Obedience: situational explanations

Question 1

what is a strength of the agentic state as an explanation for obedience

Answer 1

research support

Question 2

what is the research support for the agentic state

Answer 2

in Milgram’s experiment participants were told by the experimenter that he was responsible for the harm caused which lead them to go through with the procedure quickly without objecting

Question 3

what does the research support for the agentic state show

Answer 3

• shows participants acted more easily as an agent when they believed they were not responsible for their own actions
• supports the idea of the agentic state

Question 4

what is a limitation of the agentic state

Answer 4

it does not explain many research findings

Question 5

what research findings does the agentic state not explain

Answer 5

Rank & Jacobson

Question 6

what did Rank & Jacobson find

Answer 6

• most nurses disobeyed the doctors’ orders when it came to drug doses and gave an excessive amount
• the doctor was an authority figure but the nurses stayed in an autonomous state and did not shift into the agentic state

Question 7

what do Rank & Jacobson findings show

Answer 7

shows the agentic shift can only explain obedience in certain situation and it does not always occur

Question 8

what is a strength of legitimacy of authority

Answer 8

it explains cultural differences

Question 9

what research explain cultural differences

Answer 9

• Kilham & Mann
• Mantell

Question 10

what did Mantell and Kilham & Mann find

Answer 10

both studies replicated Milgram’s study in different countries
- Mantell: found in Germany 85% shocked learner to 450 volts
- Kilham & Mann: found in Australia only 16% shocked the learner to 450 volts

Question 11

what did Mantell and Kilham & Mann research show

Answer 11

shows that authority is seen as more legitimate in some countries compared to others, reflecting upbringing and how much or little children were taught to obey authority figures

Question 12

what is a limitation of legitimacy of authority

Answer 12

it cannot explain all disobedience or obedience

Question 13

why can’t legitimacy of authority explain all obedience or disobedience

Answer 13

• in Rank & Jacobson study nurses disobeyed the doctors even though they knew and accepted their legitimacy of authority
• this suggests that innate tendencies towards disobedience may be more important in some cases than legitimacy of authority
• legitimacy of authority is not applicable to all cases