Explanations For Obedience

Question 1

What are the two explanations for obedience?

Answer 1

Legitimacy of authority figure and agentic state

Question 2

Describe legitimacy of authority as an explanation of authority

Answer 2

• obedient indv accepts the power and status of authority figures e.g. parents/teachers
• it is agreed by society that their authority is legitimate
• we accept their credentials and believe they know what their doing
• it is ingrained in us from a young age to obey even if order may be unethical
• uniform and location can effect LOA e.g. when milgram conducted exp in run down office/otp, obedience reduced as experimenter had less LOA

Question 3

Describe agentic state as an explanation of authority

Answer 3

• when a person moves from an autonomous to an agentic state, it is called an agentic shift which occurs when someone perceives indv as an authority figure, the more legitimate authority figure is perceived to be, more likely indv will shift
• an autonomous state is where indv take personal responsibility for their actions
• an agentic state is where they believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure and lose sense of personal responsibility so no longer feels guilty for their actions, more likely to obey as they see themselves as carrying out wishes of a more knowledgeable authority figure

Question 4

What are the three AO3 PEELS to evaluate explanations for obedience?

Answer 4

RTS - milgrams obedience study
RTS by Hofling - nurses
Alt exp - dispositional factors