Agentic state + legitimacy of authority Flashcards
What is the agentic state?
When a person sees themself as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes
What is the agentic shift?
The process of shifting the responsibility of one’s actions to someone else
What is the autonomous state?
A state where individuals see themselves as responsible for their actions
What state does the agentic shift take the individual out of?
The autonomous state
In which study is there evidence of the agentic state?
In Milgram’s baseline study
What did participants in Milgram’s study say in the interviews after?
‘I was just doing what I was told’
Why do people adopt an agentic state?
To maintain a positive self-image
What keeps an individual in the agentic state?
The fear of being classed as rude if they break their commitment
What is legitimate authority?
A person who is perceived to be in a position of control in a social situation
Who is the legitimate authority in Milgram’s study?
The experimenter
Give 2 institutions where we are more likely to find legitimate authority.
Hospitals and the army
What increases the legitimacy of authority?
Visible symbols of authority
Give 2 examples of visible symbols of authority.
Uniform and location
When do we learn to obey authority?
In our childhood
How do Milgram’s results support legitimacy of authority?
Run down offices/casual clothing conditions = lower obedience
What are the 4 explanations of obedience AO3 points?
1) Support for AS (Blass + Schmidt)
2) Agentic state or plain cruel?
3) Real life contradiction (Lifton - Auschwitz)
4) Real life consequences
Which psychologists showed students a video of Milgram’s study?
Blass and Schmidt
Who did the majority of Blass and Schmidt’s participants blame?
The experimenter in Milgram’s study
What do Blass and Schmidt’s findings support?
The theory of agentic shift
What have social scientists suggested that Milgram measured rather than obedience?
Signs of cruelty
What did Milgram’s participants use the task as an excuse for?
To act on their sadistic impulses
How does the SPE contradict the agentic shift?
Guards became aggressive despite no authority figure + full control of behaviour
What does the SPE suggest about the cause of obedience?
That for some people they obey due to agentic shift, but others obey due to primal desire to inflict harm
Who found real life contradictory evidence of the agentic shift?
Lifton
