agency theory Flashcards
who created agency theory?
Stanley Milgram
what are the two ways of acting that agency theory suggests that people behave?
- autonomously
- agentically
what does autonomous behaviour mean?
when an individual directs their own behaviour and takes full responsibility for their actions and the possible outcome.
what is agentic behaviour?
when a person allows someone else in authority to dictate their behaviour, believing that they will take sole responsibility for whatever the outcome.
what is moral strain?
milgram suggests that with agentic behaviour comes moral strain - this means that when an individual complies to an order that goes against their personal beliefs or moral compass they begin to feel uncomfortable. for example they may show signs of this through giggling or sweating.
what is an alternative theory to agency theory?
social power theory (French & Raven 1959) - who believe that people possess different types of power in social situations. they suggest that this is what causes people to obey and their are five types of power:
- legitimate
- expert
- coercive
- reward
- referent
what is a strength of Milgram’s agency theory?
provides insight into why situations such as the holocaust and the my lai massacre occurred - application that benefit society by preventing them from happening again.
what is a study that supports agency theory?
Milgram and Burger, which shows in both studies years apart that authority figures play a huge role in causing obedience.
what is a weakness of Milgram’s agency theory?
it doesn’t consider dispositional factors such as personality. for example in Milgram’s study it is important that a proportion of people didn’t obey which suggests that individual differences may be involved.
