SI - Agentic state and legitimacy of authority Flashcards
What is Milgram’s research into obedience often described as being?
‘Counter-intuitive’ in that the results go against what we might reasonably expect, given our knowledge of human behaviour.
What does Milgram seem to have demonstrated?
The power of the situation in shaping behaviour, with moral constraints and compassion being sidelined when the individual is confronted by a powerful authority figure.
What does agentic shift involve?
Moving from an autonomous state, where a person ‘sees himself or herself as responsible for their own actions’, and into an agentic state, in which a person ‘sees himself or herself as an agent for carrying out another person’s wishes’ (Milgram, 1974).
How do the interviews carried out after Milgram’s study show agentic state (of the ppts)?
A typical response to why ppts continued to administer the electric shocks was ‘I wouldn’t have done it by myself. I was just doing what I was told.’
This shows that the individual feels responsible to the authority directing him/her but feels no responsibility for the actions that the authority dictates.
Why do people adopt an agentic state?
The need to maintain a positive self-image.
Explain why ppts in Milgram’s study adopted an agentic state:
They assessed the consequences of this action for his/her self-image and refrain.
What happens to the concern of self-image once a person has moved to agentic state?
Concern is no longer relevant as the action is no longer their responsibility and no longer reflects their self-image.
What can actions performed under agentic state be described as from the ppts perspective?
Virtually guilt-free, however inhumane they might be.
What keeps a person the agentic state?
Social etiquette. In order to break out of the experiment, the ppt must breach the commitment they have made to the experimenter. Thus, they fear that if they break off, they will appear arrogant and rude and so such behaviour is not taken lightly.
However, these emotions play a small part alongside the violence being done to the learner in Milgram’s study, nonetheless help bind the subject into obedience.
BINDING FACTORS!!
What condition is needed for a person to shift to the agentic state?
The perception of a legitimate authority.
What does the power of legitimate authority stem from?
Not from personal characteristics but from their perceived position in a social situation.
Who is the legitimate authority in Milgram’s experiment?
The experimenter.
Explain how the definition of the situation is defined by a legitimate authority:
Tendency for people to accept definitions of a situation that are provided by a legitimate authority.
Explain how legitimate authority requires an institution:
If an authority figure’s commands are of a potentially harmful or destructive form, then for them to be perceived as legitimate they must occur within some sort of institutional structure (e.g. a Uni)
What has Milgram’s study in terms of agentic shift been applied to?
The holocaust.
