Factors affecting obedience individual differences Flashcards
(21 cards)
Name the factors affecting obedience individual differences
Personality factors
Gender
The personality factors
The authoritarian personality - Adorno et al 1950
Internal and external locus of control - Rotter 1966
The authoritarian personality
Harsh parenting causes children to develop authoritarian personality traits
Only given conditional love
Common parenting style in Germany in 20th century
Score low on F-scale
Internal and external locus of control
Internal LOC = take responsibility
External LOC = chance
Internals -> more defiant
Factors affecting obedience gender
Women more obedient than men
Men more obedient than women
Moral reasoning
Women more obedient than men study done by who
Sheridan and King (1972)
Women more obedient than men what they did
Participants given orders to give real electric shocks to puppy
Women more obedient than men findings
100% female obedient
54% men
Men more obedient than women done by who
Killham and Mann (1974)
Men more obedient than women procedure
Replicated Milgram’s study in Australia
Men more obedient than women findings
40% males
16% females obedient
Moral reasoning done by who
Gilligan (1982)
Moral reasoning two factors
Ethic of justice
Ethic of care
Findings of moral reasoning
Ethic of justice - more common in males, value equality
Ethic of care - more common in women, emphasises relationships, supporting those in need
Moral reasoning conclusion
Males more obedient due to feelings of obligation to authority figure
Females less obedient due to desire to support person being harmed
Strength of authoritarian personality
Elms and Milgram (1966)
Used F-scale
20 fully and non-fully obedient
Obedient scored higher
Obedience related to authoritarian personality
CA of authoritarian personality
Other factors may be involved, not a direct relationship
Weakness of LOC
Schurz 1985
Blast student with painful ultrasound
No significant difference to those with external or internal LOC
Application of personality factors
Companies follow strict procedures To employ obedient people
HR can use LOC scale
Strength of Gilligan
Gilligan and Attanucci found males and females both use ethic in real-life dilemmas
Men overall favour justice, women care
Showing there are gender differences
Weakness of gender differences
Blass 1999
9 milgram-style studies found no significant difference of gender in 8 of the studies
Suggests gender does not affect obedience
