7. Obedience - Dispositional Factors

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    1. Obedience - Dispositional Factors
    Adorno et al. (1950):
    • Is there particular personality type more likely to obey authority?
    • High level obedience psychological disorder.
    • 2000 middle-class, white Americans.
    • Attitude to other races.
    • ’F-scale’.
  • 1a. Obedience - Dispositional Factors
    Adorno et al. (1950)
    • Score high on F-scale = identified w/ strong people, contemptuous of weak.
    • Conscious of status.
    Specific cognitive style:
    • Fixed stereotypes.
    • Correlation between authoritarianism/prejudice.
  • 1b. Obedience - Dispositional Factors
    Adorno et al. (1950) - e.g. of F-scale:
    • all children respect authority.
    • some professions more important.
    • homosexuality = crime.
  • 1c. Obedience - Dispositional Factors
    Authoritarian Personality:
    • Formed childhood, harsh parenting (strict discipline).
    • Resentment; can’t express bc of fear of reprisal.
    • Fears displaced onto ‘weaker’ people = scapegoating.
    • Higher obedience bc hate socially inferior.
    • Inflexible, submissive, blind obedience.
  • Obedience - Dispositional Factors (Evaluation)

    Strength:
    P - evidence supports Authoritarian Personality.
    E - Milgram (1966), interviewed original obedient participants.
    E - completed F-scale, scored higher than comparison.
    L - supports Adorno et al. (1950) that obedient people show similarities to Authoritarian Personality.
  • Obedience - Dispositional Factors (Evaluation)
    Limitation:
    P - analysed F-scale, obedient participants characteristics unusual for Authoritarian Personality.
    E - Milgram’s obedient participants didn’t glorify their father.
    L - authoritarianism unlikely predictor of obedience.
  • Obedience - Dispositional Factors (Evaluation)
    Limitation:
    P - authoritarianism can‘t explain behaviour in majority.
    E - e.g. pre-war Germany, millions obedient; unlikely all had authoritarian personality.
    E - identified w/ anti-Semitic; scapegoated group (social identity theory approach).
    L - Ardono’s (1950) theory limited.