Explanations for obedience Flashcards
Legitimacy of authority figure:
The authority they have is legitimate because it is agreed by society.
We accept people’s credentials and believe they know what they are doing.
It is ingrained in us to obey these people- even when we believe the order may be unethical or unjust.
Agentic State:
When they receive an order from an authority figure an agentic shift occurs where they move from being
in a state where they take personal responsibility for their actions (an autonomous
state) to a state where they believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure
(agentic state). This is known as the agentic shift.
When an individual is in the agentic state, they lose sense of personal responsibility
and no longer feel guilty for their actions as they see themselves as carrying out the
wishes of a more knowledgeable authority figure.
Research to support the agentic state as an explanation of obedience to authority was conducted by?
Milgram
Explanation of Milgram supporting the agentic state
Most of Milgram’s participants resisted giving the shocks at some point and
often asked the experimenter questions such as ‘Who is responsible if the learner is harmed?’. When the
experimenter responded ‘I am responsible’ the participant often continued to obey and give the electric
shocks.
Further, research to support the explanations for obedience to authority was conducted by?
Hofling
Hofling procedure
He conducted a study using nurses on a hospital ward who were ordered by an unknown doctor to give a
dangerous dose of a drug to patients via a telephone. 21 out of the 22 nurses agreed to give the
medication even though they knew not to take orders over the phone (they were stopped before hand).
One strength of Hofling’s research into agentic state/legitimacy of authority as an explanation of
obedience is that it has?
Practical applications
Explanation of Hofling’s research strength
This has led to the use of this research in the
training of nurses to reduce the likelihood of engaging in blind obedience and so they feel confident to
challenge the legitimate authority of doctors
