Dispositional explanation for obedience: the Authoritarian Personality
Some people obey authority more readily because of their personality type. Adorno called this the Authoritarian Personality — a fixed set of traits that makes a person submissive to those above them and harsh to those below.
Real World
Stanley Milgram's own analysis found that participants who scored highest on Adorno's F-scale (measuring authoritarian traits) showed greater willingness to administer higher shocks, supporting the link between personality and obedience.
Exam Focus
Counter the Authoritarian Personality with Milgram's situational evidence; high obedience rates across cultures undermine a purely dispositional account.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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