Legitimacy of authority and agent state explanations of obedience Flashcards
Define an agent
a person who acts on behalf of someone who we perceive as higher in the social hierarchy
Define the agentic state
Where we don’t feel responsible for our behavior and feel powerless to change it due to being an agent and acting on behalf of authority figure.
This leads to high levels of obedience
How does being in the agentic state make people feel?
May make you feel morally strained, but even if we do not want to obey we do it anyway due to binding factors
Define the autonomous state
Where we are independent and have control over our actions so we act according to our own principles
What would happen when were given an order from an authority figure who we see as legitimate?
we make an agentic shift from an autonomous state to an agentic state
What is legitimacy authority?
Those above us in the social hierarchy due to socialisation
Why is legitimate authority needed?
for society to run smoothly as we recognize we need to follow orders from authority figures
-we trust those people to exert their power over us for good reasons so we give up our independence
what causes people to shift from the autonomous state to the agentic state? and why are we more likely to obey orders
-recognizing authority as legitimate
-were more likely to obey orders as we know the legitimate authority has the power to be punished
what is destructive authority exploit?
The order given to people to commit cruel acts
How is legitimate authority demonstrated?
Through visible symbols such as uniform
Through legitimacy settings like location
(eg judge in a courtroom)
What is a study that supports both the legitimacy of authority and the agentic state?
Blass and schmitt 2001
What was the procedure of Blass and Schmitts study?
-students shown a video of Milgram study and
-asked to identify who they felt was responsible for the harm to the learner receiving shocks
What were the results of Blass and Schmitts study?
-Students blamed the experimenter instead of the ppt actually giving the shocks as they argued that the experimenter has responsibility due to his authority
Why is Blass and Schmitt study a strength of the LOA and agentic state?
-It is a strength of the LOA and the agentic state as students perceived that the experimenter had authority
-therefore they expected the PPTs to experience an agentic shift which causes them to follow orders and no longer feel responsible
What was another study that was a strength of the legitimacy of authority?
Hofling et al 1966
Describe Holflings study
-Real-life study where the doctor told nurses to give patients a drug that was double the lethal dose
-21/22 nurses immediately obeyed
How was Hofling’s study a strength of the LOA?
It was a strength of the LOA because the nurses saw the doctor as a legitimate authority and obeyed without question
What could be a counterpoint of Hofling’s study?
It doesn’t fully support the agentic state explanation as the nurses immediately obeyed showing no moral strain or anxiety
The agentic state explanation states that people are still aware of their beh and feel guilty but also powerless to disobey
The agentic state has limited explanation
Give a limitation of the LOA and the agentic state
Not all real-life situations can be explained using the LOA and the agentic state explanation
Explain research showing not all real-life situations can be explained using the LOA and agentic state
-Mandel described an incident involving the German police telling the nazi men to either shoot civilians or if they didn’t want to they could do other duties
-The men obeyed to shoot even though they were not given direct orders to do so
Why was the Nazi men research a limitation?
Because the incident cannot be explained using the agentic state as the men were not instructed to shoot
