Theodor Adorno wanted to understand the
Anti-Semitism of the holocaust. They were
led to believe that obedience was part of a
psychological disorder.
Argued that people with an Authoritarian Personality show an extreme
respect and submissiveness to authority figures. Such people view
society as 'weaker' than it once was and believe in enforcing traditional
values
People with AP also show contempt for those
of inferior social status, fuelled by their
inflexible outlook on the world. Viewing
people who are 'other' as ills of the world.
Origins
Authoritarian Personality type forms in childhood, usually a result
of harsh parenting, featuring extremely strict discipline, an
expectation of absolute loyalty, and impossibly high standards.
Fears and resentment towards parent is displaced onto others who they perceive to be weaker.
Adorno et al (1950)
Procedure
Studied more than 2000 middle class white
American children and their unconscious
attitudes towards other racial groups.
Developed several measurement scales
including the F-Scale, or the fascism scale.
Findings
People with authoritarian leanings, scoring higher
on the F-scale identified with 'strong' people and
were generally contemptuous of the weak.
Very conscious of status and showed obedience, respect
and deference to those of higher status.
People with AP had a certain cognitive
style, with no fuzziness between
categories of people and distinctive
stereotypes.
Strong correlation between AP and prejudice.
Evaluation
Strengths
Research Support
Elms and Milgram (1966) interviews a small
sample of people who participated in original
obedience studies, all completing the F scale.
Found that 20 obedient participants scored
higher than 20 disobedient participants.
Weaknesses
Limited explanation
In pre-war Germany, millions of individuals displayed
obedient, racist and anti-semitic behaviour, despite
having different personality types. An alternative
approach would be the social identity theory.
Political bias
Only measures tendency
towards extreme right
wing ideology.
Christie and Jahoda (1954) argued that the F scale is a
politically biased interpretation. Both left wing and
extreme right wing share common ideologies. Therefore is
not a comprehensive dispositional explanation.