strengths of dispositional explanations for obedience

• Elms and Milgram (1966) – Supporting Research:

  Elms and Milgram gave the F-scale to participants from Milgram’s original study. Those who obeyed to 450V scored higher in authoritarian traits than those who refused. This suggests people with authoritarian personalities—who respect authority and social order—are more likely to obey harmful commands, supporting the role of personality in obedience.
• Altemeyer – Supporting Research:

  Altemeyer found that participants with high Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) scores gave stronger self-administered shocks in a learning task, even when the instructions were odd or illogical. This shows that people with authoritarian traits are more likely to follow orders, reinforcing the link between personality and obedience.