Factors affecting obedience: individual differences

Question 1

What are the two personality factors that affect obedience?

Answer 1

The authoritarian personality
Internal/external locus of control

Question 2

Who came up with the idea of the authoritarian personality?

Answer 2

Adorno (1950)

Question 3

What is the definition of personality?

Answer 3

A set of traits that remain stable over time

Question 4

Does someone with authoritarian personality show more or less obedience to authority?

Answer 4

More obedient due to harsh parenting skills and being submissive to authority.

Question 5

How is the authoritarian personality measured?

Answer 5

Using the F-Scale

Question 6

What is a weakness of using the F-Scale to measure personality?

Answer 6

It is a self report questionnaire which opens itself up for less valid data due to social desirability bias.

Question 7

Who provided research support for the authoritarian personality?

Answer 7

Elms and Milgram (1966)

They used the F-Scale with 20 fully and 20 non fully obedient participants.

Obedient participants scored higher on the F-Scale.

Question 8

What is a counter argument to the research support of the authoritarian personality?

Answer 8

Childhood experiences and obedience are correlational which means we cannot say that this is the cause of obedience. Other factors such as poorer education may be involved.

Question 9

What is an internal locus of control?

Answer 9

People who take greater responsibility for their actions and believe they are in control.

More likely to show dissent and defy orders (disobey)

Question 10

What is an external locus of control?

Answer 10

People who take less responsibility and feel that what happens to them is due to other people.

More likely to be obedient.

Question 11

A weakness of LOC is that it does not predict defiance but who reported this?

Answer 11

Schurz (1985) completed a Milgram style task where participants were told to blast a student with painful ultrasound.

There was little difference between in LOC score for obedient and non obedient participants.

Question 12

How can personality factors affecting obedience be applied to the real world?

Answer 12

Companies requiring employees to follow strict procedures may prefer obedient people.

HR departments could use a scale assessing LOC to select suitable applicants.

Question 13

How does gender affect obedience?

Answer 13

There is no significant difference between males and females when it comes to obedience.

Question 14

Who showed that women are more obedient than men?

Answer 14

Sheridan and King (1972)

Participants were asked to give electric shocks to a puppy.

100% of females were obedient

54% of males were obedient

Question 15

Who showed that men are more obedient than women?

Answer 15

Kilham and Mann (1974)

They replicated Milgram’s study in Australia and found:

40% of males were obedient
16% of females were obedient

Question 16

What is moral reasoning according to Gilligan (1982)?

Answer 16

Ethics of justice is more common in males - males are more obedient due to their feelings of obligation to an authority figure.

Ethics of care is more common in females - females may be less obedient due to their desire to support the person being harmed.

Question 17

A weakness of gender affecting obedience is that the studies find no difference.

Answer 17

Blass (1999) reported nine Milgram style studies with males and females, no significance was found.