1 Social Influence- Obedience P2 (agentic state theory) Flashcards
what is a situational explanation?
propose that the causes of behaviour are external to the individual and caused by the environment
what is the agentic state theory?
acting as an agent on behalf of someone else, shifting responsibility
-in Milgram’s study, he used this to explain the high levels of obedience recorded
-when facing social situations, people either operate in the autonomous or agentic state
autonomous state
acting independently and willing to take full responsibility and accountability
agentic state
working on behalf of someone else, not accepting any personal responsibility
diffusion of responsbility
moving the responsibility from ourselves to someone else
(autonomous to agentic)
in the agentic state who do we believe is responsible for our actions?
the authority figure
e.g. in Milgram’s the teachers carried on after the white lab coat man said he would take responsibility
example of how we are socialised from a young age into obedience via the agentic state
-parents governing our behaviour through teaching us manners etc
-schools control uniform, behaviour, rules and timetable
moral strain
a consequence of experimenting two contradictory urgers which are the need to obey authority vs abiding by our own conscious and belief
how does the agentic state impact moral strain?
it removes it as we no longer feel responsible
-more likely to obey
binding factors
these are factors that keep us in the agentic state when we often want to stop or disobey
e.g. pressures of the authority figure and surroundings and legitimacy of the figure
-they also allow the individual to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and reduce any moral strain that they may feel.
A03 agentic state theory
supporting evidence point
Hofling 1966 found 21/22 nurses obeyed a telephone order form an unknown doctor to give an overdose of an unfamiliar drug
-the authorative figure (doctor) gave orders and the nurses diffused the responsibility onto this person, obeying the order
-binding factors may not be as significant, there was low pressure and less known legitimacy
therefore, this theory is valid
A03 agentic state theory
opposing evidence point
Rank and Jacobson 1977 replicated Hoffling’s research with a familiar drug
this time 16/18 disobeyed the order
-the nurses did not accept this shift and stayed in the autonomous state as their moral strain stopped obedience
therefore, this theory may lack validity
A03 agentic state theory
determinism point
this theory presents a deterministic explanation of behaviour
-proposes that our behaviour is caused by pressure from authority figures, obedience is due to situational factors (environmental determinism)
-suggests we have little conscious control going into this agentic state- hindering taking responsibility and accountability
-socially sensitive as it has the potential to cause people harm, excusing offences in the past
therefore, the agency theory can be used to educate about why such instances occur- NOT TO EXCUSE BEHAVIOUR
A03 agentic state theory
application point
used to educate the public on the dangers of destructive obedience
e.g. Holocaust Memorial Day
-can help ensure that such events will not reoccur
-however this is not used as an excuse by those who carry out terrible acts to diminish their personal accountability ‘just following orders’
therefore, the theory can provide us with great insight into human behaviour in the context of behaviour and has the potential to be used in a positive capacity.
