explanations for obedience Flashcards
agentic state and legitimacy of authority
define legitimacy of authority
an explanation for obedience which suggests we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us due to the position that they hold within the social hierarchy
what is obedience
complying with the demands of an authority figure
define agentic state
a mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure e.g. as their agent
this is the opposite of an autonomous state
this frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey destructive authority figures
who founded the Agentic state and Legitimacy of authority explanation
Milgram in 1974
how does Legitimacy of authority tie into the Milgram study
when the pps saw the experimenter in a lab coat they knew he was a scientist and therefore likely to be knowledgable and responsible - this is called expert authority
how does the Agentic state tie into Milgram’s study
when the obedient pps were asked why they had continued to administer electric shocks they replied with ‘I was just doing what i was told’
the pp felt no responsibility for their actions that the authority dictated
what did Milgram propose where the 3 explanations for obedience
Agentic state
legitimacy of authority
situational factors
what are the 3 situational factors in obedience
proximity
location
the power of uniform
what are binding factors
aspects of the situation that allows the person to ignore to minimise the damaging effects of their behaviour and thus reduce the moral strain they are feelings - denying the damage they have done
in order to break off the experiment the pp must breach the commitment that he made to the experiment so these emotions he feels bind the subject into obedience
define an autonomous state
an independent and free state
a person is free to behave according to their own principals and therefore feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions
opposite of agentic state
what is the agentic shift
the shift from autonomy to agency
Milgram suggests that this occurs when a person perceives someone else as a figure of authority
this is because the other person has greater power due to their position of social hierarchy
what is destructive authority
when people/leaders used their legitimate powers for destructive purposes, ordering people to behave in ways that are callous, cruel, stupid and dangerous
how is destructive authority shown in Milgram’s experiment
the experimenter used prods to oder pps to behave in ways that went against their conscience
examples of using destructive authority → Mi Lai Massacre
Milgram’s findings have been used to explain the notorious 1968 Vietnam War
504 unarmed civilians were killed by American soldiers → women were gang-raped and people were shot down as they emerged from their homes with their hands in the air
the soldiers blew up buildings, burnt the village to the ground and killed all the animals
only one solider was found guilty, Lt William Calley
argued that he was only doing what he was told to do
