• people who agree with items on F-scale are therefore not authoritarian, but ‘acquiescers’

• so scale measured tendency to agree with everything

too deterministic and reductionist

• ignores free will and decision making as claims all who obey have same personality type

• just as parents were strict, doesn’t mean that you will obey every order given to by an authority figure

• reduces complex behaviour of obedience to a dispositional element, ignoring all situational variable