Authoritarianism

Question	Answer
The Authoritarian Personality	A personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority
Authoritarianism	F-scale - Questionnaire: if statements were agreed to = authoritarian characteristic Right-wing authoritarianism - Altemeyer (1981) refined the personality > Conventionalism > Authoritarian aggression > Authoritarian submission
Key Study: ELMS & MILGRAM (1966)	- Follow-up study using previous participants - 20 "obedient" and 20 "defiant" - Each participant completed the questionnaire (+ open-ended questions) - Found little difference in MMPI but found higher levels of authoritarianism in obedient participants
Evaluation	Social Context > May be a dispositional basis for obedience > Social context was a primary cause of obedience
Evaluation	Differences between authoritarian and obedient participants > Research also presented important differences in the characteristics of the Authoritarian Personality and the characteristics of obedience > Relationship with strict parents
Evaluation	Research evidence for the link between obedience and authoritarianism > Milgram-type experiments > Vatiné (2010) - simulation of the learner > Participants were told it was a simulation and that the shocks were not real > They responded as if it were real

Resource summary

	Created by Chanelle Titchener about 6 years ago