OBEDIENCE: SITUATIONAL EXPLANATIONS Flashcards
what are the 2 situational explanations?
agent state
legitimacy of authority
what is the agentic state?
this is when we believe that we are acting on behalf of someone else, we are often acustomed to taking on this role. we shift to the agentic state from the autonomous state through the agentic shift
what is the autonomous state?
this is when we feel free to behave according to our own principles and that we feel like we are responsible for our own actions. we shift from this state to the agentic state when we percieve someone as having authority through the agentic shift
what is the agentic shift?
this is when we shift from the autonomous state to the agentic state when we perceive someone else as having authority. this is because we are more likely to obey in the agentic state as if we realise what we are doing is wrong, we experience moral strain. this is described as a binding factor aspect.
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to the agentic state as a situational explanation of obedience?
One strength to the situational explanations of obedience is that there is supporting evidence for the agentic state. For example, in Milgrams study, many participants didn’t feel ok carrying on with the electric shocks after a certain point, but did when being reassured by the researcher to carry on. This supports the idea that when feeling like we are acting on behalf of someone, the agentic shift happens and we are more likely to carry out the activity but with moral strain. Therefore, this supports the idea that we do shift our behaviour when being asked to do something from someone perceived as higher in authority.
AO3: how is ‘hoflings supporting evidence’ a strength to the agentic state as a situational explanation of obedience?
One strength to to the agentic state as a situational explanation of obedience is that there is supporting evidence. For example, Hoflings 1966 study on obedience in nurses. This is when he got a doctor to call nurses and ask them to give a patient medication which was 3x the regular dose. He found that 21/22 nurses followed the rules over the phone, breaking hospital rules. Therefore, this supports the idea that when asked to do something from someone of higher authority, we are more likely to carry out the action even if we know it isn’t morally right.
AO3: how is ‘individual differences’ a limitation to the agentic state as a situational explanation of obedience?
One limitation to the agentic stage as a situational explanation of obedience is that it doesn’t account for individuals differences. This is because it doesn’t effectively explain why some people didn’t obey to authority compared to the others who obeyed. This makes us question why some of us undergo the agentic shift, but others don’t. therefore this is a partial explanation as it is unable to explain why people obey and act in certain ways.
AO3: how is ‘implications of research’ a limitation to the situational explanations of obedience?
One limitation to the situational explanations of obedience is that there is implications of research. This is because the research into obedience is used as justification for individuals who have committed terrible acts. For example, an individual who has committed murder would be able to use the idea that they were acting on behalf of someone else in the defence of their own actions. Therefore, this suggests that we have to be careful when using this explanation as it may be used to support unethical behaviour. However, some aspects of behaviour may be influenced by certain factors, meaning we have to take care when looking into such information.
what is legitimacy of authority?
this is when someone is more likely to obey someone as they are seen as having legitimate social power.
how is legitimacy of authority ordered within society?
societies are often ordered in hierarchal ways where the authority figures at the top of the hierarchy often hold the most social power.
when do we learn to accept legitimacy of authority?
during our childhoods:
AO3: how is ‘supporting evidence’ a strength to legitimacy of authority as a situational explanation of obedience?
One strength to legitimacy of authority as a situational explanation of obedience is that there is supporting evidence. For example, Milgrams variation in the run down office block supports the idea of legitimacy of authority. He found that when the venue was moved to a run down office block instead of the labs in yale, the obedience levels of the participants dropped down to 47%. This therefore supports the idea that someone’s legitimacy of authority can be diminished when in a place they have no legitimate social power.
AO3: how is ‘Bickmans supporting evidence’ a strength to legitimacy of authority as a situational explanation of obedience?
One strength to legitimacy of authority as a situational explanation of obedience is that there is supporting evidence. For example, Bickmans pedestrian field study supports the idea that people are more likely to obey to someone when in uniform as they are perceived in society as more likely to have authority. In the study he had someone in normal clothes ask people to pick up random litter and had someone dressed as a guard ask them to pick up random litter. He found that 92% of people obeyed when the stranger was dressed as a guard but only 49% when dressed as a civilian. Therefore, this supports the idea that individuals are more likely to obey to someone in uniform as this is a way of being seen as important and having power in society.
AO3: how is ‘individual differences’ a limitation to legitimacy of authority as a situational explanation of obedience?
One limitation to legitimacy of authority as a situational explanation of obedience is that it doesn’t account for individual differences. This is because not everyone is as accepting of authority compared to others. This means that as this explanation suggests that legitimacy of authority causes obedience it is a limited explanation, as it doesn’t go far enough to explain why some people are submissive to authority but others are not. Therefore, legitimacy of authority is a partial explanation to expanding why people obey as it is unable to account for all behaviours to authority figures.
