Explanations of Obedience Flashcards
What is the agentic state?
A mental state where an individual does not feel personally responsible for their behaviour because they believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure.
What is the autonomous state?
A state where an individual feels free to act according to their own principles and feels responsible for their actions.
What is the agentic shift?
The process of shifting from an autonomous state to an agentic state when a person sees someone else as an authority figure.
What are binding factors?
Aspects of a situation that allow a person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour, reducing the ‘moral strain’ they feel.
What is legitimacy of authority?
The idea that we are more likely to obey people who we believe have authority over us, justified by their position in a social hierarchy.
What is destructive authority?
When legitimate authority is used harmfully, such as ordering people to behave in callous or dangerous ways.
How does the Milgram study support the agentic state theory?
Participants often obeyed orders from the experimenter and claimed they were just following instructions, acting as agents.
What did Blass and Schmitt (2001) find about who students blamed in Milgram’s study?
Students blamed the experimenter, citing his legitimate and expert authority as the reason.
Why is the agentic state explanation limited?
t doesn’t explain why some people disobey, or why nurses in Hofling’s study did not show anxiety despite following destructive orders.
How does cross-cultural research support legitimacy of authority?
Studies show different obedience levels in different countries (e.g., Australia 16%, Germany 85%), supporting cultural variations in authority acceptance.
How does the My Lai Massacre support legitimacy of authority?
It shows how soldiers obeyed destructive orders from higher-ups in the military hierarchy, consistent with the theory.
What is the authoritarian personality?
A personality type that is especially obedient to authority and dismissive of those perceived as lower status.
How does the behaviour of Reserve Police Battalion 101 challenge the agentic state explanation?
They killed civilians despite being offered the choice to do other duties, suggesting personal choice, not agentic state, guided their actions.
What is a dispositional explanation of obedience?
An explanation that focuses on an individual’s personality as the cause of their obedient behaviour.
What is the F-scale?
A questionnaire developed by Adorno to measure authoritarian traits and the tendency towards fascism.
What did Adorno find about people who scored highly on the F-scale?
They identified with ‘strong’ people, were contemptuous of the weak, respected authority, and held rigid, stereotypical views.
What childhood experiences are linked to authoritarian personality development?
Harsh parenting, strict discipline, conditional love, and high expectations.
What is scapegoating in Adorno’s theory?
Displacing feelings of hostility from parents onto weaker groups, leading to prejudice.
What are methodological problems with the F-scale?
All questions are worded in the same direction, encouraging acquiescence bias (agreeing with everything).
What research support did Milgram and Elms find for authoritarian personality?
Fully obedient participants in Milgram’s study scored highly on the F-scale.
Why is the link between obedience and authoritarian personality only correlational?
It doesn’t prove causation — other factors like education might be involved.
Why is Adorno’s explanation limited when explaining mass obedience (e.g., Nazi Germany)?
It’s unlikely millions had the same personality type; social identity theory offers a better explanation.
What political bias exists in Adorno’s theory?
The F-scale only measures right-wing ideology, ignoring left-wing authoritarianism.
Why is it a problem that Adorno’s researchers knew participants’ F-scale scores?
It introduces bias; researchers might interpret responses to fit the hypothesis.
