Explanations of Obedience Flashcards
what are the 2 explanations of obedience
Legitimate authority
Agentic State
what is legitimate authority
the natural hierarchy a person has over others. In these cases people are more likely to obey as authority figure has power to punish
what increases legitimate authority
SYMBOLS OF AUTHORITY
such as uniform or institutions
what is the shift to the agentic state
people see themselves as behaving voluntarily and aware of the consequences (autonomous) however, when they see themselves as an agent of someone (agentic) they lose responsibilities and perform required tasks, the authority figure then takes on the responsibility
what is the autonomous state
independant, acting off their own thoughts
what is a strength of explanations of obedience
P: support for theses explanation of obedience is provided by milgram
E: the researcher who wore the white lab coat was seen as the person with legitimate authority
E: people obeyed their orders to deliver shocks as they saw them as the top of the social hierarchy
L: provides validity for the explanation of legitimate authority as a reason of obedience
P: a strength of this explanation is that it can be linked to a historical event
E: The office is in Nazi Germany stated that the mass genocide of Jews was because they ‘were just following orders’
E: this demonstrates legitimate authority as they completed orders due to the hierarchical stance of superiors
L: Therefore increases the validity of the explanation of legitimate authority as a reason for obedience
What is a limitation of the explanations of obedience
P: these explanations can sometimes be impacted by additional factors
E: situational and dispositional factors must also be considered
E: the situation a person is inor their personality may prevent them from obeying authority figures
L: Causes of obedience should be considered holistically rather than on a reductionist scale
