Obedience social physiological factors

Question 1

agentic state

Answer 1

when a person believes that someone else will take responsibility for their own actions

Question 2

autonomous state

Answer 2

the person believes they will take responsibility for their own actions

Question 3

agentic shift

Answer 3

autonomous to agentic

Question 4

agency theory

Answer 4

the idea that people are more likely to obey when they are in the agentic state as they believe they will not suffer the consequences of their actions

Question 5

binding factors

Answer 5

allow the person to ignore or minimize the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus reduce the moral strain they are feeling

Question 6

legitimacy of authority

Answer 6

describes how credible the figure of authority is

• people are more likely to obey them if they are morally good and legitimate
• Milgram: researcher seen as legitimate = highest position within the hierarchy

Question 7

destructive authority

Answer 7

• hitler, stalin used their legitimate powers for destructive purposes ordering people to behave in dangerous ways
• milgram = use of prods to order participants to behave in ways that went against their consciences