Situation Explanations AO3

Question 1

What is a strength of the agentic state?

Answer 1

• in Milgram’s study the participant would oftern ask ‘Who is reponsible if Mr Wallace gets hurt?’ and the experimentor would say: ‘ I’m responsible’ and the participant would go through the procedure with no objections
• this deponstrates the agentic shift as they have now shifted the reponsibility of their own actions onto someone else

Question 2

What are the weaknesses of the agentic state?

Answer 2

1. it contradicts real life events
2. it contradicts other researches

Question 3

Describe a real life event that the agentic state contradicts.

Answer 3

• Milgram believed that people shift back and forth from the agentic and autonomous state
• Lifton found that German doctors working in Auschwitz gradually changed from the autonomous state (ordinary medical professionals) to the agentic state (people capabke of vile and lethal experiments on helpless prisoners)
• shows that the process can be more gradual and irreversible

Staub suggests SIT may better describe the reason for their gradual shift better thsan the agentic shift

Question 4

Describe the researches that the agenic state contradicts.

Answer 4

• in Zimbardo’s study guards became cruel and tyrannical towards prisoners despite them not being told to
• this suggests that instead of the agentic shift, participants may have used ther experiment to express their sadistic impulses

Question 5

What are the strengths of legitamacy of authority?

Answer 5

1. it explains cultural differences
2. it can be applied to real life

Question 6

How does legitimacy of authority can show cultural differences?

Answer 6

• the experiment was repeated by Kilham et al and Mantelland
• 16% of australian women (Kilham) and 85% of german participants (Mantell) went up 450 volts
• it shows how the relationships with authority is different so in some

Question 7

Explain how legitimacy of authority can be applied to real life?

Answer 7

• it can be used to improve pilot training
• this is because according to Tarnow the officers would oftern fail to monitor or challenge errors made by the captain because of their legitamate authority
• by working to change this it will prevent future aircraft accidents

Question 8

What is a weakness of legitimacy of authority.

Answer 8

it doesn’t explain disobedience when legitimacy of authority is clear (for example most of the nurses in Jacobs and Rank’s study disobeyed event though they were working in a rigidly hierachial authority strucutre)

Question 9

Explain the couter argument against the idea that legitimacy of authority can’t explain disobedience.

Answer 9

• Kelman and Hamilton argues that legitimacy of authority shouldn’t be applied to hospitals as legitimacy isn’t as clear
• it should be applied to the power hierachy of the US army instead where it is more applicable