Obedience: Explanations Flashcards
what are the 2 explanations for obedience?
agentic state
legitimacy of authority
outline the agentic state
5
involves a process known as the agentic shift — this is moving from an autonomous state (being responsible for your own actions) to an agentic state (denying responsibility) in the presence of a perceived authority figure
a person in the agentic state sees themselves as an agent, carrying out another person’s wishes and simply obeying instructions
they do not perceive themselves as being responsible for their own actions, instead they shift this responsibility to someone else such as an authority figure
people adopt this state in order to maintain a positive self image — under normal circumstances, they would assess the consequences of their actions and how this will reflect on them, which may prevent them from doing the action
but when they undergo the agentic shift, they no longer seen the action or its consequence as their responsibility, therefore it won’t reflect badly on their self image and they feel more comfortable about performing the action, making them more likely to obey
outline legitimacy of authority
6
the perception of a legitimate authority helps a person shift into the agentic state
a legitimate authority is someone perceived to be in a position of social control within a situation and who is justified to be in that position
we are more likely to obey someone perceived as a legitimate authority because we are less likely to question their credibility and more likely to respect them
legitimacy can come from uniform or location — similarly, people with qualifications and expertise are often seen as legitimate
Milgram believed that people expect many situations to have a figure of social control — which helps explain why people are often so willing to obey, they expect to do so
people also tend to accept definitions of a situation provided by a legitimate authority figure — for example, if an authority says an action is acceptable and causes no harm then we are likely to accept that to be true
x3 evaluation points for agentic state
support from Milgram
support from Hofling
challenged by Lifton
agentic state evaluation
MILGRAM SUPPORT
6
this theory of the agentic state is supported by Milgram
in his study, many participants asked who was responsible for the experiment and when the experimenter stated that he was responsible, they carried on obeying the instructions despite feeling that they should stop
they knew any responsibility would fall on the experimenter and not reflect badly on them, so felt more comfortable performing the action
in interviews after, many participants said that they were only doing what they were told and wouldn’t have done it by themselves
this supports the agentic state theory as an explanation of obedience as it suggests that the participants shifted into an agentic state when they learned they would not be held responsible
they saw themselves as instruments of authority rather than free individuals making their own decisions so felt willing to obey instructions
agentic state evaluation
HOFLING SUPPORT
5
Hofling investigated obedience among nurses
the nurses received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a doctor, who then instructed the nurses to administer a patient with an unfamiliar drug
hospital rules prohibit nurses from taking orders over the telephone and administering drugs without a signed order from a doctor
despite this, 21 out of 22 nurses followed the fake doctor’s orders and gave the drug
this supports the agentic state theory as the nurses may have undergone an agentic shift, seeing themselves as instruments of authority whose role it is to obey orders rather than question them — they may have believed the doctor to be responsible as he made the order and they simply did as told
agentic state evaluation
CHALLENGED BY LIFTON
5
Milgram claimed that people shift back and forth between autonomous and agentic states quite rapidly
however, this does not explain the gradual and irreversible transition found by Lifton in his study of German doctors working is Auschwitz
Lifton found that these doctors changed from ordinary medical professionals concerned with the welfare of their patients into people who were capable of committing vile and potentially lethal experiments on helpless prisoners
this change also appeared to be irreversible
therefore, the theory may lack ecological validity as it cannot accurately explain obedience in real life situations like Nazi Germany
x3 legitimate authority evaluation points
support from Milgram
support from Tarnow
support from Bickman
legitimate authority evaluation
MILGRAM SUPPORT
5
Milgram found that obedience was higher when the experiment was conducted in Yale University which is a prestigious location that increases the legitimacy of the authority figure
in Yale, the obedience rate was 65% but when the experiment was moved to a run down office the obedience rate fell to around 48%
additionally, when the experimenter wore a lab coat obedience rose from 20% to 65%
the lab coat conveyed a sense of authority and legitimacy, making participants more likely to respect the experimenter and obey orders
supports the theory as it suggests that when an authority figure is perceived as legitimate (through location or uniform), obedience will be higher because people are more likely to respect and trust that figure
legitimacy of authority evaluation
TARNOW SUPPORT
6
Tarnow (2000) provided support for the theory by demonstrating the power of a legitimate authority
he studied data from a review of all serious aircraft accidents in the US between 1978 and 1990 — the flight crew’s actions were contributing factors in all of the crashes
he discovered that the flight crew had excessive dependence on the captain’s authority and expertise
one officer claimed he noticed the captain taking a risky approach but said nothing as he assumed the captain knew what he was doing
examples like this were found in 19 out of the 37 accidents investigated
this supports the theory as it suggests that officers were unwilling to question the authority of the captain, which demonstrates the power of a legitimate authority over obedience
legitimacy of authority evaluation
BICKMAN SUPPORT
6
Bickman (1974) used 3 male actors dressed in normal clothes, as a milkman or as a security guard
actors asked passers to do things like pick up a paper bag
he found that people were more likely to obey the security guard and least likely to obey the normal clothed actor
80% obeyed the security guard while only 40% obeyed the normal clothed actor
this supports the idea that uniforms have a powerful influence, they convey a sense of authority and make the person more likely to be respected and obeyed as they increase legitimacy
therefore, the study demonstrates that people are more likely to obey a perceived legitimate authority figure
