Psychological Explanations For Obedience Flashcards
What are the two explanations for obedience?
Agentic state
Legitimacy of authority
Define the agentic state
A mental state where we don’t feel responsible for any negative or consequences or action because of a figure ordering us
What happens when we blame the other person for our actions?
We become an agent of theirs
What is the opposite of agentic state?
Autonomous state
Define autonomous state
We feel a sense of responsibility for our actions
what is the shift from autonomous to agentic called?
Agentic shift
Why does a person remain in the agentic state?
Binding factors
Define legitimacy of authority
We are more likely to obey people who are perceived to have power over us
How is one’s authority justified?
By the individuals position of power within the social hierarchy
What are we taught? (legitimacy of authority)
To accept that some people have power over us
We should hand control our behaviour over to them
