Explanations for obedience - agentic state + legitimacy of authority Flashcards
define the ‘agnetic state’
when a person believes that someone else will take responsibility for their own actions
define the ‘autonomous state’
the state in which a person believes they will take responsibility for their own actions
decsribe the ‘agentic shift’
when someone shifts from the autonomous state to the agentic state
explain what is meant my ‘Agency theory’
agency theory is the idea that people arem more likely to obey when they are in the agentic state as they do not believe they will suffer the consequences of those actions. This is because they believe that they are acting on behalf of their agent.
describe ‘legitimacy of authority’
how credible the figure of authority is. People are more likely to obey them if they are seen as credible in terms of being morally good/right, and legitimate
explain legitimacy of authority in terms of Milgram’s study
the people saw the experimenter as legitimate as they knew he was a scientist and therefore is likely to be knowledgeable and responsible - aka expert authority
The authority was legitimate as he held the highest position in the social hierarchy in the experimebt
state 3 situational factors
- appearance of the authority figure
- location
- proximity
why is someone more likely to obey someone in a uniform?
- uniforms give a sense of higher status and legitimacy
- obedience was higher when the experimenter wore a lab coat rather than normal clothes
why is someone more likely to obey someone in a location linked to higher status and legitimacy?
- Milgram’s study was conducted at a prestigious American university (Yale)
- obedience was greater than in a variation of the study conducted in a rundown office
- the prestigious nature of specific locations demand obedience from participants as well as potentially increasing the trust that they place in the researchers.
why is someone more likely to obey when they are in close proximity to the authority figure & less able to see the negative consequences?
increases the pressure to obey and decreases the pressure to resist
* obedience was higher when the experimenter was in the same room (62.5%) as the participant as opposed to being in a different room and speaking over the phone i.e. the remote instruction condition (20.5% obedience levels)
what is a limitation of the agentic state explanation? (PEE)
- may not always explain real-life obedience
eg. Lifton argued German doctors in Auschwitz changed from being normal doctors that treat patients to doctors that tortured and killed prisoners. This happened gradually but lasted for the duration of the war
TMB this shows that the shift between agentic and autonomous states is not as Milgram described; rather it leads to a more permanent
change of behaviour
Thus, reduces validity
what is a strength of the agentic state explanation? (PEE)
- research support
eg. Blass and Schmitt asked students to wtach footage and suggest who was responsible for the ‘harm’ caused to learner + they named the experimenter
TMB it supports agentic state as it shows the ppts shifted responsibility onto experimenter and just were an agent of carrying out the experimenters harmful wishes
what is a limitation of the legitimacy of authority explanation? (PEE)
- theres a difference in seeing an authority figure as legitimate in diff cultures
eg. Kilman and Mann replicated Milgram’s study in Australia + found only 16% of ppts shocked learner at 450v whereas Mantell found 85% in Germany
TMB it shows diff societies follow diff hierarchial structures
what is a strength of the legitimacy of authority explanation? (PEE)
- support from real life research
eg. Tarnow studied aviation accidents + found that 19 out of 37 accidents found ‘lack of monitoring’ errors from co-pilots by placing excessive dependence on captains authority
TMB fits legitimacy explanation
