dispositional explanations for obedience

• Dispositional explanations of obedience


  Explanations that focus on the personality traits of the individual
• Authoritarian personality


  A person with extreme respect for authority and no respect for people lower in the hierarchy
• A person with an authoritarian personality


  Has an increased likelihood of obeying destructive orders
• F scale


  Questionnaire used to measure authoritarian personality traits
• Adorno et al's study


  • Studied 2000 middle class white Americans
  • Studied their attitudes towards other racial groups
  • Used the F-scale questionnaire
• Adorno results - Those who scored high on the F-scale respected authority and looked down on other racial groups
• Milgram's study

  Provided support for the idea that people with an authoritarian personality are more likely to obey
• Milgram interviewed participants who obeyed to the 450 volt shock, made them complete the F-scale, and these people scored higher on the F-scale
• This supports the idea that people with an authoritarian personality are more likely to obey
• Authoritarian personality

  Personality measured by a questionnaire
• F scale


  Questionnaire to measure authoritarian personality
• People may give socially desired answers or lie when answering the F-scale as it is a self-report technique
• The authoritarian personality scale lacks validity
• Not everyone who obeys has an authoritarian personality
• Not everyone who obeyed in Milgram had an authoritarian personality
• Authoritarian personality obedience may have a correlational relationship but it is not a cause and effect relationship, meaning it is a limited explanation and there must be other factors