Milgram - explanation for obedience

Question 1

what is an agentic state

Answer 1

when we follow orders from someone we perceive to be higher up in the social hierarchy than we are, believing its not our responsibility but following orders

Question 2

what is the autonomous state

Answer 2

where we are independant and have free will

Question 3

what is an agentic shift

Answer 3

when ordered by an authority figure we can make the agentic shift to the agentic state

Question 4

what are binding factors

Answer 4

factors of the situation which reduce our moral strain such as reassuring ourselves its not our responsisbility

Question 5

what is legitimacy of authority

Answer 5

we are taught who is at the top of the social hierarchy and believe these people has legitimate authority, we trust them to exert power over us and we are willing to give up our independance if they do so

Question 6

what is destructive authority

Answer 6

when an authoritave figure orders people lower down in the social hierarchy to act in cruel and torturous ways

Question 7

AO3 for explanations of obedience

Answer 7

Milgrams study
Rank + Jacobson’s study
Useful account of cultural differences - Kilham and Mann

Question 8

what is Milgrams procedure

Answer 8

• 40 male students all from USA (volunteered)
• Yale university
• told research was how punishment affected memory
• pp’s = teacher , confederate = learner
• pp’s had to give a shock everytime confederate got a question wrong
• voltage went up in 15V until 450V (lethal)
• pp’s coukd hear confederate

Question 9

what were the findings of Milgram

Answer 9

100% went up to 300V
65% went to 450V

Question 10

AO3 of Migram

Answer 10

+ can easily be replicated so therefore reliability can be assessed
+ easier to control variables so only independent variable is being manipulated
+ can determine whether IV causes DV to change
- artificial situation, loss of external (ecological) validity
- demand characteristics can alter pp’s behaviour > some argue the pp’s didn’t believe shocks were real
- sample - all males and american > lacks population validity

Question 11

what research supports Milgrams research

Answer 11

Beauvais et al made a documentary where pp’s believed they were on a new tv show. they were paid to give fake electric shocks. 80% pp’s went to 460V. Results were almost identical to Milgrams

Question 12

A03 of agent of state

Question 13

A03 if legitimacy of authority