Agency Theory

Question 1

Describe agency theory

Answer 1

• Milgram suggests that people are agents of others in society because that is the way society works. People have evolved to obey those in higher positions. This ensures social harmony
• Milgram states that a person can either be in an autonomous state or agentic state if they are faced with a situation which consists of destructive obedience
• Autonomous state is when you take control of your behaviour and feel responsible for and aware of the consequences
• Moral strain is endured; an unpleasant sensation resulting from pressure to obey order to commit immoral act. Often appears as physical distress, such as shaking
• Agentic state is when you are obeying order from an authority figure and feel less responsible/emotional about your actions
• The change from autonomous state to agentic state is known as the agentic shift

Question 2

Supporting research?

Answer 2

P- Milgram (1963)
E- Found 65% went the full 450v and ppts who obeyed to the end tended to say that they only did so as they were told to by authority. Many endured nervous laughter and shaking
E- The ppts were upset and distressed by their actions, demonstrating the moral strain they felt in following such an order

Question 3

Weakness of research?

Answer 3

P- Low task validity
E- The task wasn’t very respresentative of how obedience operates in day to day society
E- This means there is trouble applying the theory to explain obedience in an everyday setting as the research lacks mundane realism

Question 4

Weakness?

Answer 4

P- Individual differences
E- Despite being put into the same situation in the experiments with an authority figure, not all ppts obeyed. In Milgram’s study 35% of ppts didn’t follow the orders yet had the same instructions as all the ppts who did
E- Suggests there must be another reason for why people obey

Question 5

Different theory?

Answer 5

P- Social impact theory
E- Suggests that everyone applies social force to everyone else to get what they want
E- This is similar to Milgram’s idea of the agentic state as people find it hard to resist pressures to obey. Both theories regard people as passive, doing whatever social pressures make them do. However, social impact theory ignores the importance of moral strain