Milgram's Agency Theory

Question 1

What does milgrams theory explain?

Answer 1

It explains obedience in terms of power of others and social factors

Question 2

What is agentic state?

Answer 2

Person follows orders with no sense of personal responsibility

Question 3

What is autonomous state?

Answer 3

Person makes their own free choices and feels responsible for their own actions.

Question 4

What is an agentic shift?

Answer 4

An agentic shift is used to describe the change from autonomous to an agentic state.

Question 5

When does an agentic shift occur?

Answer 5

When a person sees someone else as a figure of authority.

Question 6

Culture and obedience?

Answer 6

Societies have a hierarchy with some people having more authority than others. This hierarchy is agreed on by all members.

The culture we live in socialise us to respect the social hierarchy.

Question 7

Proximity?

Answer 7

I’m milgrams further studies, if the teacher was physically closer to the learner, the teacher was less obedient.

Question 8

What are the strengthS of milgrams theory

Answer 8

One strength is that there is research support.

Blass and schitt showed a film of milgrams study to students who blamed the ‘experimentwr’ rather than the ‘teacher’ for the harm to the learner.
Therefore the students recognised the legitimate authority of the experimenter as the cause of obedience.

Question 9

What is one weaknes of milgrams theory?

Answer 9

One weakness is that agency theory can’t explain why there isn’t 100% obedience.

In milgrams study 35% of the participants didn’t go up to the maximum shock of 450 volts.

This means that social factors cannot fully explain obedience.