dispositional explanation for obedience

    Cards (11)

    • dispositional explanation for obedience?
      authoritarian personality
    • authoritarian personality traits?
      1. greater respect for those with same/higher status
      2. obedient to authority
      3. disapproving towards those with lower status
      4. traditional values & beliefs
    • what is the dispositional explanation for obedience?
      behaviour is due to internal traits such as personality type rather than external factors
    • adorno study?
      examined 2000 white middle class american males using f scale questionnaire
    • what is the f scale?
      used to measure authoritarian personality
    • how is authoritarian personality developed?
      from strict parenting during childhood
    • 3 X of dispositional explanations?
      1. problems with questionnaire
      2. individual differences
      3. situational factors have greater influence on obedience
    • * support from elms & milgram for dispostional?
      • found that p in milgrams study who obeyed upto 450v scored higher on f scale
      • they had more of authoritarian personality than those who did not obey orders
      • shows that people who have authoritarian personality are more likely to obey authority
    • X problems with questionnaires?
      • used to measure authoritarian personality - f scale
      • people may change their responses to make themselves look better - social desirability
      • eg p may appear more authoritarian as they believe their answers are socially correct & falsely labelled this
      • ? internal
      • p in adornos study may have lied meaning findings do not diretly reflect how authoritarian personality explains obedience
    • X individual differences?
      • middendorp & meleon found that less educated people more likely to display authoritarian personality traits than well educated
      • suggests its not this personality type that leads to obedience but levels of education
      • ignores situational factors like education
      • does not explain obedience in wider population
    • X situational factors have greater influence?
      • variables such as proximity, location, uniform have been suggested to lead to higher levels of obedience in studies such as m & b
      • a.g & l.a can explain these influences more explicitly than dispositional
      • suggests authoritarian personality is an incomplete explanation
      • lacks explanatory power