Obedience : Situational Explanaitions Flashcards
What is the Agentic state ?
Agentic state - Act on behalf of another person
Milgram proposed that obedience to destructive authority occurs because person becomes a ‘agent’ , someone who acts for or in place of another
In an agentic state a person feels no personal responsibility for their actions
What are the key stages of the agentic state ?
Autonomous state
Agentic shift
Binding factors
What is the autonomous state ?
Autonomous state - Not an agent
‘Autonomy’ means to be independent or free. So a person in an autonomous state behaves according to their principles and feels responsible for their actions
What is the agentic shift ?
Agentic shift - Moving to agentic state
The shift from autonomy to being an ‘agent’ is called the agentic shift. Milgram suggested that this occurs when we perceive someone else has authority figure. This person has power because of their position in a social hierarchy.
What ae the binding factors ?
Binding factors - Reduce ‘moral strain’
Binding factors are aspects of a situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and reduce the ‘moral strain’ they feel.
Milgram proposed a number of strategies this individual uses, such as shifting the responsibility to the victim or denying the date they are doing to the victim
What is the legitimacy of authority ?
We obey people further up a social hierarchy -
Most societies are structured hierarchically. People in certain positions hold authority over the ret of us e.g. parents , teaches , police officers
Authorities have legitimacy through society’s agreement -
The power that authorities wield is legitimate because it is agreed by society. Most of us accept that authority figures should exercise social power over others to allow society to function smoothly
We hand control over to authority figures -
People with legitimate authority have the power to punish others. We give up some independence to people we trust to exercise authority properly. We learn to accept authority during childhood (parents , teachers and etc)
Leaders use legitimate powers for destructive purposes -
History has shown that some leaders use legitimate authority destructively, ordering people to behave in a cruel and dangerous ways.
What is one strength of the agentic shift ?
P - One strength is that the agentic state explanation has research support
E - Most of Milgram’s participants asked the experimenter who was responsible if Mr. Wallace was harmed? When the experimenter replied saying “I’m responsible” the participants went through with the procedure quickly without objecting
E - This shows participants acted more easily as an agent when they believed they were to responsible for their behaviour
What is one limitation of the agentic state explanation ?
P - One limitation is the agentic shift doesn’t explain many research findings
E - For example , Rank and Jacobson found that most nurses disobeyed a doctors order to give an excessive drug dose. The doctor was an authority figure but the nurses remained autonomous and did not shift into the agentic state. The same is true for some of Milgram’s participants
E - This shows that agentic shift can only explain obedience in some situations
What is another limitation of the agentic state explanation ?
P - One limitation is that it doesn’t explain why people follow dangerous orders
E - The men of Battalion 101 did not have direct orders to shoot civilians in a Polish town. Even so, they did perform the massacre , behaving autonomously.
E - This suggests that the agentic shift is not required for destructive behaviour
What is one strength of the legitimacy of authority explanation ?
P - One strength is legitimacy can explain cultural differences
E - Research shows that countries differ in obedience to authority. For example, 16% of Australian women obeyed, 85% of German participants did.
E - This shows that authority is more likely seen as legitimate in some cultures , reflecting upbringing
What is one limitation of the legitimacy of authority explanation ?
P - One limitation is that is legitimacy cannot explain all (dis)obedience
E - People may disobey even when they accept the legitimacy of the hierarchal authority structure. Fir example, most of Rank and Jacobson’s nurses were disobedient , as were some of Milgram’s participants E
E - This suggests that innate tendencies towards (dis)obedience may be more important than legitimacy oof authority
What is another strength of the legitimacy of authority explanation ?
P - Research shows hat some people disobey legitimate authority like Rank and Jacobson’s nurses. However, soldiers at My Lab obeyed their commanding officer , maybe since e could deliver a much more severe punishment than a doctor
E - Therefore there is some real-world situations that respect for legitimate authority can lead to destructive obedience
