Obedience - TDF (Theory of Dispositional Factors)

Some people are more likely to obey because of their dispositional factors, these are factors associated with an individual's personality.

An authoritarian personality is a personality type which is prone to obedience. This was investigated by Adorno et al (1950). This appeared shortly after WW2 as an attempt to try to understand and explain antisemitism in Nazi Germany. People with this personality type are more likely to be bigoted and prejudiced, and are also more likely to obey.

Their research comprised of 2000+ college students from the USA. These were American,white,non-Jewish middle class people such as teachers, nurses and psychiatric patients. They were asked to grade their support of statements on a scale called the F-scale, with the F standing for fascism.

Authoritarian personality was believed to develop during childhood due to factors such as strict and controlling parents.

 This personality type consists of 4 characteristics:

• Someone who feels and active dislike of people from lower classes
• Someone with fixed and conventional ideas of right and wrong
• Someone who cannot deal with any uncertainty about the right way to behave and acceptable attitudes/beliefs
• Someone who is always willing to obey those of higher status than themselves.