Dispositional explanations of obedience

Psychologists have investigated both situational variables and dispositional (internal) factors that contribute to obedience. The authoritarian personality, in particular, is a dispositional characteristic that has been linked to higher levels of obedience. According to Adorno et al. (1950), the roots of the authoritarian personality can be traced back to early childhood, where harsh and strict parenting can cause the child to feel that their parents' love is contingent on their behaviour. This can lead to feelings of resentment that are displaced onto others deemed 'weak' or 'inferior,' resulting in scapegoating behaviours.

KEY STUDY: ADORNO ET AL. (1950)

AIM: In 1950, Adorno and colleagues conducted a study on the unconscious attitudes of over 2,000 middle-class Caucasian Americans towards other racial groups.

METHOD: Adorno and his colleagues created several questionnaires, including the F-scale, to measure fascist tendencies as they believed that fascism, an extreme right-wing ideology, is a fundamental characteristic of the authoritarian personality. The F-scale contains items such as "Obedience and respect for authority are the most important virtues children should learn," "Homosexuals are hardly better than criminals and ought to be severely punished," and "There is hardly anything lower than a person who does not feel great love, gratitude and respect for his parents."

RESULTS: Individuals who scored high on the F-scale and other questionnaires demonstrated a self-reported affinity for "strong" individuals and displayed disrespect towards those they deemed "weak." Additionally, those with high F-scale scores were preoccupied with status, both for themselves and others, and showed excessive reverence for those in positions of power. Adorno and his colleagues also discovered that people with authoritarian tendencies had a distinctive cognitive style that involved categorizing individuals into stereotypical groups, which was strongly correlated with prejudice.

CONCLUSION:The research findings suggest that individuals with an authoritarian personality tend to be highly obedient to authority figures and display a significant degree of submissiveness and respect. They have a low tolerance for uncertainty and tend to view everything in terms of being either right or wrong, without any room for ambiguity or nuance, which can indicate an inflexible attitude. Consequently, they tend to believe that society needs strong leadership to uphold rigid, traditional values.

Exam Hint: It is important to keep in mind that a correlation, like the one discovered by Adorno and his colleagues between authoritarianism and prejudice, only shows a relationship and not causation.