Milgrams Agency Theory Flashcards
Describe the process of Milgrams Agency Theory.
Originally individuals are in the Autonomous state.
A legitimate authority figure gives an order to the individual so they move into the Agentic State.
The individuals feel moral strain from being obedient
However, binding factors keep the person in the Agentic state.
What is the Autonomous state?
The state in which an individual feels in control of and responsible for their own conscience.
What is the Agentic state?
The state in which an individual feels they are an ‘agent’ to another person who has more authority than us.
Therefore, we no longer feel responsible for and in control of our own actions so we obey even if it goes against our own conscience.
What is Moral Strain?
We feel stressed as we know what we are doing is wrong, however we still continue to obey.
What are Binding factors?
This keeps the individual in the Agentic state by ignoring the harm that they are doing and therefore reducing moral strain.
What historical event can Milgrams Agency Theory help to explain?
Massacre at My Lai
American Soldiers were given orders to “kill anything that breathes” by authority figure Lt William Calley.
500 unarmed civilians were slaughtered
Villages were burnt down and food sources destroyed.
Only Lt William Calley was convicted.
How does the Massacre at My Lai explain Milgrams Agency Theory?
The soldiers were ‘agents’ to Calley and therefore they would obey as they were in the Agentic state.
Some experienced moral strain (one soldier shot himself in the foot so he did not have to participate) however binding factors such as fear meant they continued to obey.
Evaluate Milgrams Agency theory (8 marks)
Feasibility- Strength
Milgrams results support his theory- 65% of participants went to 450V
This meant that the participants had moved into the Agentic state following the experimenters orders to shock the student, the participants then felt moral strain as they acknowledge what they are doing is wrong so they feel distress (nervous laughter, biting nails and aggression). However, the experimenters prompts posed as the binding factors which kept them in the Agentic state.
Useful- Strength
Can be applied to explain obedience in extreme contexts such as the Mai Lai Massacre
This provides useful to understand why people obey orders to commit tragic acts.
Massacre at Mai Lai - American soldiers were order to commit mass murder in Vietnam from Lt William Calley- citizens were slaughtered and villages burnt down.
However, this theory is opposed as it provides an excuse for people who commit these crimes and removes the idea of free will.
Different theory- Weakness
Latanes Social impact theory can explain obedience in different situations where the environment is changed.
Latane suggests that people are either sources or targets and the strength and immediacy of the source as well as the number of targets present impacts the social force felt.
Explanation- Weakness
Cannot explain obedience in all individuals as the investigation used a limited sample- only males, from same area and small age range.
Does not account for individual differences such as personality because people with an Authoritarian personality are more likely to obey orders due to their values.
