Obedience: Situational explanations Flashcards
What is the agentic state?
Milgram proposed that one reason why people obeyed in his study was due to the ‘agentic state’. This is a psychological condition in which a person does not feel in control of their actions; rather, they are under the control of someone else (usually a legitimate authority figure).
What is the autonomous state?
The opposite to the agentic state is the autonomous state, where people do feel responsible for their actions. We think for ourselves.
What is the agentic shift?
Where someone moves out of the autonomous state into the agentic state, allowing them to blame the authority figure and absolving themselves of responsibility.
What are binding factors?
Milgram also proposed ‘binding factors’ which are used by the participant to justify their actions (for example, In Milgram’s experiment the ‘learner’ gave consent to take part, so it’s ok to carry on shocking him).
What is legitimacy of authority?
We are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy.
What is destructive authority?
When a legitimate authority figure uses their powers for destructive purposes. demon stated by many dictators and in Milgram’s study.
What are the strengths of situational explanations for obedience?
+Hofling’s research was carried out in a hospital setting.
The research involved nurses being asked to give a fictitious drug ‘Astrofen’ to a patient by an unknown doctor.
The findings showed that 95% of the nurses conformed and issued the drug despite not knowing what is was or what it did.
+Kelman and Hamilton (1989) argued that real-world crime of obedience at the My Lai massacre can be understood in terms of power hierarchy of US army. Can be used as an explanation for real life atrocities.
+ Milgram’s studies support the agentic state. Participants were told that the experimenter would take the blame for any harm suffered by the participants, and would continue with the experiment. Shows that once an individual is relieved of responsibility of consequence, they are more likely to obey.
+ Explains cultural differences: Kilham and Mann (1974) found that only 16% of female Australian participants went all the way up to 450v in a Milgram like study. However, Mantell ( 1971) found 85% in German participants. Demonstrates that authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate and entitled to obedience from others. Reflects how different societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures.
What are the weaknesses of situational explanations for obedience?
- Counterpoint: In Rank and Jacobson (1977) study found 16 out of 18 nurses refused to administer excessive drug dosage to a patient. Doctor was an authority figure but nurses remained autonomous. Agentic shift can only account for some instances of obedience.
- Counterpoint: Mandel (1998) described an incident in WW2 where German soldiers shot Polish civilians despite not being ordered to do so. Challenges the agentic state as they were acting autonomously in this real life example.
- Counterpoint: Significant minority of Milgram’s participants disobeyed despite recognizing the Experimenter’s scientific authority. Suggests some people are more or less obedient than others: dispositional explanations.
