dispositional explanation of obedience

• The Authoritarian Personality:

  A distinct personality pattern characterised by strict adherence to conventional values and a belief in absolute obedience or submission to authority
• Authoritarian Characteristics

  • Extreme respect for authority and submissiveness.

  • Dislikes perceived inferior social status.

  • High conventional attitudes towards sex, race, gender.

  • Believes strong leaders enforce traditional values.

  • Inflexible outlook, no 'grey areas'.

  • Uncomfortable with uncertainty.
• Where did the authoritarian personality originate from?

  • Adorno suggests that people scoring high on F-scale tend to be raised by parents who used authoritarian parenting styles (strict discipline, strong emphasis on obedience, impossibly high standards, etc.) 
  • Growing up with these parenting styles meant that these individuals assumed that this system was the expected norm
  • Therefore, these children acquire these same authoritarian attitudes through learning and imitation. 
• Findings

  • Individuals identify with'strong' and disapprove of 'weak'.

  • Excessive respect for higher status individuals.

  • Cognitive style lacks 'fuzziness'.

  • Fixed, distinctive stereotypes about others.

  • Strong positive correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice.

  • Adorno suggests authoritarians are especially obedient to authority.
• Milgram and Elms' Research on Authoritarian Personality and Obedience • Milgram and Elms' study on 20 obedient and 20 defiant participants supports the link between authoritarian personality and obedience. • PPs completed the F-scale measuring authoritarianism. • Higher levels of authoritarianism were found among 'obedient' participants.Suggests that AP leads to obedience
• Social context is more important

  • One limitation of the dispositional explanation of obedience is that situational explanations may better explain obedience
  • Milgram’s variation studies showed that the social context of the situation (proximity, location, etc) was the main cause of differences in obedience levels, not personality.
  • Therefore, Milgram suggests that the authoritarian personality alone cannot explain why people obey or resist in different social situations. 
• Authoritarian vs Obedient Personality Differences

  • limitation - Authoritarian personality may not always lead to obedience.

  • Adorno et al. suggest authoritarian personality stems from strict family upbringing.

  • Suggests - Elms and Milgram's study shows not all obedient individuals have authoritarian personality traits.
• Education may determine both authoritarianism AND obedienc

  • Limitation - The link between authoritarianism and obedience is a correlation.

  • An authoritarian personality doesn't necessarily cause obedience.• Research suggests less-educated individuals are more authoritarian and obedient.

  • Lower education levels may also lead to obedience and authoritarian personality.