Obedience; Agency theory Flashcards
What does Stanley Milgram say about the agency theory?
Milgram(1974) said that obedience is necessary for a smooth running of society.
What is Obedience?
Obedience is complying with the rules set by a recognised authority, which may impose sanctions for disobedience. It’s where individuals give up their free will and hand it over to an authority figure by doing what they say even if they do not believe what they’re doing is correct.
What is autonomous state?
The autonomous state is where an individual directs their own behaviour (exercise own understanding of right and wrong) and takes responsibillty for the results of their actions.
What is the agentic state?
The agentic state is where an individual allows someone else to direct their behaviour and assume that responsibility passes to that person.
What is it called when you move from the autonomous state to the agentic state?
Agentic shift
What is meant by moral strain?
Moral strain is discomfort or anxiety experienced in the agentic state when a person’s actions conflict with their morality.
What is a strength for Agency theory? (1)
A strength for Agency theory is that it is supported by Milgram’s 1963 study. 100% of participants would administer a shock of 300V to a confederate as a punishment for making a mistake on a word task and 65% would go right up to the final 450V beyond the shock labelled ‘danger, extreme shock’.
What is a CA for the strength of Agency theory?
Gina Perry (2012) questioned the internal validity of this evidence saying that participants saw through deception. She examined evidence from Yale University archives of his study. This evidence reveals that many participants questioned whether the shocks were real. This shows that across all of Milgrams variation studies more than 60% of all participants disobeyed the experimenter leaving Agency theory in question
What is a disadvantage for Agency theory?
Jacobson and Rank (1977) found that the agentic shift isnt inevitable as 89% of nurses failed to obey orders from a doctor to overdose the drug valium. This shows that despite the legitmate authortity they remained in the autonomous state
What can Agency theory be applied to?
It can be applied to the military as Milgram suggested binding factors outweigh moral strain and obedience follows.E.g the use of euphemisms such as collateral damage and dehumanising language to refer to the enemy. This shows authority figures communication can minimise moral strain
