The authoritarian personality is a dispositional (internal) explanation for obedience, suggesting that some people are more likely to obey authority due to their personality traits rather than situational factors.

According to Adorno et al. (1950), this personality type develops during early childhood as a result of strict, harsh, and rigid parenting, where love and approval are dependent on the child’s behaviour. Such experiences can lead to feelings of hostility and resentment that are later displaced onto weaker or lower-status individuals.

People with an authoritarian personality tend to be highly respectful and submissive towards authority figures, believing that power and status should be obeyed without question. At the same time, they are often hostile or dismissive towards those they perceive as inferior. These traits make them more likely to follow orders from authority figures, even when those orders go against their own moral values.