Psychological factors affecting obedience to authority (agentic state, legitimacy of authority)

Question 1

Social psychological explanations:

Answer 1

• these explanations concern the influences of others on an individual’s behaviour, rather than external factors in the situation
• The two theories you need to know are:
• Agentic state
• Legitimacy theory (of authority)

Question 2

what is agentic shift

Answer 2

2 ways of acting - autonomous state, agentic state

Question 3

what is autonomous state

Answer 3

acting as an individual, taking responsibility for actions

Question 4

what is agentic state

Answer 4

• The agentic state is an explanation of obedience that suggests an individual moves from the autonomous state where they act individually to the agentic state, acting as an agent of authority and not taking responsibility for their actions.
• acting as an agent of an authority figure - deny responsibility
• Binding factors minimise the severity of your own actions

Question 5

what are the +ve AO3 points for agentic state

Answer 5

Research support:
- Milgram
- Blass + Schmitt (2001)
Real world application
- Abu Ghraib prison

Question 6

what are the -ve AO3 points for agentic state

Answer 6

Personality:
- Situational explanation, ignores disposition (personality)
- agency theory cannot explain why some people disobey authority figures, as was shown by about a third of the participants in the original Milgram study.

Question 7

what is legitimacy of authority

Answer 7

• an explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority
• This authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy
• The law always overpowers authority –> comes from the person’s position in a system
• Kelman + Hamilton (1989) suggest 3 main factors to explain obedience:
• Legitimacy of the system
• legitimacy of authority within the system
• legitimacy of demands or orders given

Question 8

what is legitimacy of the system

Answer 8

• this concerns the extent to which the ‘body’ is a legitimate source of authority - government, army, school

Question 9

what is legitimacy of authority within the system

Answer 9

• the power individuals hold to give orders because of their position in the system
• This is linked to status and the hierarchy within a particular establishment

Question 10

what is legitimacy of demands or orders given

Answer 10

refers to the extent with which the order is perceived to be a legitimate area for the authority figure

Question 11

what are the +ve AO3 points for legitimacy of authority

Answer 11

Real examples:
- Destructive authority such as Hitler and Stalin - shows us the theory is correct

Question 12

what are the -ve AO3 points for legitimacy of authority

Answer 12

Cultural differences:
- Differences in how we obey Collectivist cultures, authority is more likely to be accepted
- Individualistic culture we question things