Agentic state and legitimacy of authority

Question 1

A01- Agentic state as an explanation for increased obedience

Answer 1

• Milgram proposed a distinction between autonomous state and agentic state, and the shift between these ,as an explanation for why people obey authority
• Autonomous state- An individual is freely and consciously in control of their actions = taking full responsibility for them
• Shift into agentic state- A person attributes responsibility to a figure of authority, in which a person sees themselves as an agent for carrying out another persons wishes, not responsible for their own actions
• Theorised as we are taught from a young age to abide by laws in order to have an orderly society, requiring people to give up their free will, meaning people will obey instructions that go against their morals as they no longer feel personally responsible for them.

Question 2

Explanations for a shift into agentic state( A01)

Answer 2

• To maintain a positive self image, as a person is no longer responsible for their actions and choices, as they will now believe their choices no longer reflects their self image
• From a participants perspective, these actions performed under the agentic state are virtually guilt free as originally a person may take a step back from a situation in order to asses the consqueneces and refrain however an agent may beleieve their behvaiour and the actions they carry out reflect the person in authortiy indtesd
  This evalulitive concern is no longer necessasy

Question 3

Limitation agentic state 1- (A03)

Answer 3

-Milgrams claim that people shift back and forth between AN state and A state fails to explain irreversible transitions that Lifton (1986) found in his German doctors study at camps
- Doctors in Germany changed gradually and irreversibly from medical professionals who acted only with interest in the health and welfare of the clients into doctors capable of carrying out vile experiments on the prisoners
- Staub, rather than agentic shift its the experience of carrying out inhumane acts over a long period of time that changes an individuals mindset and behaviours

Question 4

Limitation 2 of agentic state

Answer 4

• Milgram conceded other possibilities for explanations of his findings
• Participants displayed signs of cruelty to the researchers, and the participants used the situation to express their sadistic impulses
• Idea is emphasised during the Stanford prison experiment carried out by Zimbardo and colleagues , within a few days the guards inflicted rapidly escalating cruelty on increasingly submissive prisoners despite the fact there was no obvious authority figure instructing them to do so
  -This suggests how obidience may also be a way of expressing the internal desire of inflicting harm on others

Question 5

Legitimacy of authority

Answer 5

First condition needed for someone to be percieved ad legitimate
Someone who is perceieved to be in a position of social control within a situation, these are tied into society in a way that they neccasary for an orderly society so we should do what they syay
Some of the variables added to this percieved authority such as, they were more likely to obey the experimenter if he was wearing a lab coat, and the prestige of the location also factotred into this
if the experimenters insructions are potentially dangerous or contversial they are only seen as legiitimate if the location is prestiagte in an institution

Question 6

Legitimate authority explanation and real life obedience

Answer 6

• Althrough there are very many positive consequenecs, legitmacy can also be seen as the basisi for justification of harming others