Lesson 7 Situational explanations of obedience Flashcards
What is the agentic state
Milgram (1974) argued that people can obey horrific orders not because of their own personalities, but because of the situation they are in (this is why it is a situational explanation). He suggested that people following orders go from an autonomous state into an agentic state. This is called the agentic shift. Once in an agentic state people ‘unthinkingly’ carry out orders and perceive themselves as merely the instrument of an authority figure. They believe that the authority figure is responsible for their actions (diffusion of responsibility) and so they do not follow their own conscience or feel guilt for their actions.
Factors for agentic state to work and why do people stay in the agentic state
This state occurs because in people’s experience those in authority are usually trustworthy, orders seem reasonable at first before becoming more aggressive (gradual commitment), and people are psychologically protected from the consequences of their actions (buffers). One explanation for why people adopt an agentic state is to maintain a positive self-image. It does not matter what negative behaviour they show, because they are not responsible for their actions. Once a person has entered an agentic state they stay in it because they are concerned that breaking their commitment to the authority figure would seem arrogant and rude.
Milgram (1974) thought that the agentic state had developed during human evolution and is necessary for hierarchies to function in society, which prevents chaos. We live in a society where we are constantly submitting to authority figures such as parents, teachers, the police and doctors and so obedience is essential.
Evaluation of agentic state
- Participants in Milgram’s experiment were less likely to shock Mr. Wallace when they were in the same room as him and could see the consequences of their actions (i.e. there were no buffers). This supports the idea of an agentic state. Being in close proximity to Mr. Wallace and seeing him in pain would have prevented some participants from going into an agentic state
- Without buffers people should not go into an agentic state and obey an order to harm someone. However, Mandel (1998) reported the case of Major Wilhelm Trapp. In 1942, in the Polish village of Jozefow, Major Trapp was given orders to take a large group of Jewish people to the edge of the village and have them shot. Although the members of his battalion were given the chance to say no, and be assigned to other duties, few did, and the massacre went ahead. This occurred despite the victims being in close proximity to the soldiers.
What is legitimate authority
Legitimate authority is another situational explanation of obedience; it claims that we recognise our own and other people’s position in the social hierarchy and that we will obey those who have a higher position in the hierarchy than we do (e.g. they have legitimate authority). We will not obey those who have an equal or lower position in the social hierarchy than we do.
Legitimate authority is increased by visible symbols of authority (e.g. uniform). Legitimate authority is dependent on setting, order, system and location (e.g. the military or a prison), especially if the commands are potentially harmful or destructive.
Hofling (1966)
Hofling (1966) found that nurses would obey a dangerous order from a doctor because they were in a hospital location. Nurses received a phone call from an unknown doctor (who was really an actor) called Dr. Smith. He asked her to administer 20 milligrams of a drug called Astroten (really just a sugar pill) to a patient. This broke hospital rules as it was twice the maximum dose (as indicated on the bottle), the instructions were given over the phone, the doctor was unknown, and the medicine was not on the stock list. 95% of nurses carried out these instructions, despite the potential danger, because doctors have legitimate authority.
Bickman (1974)
+ Bickman (1974) asked confederates to order passersby to pick some litter off the street or move away from a bus stop. The confederates were dressed as either a guard, milkman or just in smart clothes. 90% of people obeyed the guard but only 50% obeyed the civilian. A person in a guard uniform is more likely to be perceived as a legitimate authority figure.
How does Milgram (1963) disagree legitimate authority
Legitimate authority does not explain why some people are able to resist the order of authority figures. 35% of people in Milgram’s (1963) study refused to obey the experimenter, even though he had legitimate authority in that situation
