Obedience: Agency Theory Flashcards
1
Q
Obedience
A
- A form of social influence in which an individual follows a direct order from a legitimate higher authority
2
Q
Autonomous state
A
- A state where we feel our behaviour is self-directed and chosen, you chose how to act
3
Q
Agentic state
A
- Following the instructions of an authority figure and the consequences of the actions lie with the authority figure
4
Q
Moral strain
A
- If your beliefs and actions do not align, you will feel moral strain. This occurs even if your actions are under the orders of others. If the strain is great enough, you will disobey
5
Q
Binding factors
A
- Factors that can make you listen to authority figure
6
Q
Strength of Agency Theory
A
- A strength of Agency Theory is that it has supporting research evidence from Milgram’s experiment
- In the study, 100% of participants would administer a 300V shock to the learner when ordered to, 65% would go up to 450V. When interviewed after the study, participants reported that their behaviour was the responsibility of the experimenter
- This shows that the participants did displace their responsibility onto the experimenter who was the authority figure and entered an agentic state, which supports Agency Theory
7
Q
Weakness of Agency Theory
A
- A weakness of Agency Theory is that the Rank and Jacobsen study counters Agency Theory as agentic shift is not inevitable in the face of authority as other factors such as self-esteem, knowledge and communication can affect obedience
- It was seen that 16 out of 18 nurses refused to administer an overdose to a patient when asked by a physician and this was because the nurses said that their prior knowledge of the effect of the drugs and the exposure to their peers and their high self-esteem made them go against the authority figure’s instructions to administer the overdose
- Therefore, this suggest that factors outside of strain can affect agency theory.
