Lesson 8- Explanations of Obedience (Agentic State & Legitimacy of Authority)

Question 1

What is Milgram’s Agentic State?

Answer 1

Obedience to destructive authority- occurs- person ✖️ take responsibility- acting for someone else as ‘agent’ (someone who acts for/in place for another)

Question 2

What are the 2 ways in which people act in social situations?

Answer 2

1) Autonomic State- independent individuals- aware & know held accountable of consequences of actions- ⬆️ responsibility
2) Agentic State- ⬇️ responsibility- individual under authority of another … ✖️ responsible for actions

Question 3

What is the change from the autonomic state to the agentic state called?

Answer 3

Agentic shift

Question 4

Why does an individual remain in the agentic state?

Answer 4

Individual remains- Agentic State- binding factors- ignore damaging effects of 🏃‍ & ⬇️ ‘moral strain’- shift responsibility to victim, authority figure-> person feels calm- not their fault- agent following orders

Question 5

What is the evaluation of Milgram’s Agentic State?

Answer 5

👎- research evidence against theory- Mandel (1998)- German Reserve Police Battalion 101 👮‍♂‍- men obeyed orders- 🔫 civilians (Poland 🇵🇱 )- BUT ✖️ given direct orders- choice- other duties
👮‍♂‍✖️ acting as agents- Agentic State Theory ✖️ explain obedience
👍- research support- Blass & Schmitt (2001) showed Milgram’s study- students- asked who responsible- students blamed experimenter ✖️ pps- experimenter = scientist 👨‍🔬 (top of social hierarchy- greater power)- pps only agents following orders

Question 6

What is Legitimate Authority?

Answer 6

Legitimate authority figures- 👮‍♂‍, parents, 👩‍🏫- told to obey- childhood 👶 - trust them or fear punishment

Question 7

Why can Legitimate Authority be negative ➖?

Answer 7

BUT 👎- legitimate authority becomes destructive (punishment) e.g. Adolf Hitler (Holocaust)

Question 8

What are the evaluation points of Legitimate Authority?

Answer 8

👎- balance struck between teaching children 👶- obey authority & question orders- Milgram showed- obedience occurs even when leading to harm another person
👍- explains how obedience-> real life war crimes- Kelman & Hamilton (1989)- My Lai massacre- power of hierarchy- 🇺🇸 army- one soldier found guilty- argued- doing duty- following orders- seniors (authority)- shows LA- real life