Obedience Theories Flashcards
Who was agency theory proposed by?
Milgram as a response to Nazi war crimes
What are the two mental states in agency theory?
Autonomous and agentic
What is the autonomous state?
Perceiving ourselves to be responsible for our own actions and behaviour as we feel guilty. This happens when we disobey orders from authority
What is the agentic state?
Perceiving ourselves to be the agent of someone else’s (authority figure) will so we don’t feel guilty. This happens when we obey orders therefore going through the agentic shift
When an order is given we may feel…
Moral strain - uncomfortable with orders as it goes against morals and values
What happens when we go through the agentic state?
The diffusion of responsibility (to authority figure)
AO3 for autonomous state?
OG Milgram (1963)- 35% disobeyed and didn’t go to 450v therefore in autonomous state
AO3 for moral strain?
Variation 5 (chest pain) - more participants dropped out at 150v than OG showing they are going through moral strain
AO3 for agentic state?
OG milgram- 65% obeyed the authority figure and went to 450v
AO3 for diffusion of responsibility?
OG milgram - 65% obeyed and went to 450v as they are following the authority figures instructions therefore they believe it is not their own will
Who proposed social impact theory (SImT)
Latané (1981)
What is strength in SImT?
How much power (status/ authority) you believe the person influencing you has
What is immediacy in SImT?
How recent the influence is (time) and how close they are to you (proximity)
What is numbers in SImT?
The more people putting pressure on you to do something the more social force they will have
What is divisions of impact in SImT?
When social force gets spread out between all the people it is directed at. If all force is directed at one person there is a huge pressure to obey but the pressure is halved if there is two people.
AO3 for strength in SImT?
- Mr Wallace in variation 13 wore a lab coat (authority) gave orders but left room.
- A 2nd confederate with volunteer was dressed like a participant and suggested a new way of doing the study.
- Only 20% obeyed showing less authority means less power leading to less obedience
AO3 for immediacy in SImT?
Milgram variation 7 -
- in the OG, experimenter sat behind the teacher but in #7 experimenter gives instructions and leaves the room.
- Only 22.5% obeyed and some gave lower shocks than told to.
- without physical presence of authority figure, obedience levels decreases
AO3 for divisions of impact?
Variation 13a
- when participant had a rebellious partner, 68.75% of them allowed them to go to 450v
- shows how more numbers employs diffusions of responsibility which increases obedience compared to when participant is alone
Opposing AO3 for SImT?
- agency theory explains obedience better
- when participants were sweating and crying it showed they were undergoing moral strain but there is no reasoning for this in Latané explanation
What is an authoritarian personality?
- more likely to end up in agentic state
- had a strict upbringing
- Believes in hierarchy and obeying legitimate authority
- expects people beneath them to do what they say
What is the locus of control?
A persons belief about how much control they have over what happens to them in their life and how much power they believe the power of influence they have over the world around them
What are the two types of locus of control
Internal and external
What is internal locus of control?
More likely to defy orders and show dissent (having opposing opinions to others)
What is external locus of control?
A person who is more likely to obey and go into the agentic state
