Dispositional Explanations for Obedience

• What is a dispositional explanation for obedience?

  The perception of obedience as caused by internal characteristics of individuals
• What is an authoritarian personality?

  A type of personality which predisposes an individual to obedience
• What are the traits of somebody with an authoritarian personality?

  1, Respect and obedience to authority 2, Dismissive to inferior 3, ''Black and white' thinking 4, Need strong leaders to promote traditional values
• What are the origins of the authoritarian personality?

  Stems from strict disciplinarian parenting - conditional love, impossibly high standards, expectation to be completely loyal.
• What is the F-scale?

  Questionnaire assessing nine personality dimensions linked to authoritarian personality
• Who developed the F-scale?

  Adorno et al (1950)
• Describe a study which shows support for the authoritarian personality leading to obedience

  Elms and Milgram (1966): x 'Obedient' and 'disobedient' participants from Milgram's shock experiment were issued with F-scale x Found higher levels of authoritarianism amongst 'obedient' participants
• What is an issue with Elms and Milgram’s study?

  It is correlational - does not show a causal link between obedience and authoritarian personality
• Why is the authoritarian personality known as a dispositional explanation for obedience?

  It focuses on an individual's internal personality traits which could lead to obedience
• What is one methodological issue with the F-scale?

  It is a questionnaire based on agree or disagree - lead to acquiescence bias (tendency to agree regardless of content)