Dispositional Explantions For Obediance

Question 1

Hat does disposition explanations for obedience

Answer 1

Obedience is caused by personality characteristics

Question 2

Define authoritarian personality

Answer 2

Personality type charted by attendance to see the world in ‘black and white’ and believe in about obedience, submission to authority and adhere to social roles

Question 3

Adorno(1950)

Answer 3

• personality type shaped in earl child hood by hierarchical authoritarian parenting
• saw here ppl as having insecurities ht led them to b fearful of social change

Question 4

Why might some ppl be obedient to authority

Answer 4

As it prevents disruption to social change

Question 5

What did Adorno create

Answer 5

A f-scale questionnaire to measure an individuals degree of authoritarian personality

Question 6

Evaluation of dispositional explanations - strength

Answer 6

Elms and Milgram

• ppts in Milgram study who were highly obedient had more authoritarian on f-scale
• supports idea between authoritarian personality type and obedience

Altemeyer
- ppts with an authoritarian personality type who were ordered to give themselves shocks gave higher shocks than those without the personality type

Question 7

Evaluation of dispositional explanations - Limitations

Answer 7

Link between authoritarian personality and obedience = correlation

• less educated means more likely to be more authoritarian than well educated this suggests that educational level influences obedience rather than personality type
• however other research when eduction level was controlled more obedient ppt had a higher level of authoritarian personality, suggests authoritarian personality better explanation than education level