Factors Affecting Obedience - Individual Differences Flashcards
Name the factors affecting obedience individual differences
Personality factorsGender
The personality factors
The authoritarian personality - Adorno et al 1950Internal and external locus of control - Rotter 1966
The authoritarian personality
Harsh parenting causes children to develop authoritarian personality traitsOnly given conditional loveCommon parenting style in Germany in 20th centuryScore low on F-scale
Internal and external locus of control
Internal LOC = take responsibilityExternal LOC = chanceInternals -> more defiant
Factors affecting obedience gender
Women more obedient than menMen more obedient than womenMoral 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 obedient54% 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% males16% 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 equalityEthic 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 figureFemales less obedient due to desire to support person being harmed
Strength of authoritarian personality
Elms and Milgram (1966)Used F-scale20 fully and non-fully obedientObedient scored higherObedience related to authoritarian personality
CA of authoritarian personality
Other factors may be involved, not a direct relationship
Weakness of LOC
Schurz 1985Blast student with painful ultrasoundNo significant difference to those with external or internal LOC
Application of personality factors
Companies follow strict procedures To employ obedient peopleHR can use LOC scale
Strength of Gilligan
Gilligan and Attanucci found males and females both use ethic in real-life dilemmasMen overall favour justice, women careShowing there are gender differences
Weakness of gender differences
Blass 19999 milgram-style studies found no significant difference of gender in 8 of the studiesSuggests gender does not affect obedience