Lesson 7 - Situational Explainations Of Obedience

Question 1

What is Situational Explanation?

Answer 1

• Milgram argued that people obey horrific orders because of the situation they are in, not because of their own personalities.

Question 2

What is the agentic shift?

Answer 2

• When people go from an autonomous state into an agentic state
• When people ‘unthinkingly’ carry out orders and think of themselves as an instrument of an authority figure.
• They also believe that the authority figure is responsible for their actions and therefore feel no guilt or consciousness over their actions. (Diffusion of responsibility

Question 3

Why does Agentic Shift occur?

Answer 3

• Authority figures are trustworthy and give reasonable orders initially.
• The orders become more aggressive.
• The people are psychologically protected from their consequences (buffers)
• People adopt the agentic state as it maintains a positive self image. (Not responsible for their actions)

Question 4

Why does agentic state remain?

Answer 4

• People stay in the agentic state as they do not want to break their commitment
• They do not want to seem arrogant or rude to their authority figure

Question 5

How did the agentic state originate?

Answer 5

• Developed during human evolution
• Necessary for hierarchical structures, preventing chaos. (Functioning in society)
• People are constantly submitting to authority figures e.g parents and teachers
• Obedience is necessary

Question 6

Evaluation of Agentic State

Answer 6

+ Participants were more reluctant to shock Mr Wallace when they were in the same room as him because they could see the consequences (no buffers). Seeing Mr Wallace in pain would have prevented going into the agentic responsibility

• Without buffers people should not go into agentic state and obey an order to harm someone. In 1942, Major Trapp was given orders to shoot Jewish people. Members of his battalion were given the choice to refuse, but few did and the massacre went ahead. This occurred when the soldiers were in close proximity to the victims

Question 7

What is Legitimate Authority?

Answer 7

• Claims we recognise positions in social hierarchy
• Obey those above us
• Disobey equal and below
• Increased by visible symbols of authority (uniform)
• Dependent on setting, order, system & location

Question 8

What do people let legitimate authority figures dictate?

Answer 8

• People accept definitions of situations provided by a legitimate authority figure
• The participant performs an action and its meaning is defined by an authority figure
• It may require an institution if requests/orders are destructive (military)

Question 9

Evaluation of Legitimate Authority

Answer 9

+ Hofling (1966) found nurses would obey a dangerous order from an unknown doctor over the phone. Doctor asked the nurse to administer twice the maximum dose (on the bottle). 95% of Nurses carried out the instruction
+ Bickman (1974) told a confederate to ask passers-by to pick up litter in different costumes: When dressed in the guard uniform, 90% obeyed, when dressed in civilian clothes, 50% obeyed

• Legitimate Authority does not explain why some people can resist it. (35% of participants refused to obey the experimenter)