Explanations for Obedience

Question 1

Define the difference between conformity and obedience

Answer 1

Obedience occurs when an individual is told to do something and involves a hierarchy of power or status

whereas conformity is often due to the influence of the majority and peers through social pressure.

Question 2

Name thel explanations for obedience

Answer 2

Agentic state
Autonomous state
The Authoritarian personality

Question 3

Define the Agentic State

Answer 3

The agent state is when an individual perceives themselves as an agent caring out actions for someone else therefore separates themselves from the responsibility and the consequences for their actions.

Question 4

Define the Autonomous state

Answer 4

The Autonomous state is when an individual perceives themselves as responsible for the consequences of their actions.

Question 5

What is the name of the movement from the autonomous state to the agentIc state?

Answer 5

Agentic shift

Question 6

What traits does someone with an Authoritarian personality have?

Answer 6

• Blind Allegiance to conventional beliefs about right and wrong
• Respect and obedience to those in authority
• Belief in aggression towards group which differ to them
• Tendency to project feelings of personal insecurity and inadequacy on ‘weaker’ groups

Question 7

What are the key studies associated with the authoritarian personality?

Answer 7

Adorno (1950) and Elms + Milgram (1966)

Question 8

What was the name of the questionnaire Adorno made?

Answer 8

The F-scale

Question 9

What does the F stand for ?

Answer 9

Facist

Question 10

Who was his sample ?

Answer 10

2,000 white Americans

Question 11

What was Adorno’s Aim?

Answer 11

To determine if prejudice is the result of an individual’s personality type

Question 12

What did Adorno believe some of an Authoritarian personality traits were?

Answer 12

• more prejudice
• Strict upbringing/ Harsh parents
• Belief that they’re superior
• More obedient.

Question 13

What did Scores in the questionnaire elude to ?

Answer 13

Hostility towards people of Lower status and obedient to higher status

Rigid beliefs and traditional views.

Question 14

How did Elms and Milgram follow up his previous study

Answer 14

by getting 40 participants from his last sample

20 defiant and 20 obedient

Question 15

What did Elms and Milgram do?

Answer 15

Firstly They got participants to complete an MMPI scale and a F-scale questionnaire so they could compare the results between the obedient and the defiant.

Then they asked open ended questions about the following:

• Parental Relationships
• Childhood
• Authority figures (researcher)
• Learner in previous experiment