A major investigation into financial misconduct at an energy firm, 'Solas Energy', revealed that junior compliance officers knowingly signed off on falsified safety audits because they were instructed to do so by the regional director. Some compliance officers complied without question, later stating they were 'only carrying out instructions from above'. Investigators also noted that many of these highly obedient officers scored highly on measures of rigid, hierarchical thinking and were reported to treat junior administrative assistants with extreme hostility while being excessively submissive to executives.
Discuss the Authoritarian Personality as a dispositional explanation of obedience, and one situational explanation of obedience. Refer to the Solas Energy scenario and empirical research in your answer.
73 exam-style questions on AQA A Level Psychology Obedience. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.