Agency Theory Flashcards
Participants agreed to take part, so they were in an…
… agentic state.
Participants became ‘agents’ of the experiment, so they…
… obeyed him.
Why did the agentic state lead the participants to obey?
Because it involves a shift in responsibility from the one obeying to the authority figure.
How is the agency theory an idea based on our social system?
It suggests that people act as agents for those ‘above’, which is a behaviour our hierarchical social system goes according to.
In an autonomous state, individuals…
… have power, and their actions are voluntary.
In an agentic state, individuals…
… are ‘agents’ for others, and are not in control.
Eichmann said he was ‘just obeying orders’; this obedience is explained by…
… agency theory.
Obedience could be explained by a theory other than agency theory. Why is this a weakness?
If another theory is equally possible as an explanation, the theory is weakened.
Agency theory is more of a description of how society works, rather than…
… a detailed explanation.
