Agentic State And Legitmacy Of Authority

Question 1

Situational explanation for conformity

Answer 1

Agentic state and legitimacy of authority

Question 2

Agentic state definition

Answer 2

Definition: A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure

-Frees us conscience and allows authority to be obeyed, even if destructive
-Experience high anxiety, as they know they are wrong but are powerless to stop it

Question 3

Research support for agentic state

Answer 3

-Supported by Milgram’s baseline - participants hesitant to continue until prods
HOWEVER - Rank and Jacobson’s nurses (1977) - 16 out of 18 disobeyed order from figure of authority. Remained autonomous

Question 4

What did Milgram propose about agentic state?

Answer 4

That obedience to destructive authority occurs because a person doesn’t take responsibility, they are acting for someone else (become an ‘agent’)

Question 5

Autonomous state

Answer 5

Where individuals are seen as personally responsible for their actions, independent and free

-Free to act according to their own principles

Question 6

What is agentic shift?

Answer 6

Shift from autonomy to agency - occurs when a person perceives someone else as a figure of authority (due to a social hierarchy)

Question 7

What does Milgram say about agentic shift?

Answer 7

1974 - Occurs when a person perceives someone as an authority figure

Question 8

Binding factors of the agentic state

Answer 8

This is how Milgram explains why people stay in the agentic state when they show signs of wanting to quit. Binding factors, are aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effects of their behaviour and thus reduce the moral strain that they are feeling . e.g. shifting responsibility to the victim/ denying the damage

Question 9

Legitimacy of authority

Answer 9

An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy. (learnt from childhood)

Question 10

Evaluation for legitimacy of authority

Answer 10

-Explains cultural differences - different cultures will perceive authority differently
- Wesley Kilham and Leon Mann (1974) - only 16% of Australian women went up to 450V
- David Mansell (1971) - 85% of Germans went to 450V
-Reflects how society can interpret authority different, and how childhood are raised to perceive authority differently

-Can not explain disobedience when the hierarchy is clear
-e.g Rank and Jacobson’s nurses
e.g. Milgram’s disobedient participants
-suggests some people are more obedient than others, tendencies to obey/disobey have a greater impact than legitmacy of authority

Question 11

Destructive authority

Answer 11

Problems arise when legitimate authority become destructive. History has often shown that people can use legitimate power for destructive purposes e.g. Hitler and Stalin
e.g. Milgram’s prods