Situational Explanations

Question 1

define agentic state

Answer 1

mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour

because we believe that we are acting for an authority figure (as their agent)

this frees us from the demands of our conscience and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure

Question 2

define legitimacy of authority

Answer 2

explanation of obedience suggesting we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us

this authority is justified (legitimate) by the individuals position of power within social hierarchy

Question 3

what was Milgram’s initial interest in obedience sparked from?

Answer 3

the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961, for war crimes

Question 4

what had Eichmann done?

Answer 4

he had been in charge of Nazi death camps and his defence was that he was only obeying orders

Question 5

from this what did Milgram propose?

Answer 5

that obedience to destructive authority occurs because a person does not take responsibility

instead they believe they are acting for someone else, they are an ‘agent’

Question 6

what is an ‘agent’?

Answer 6

someone who acts for or in place of another

they experience high anxiety - moral strain- when they realise what they are doing is wrong

but they feel powerless to disobey

Question 7

what is the opposite of the agentic state?

Answer 7

the autonomous state

Question 8

what does autonomy mean?

Answer 8

it means to be independent and free

Question 9

how does a person in an autonomous state act?

Answer 9

they are free to behave according to their own principles and feel a sense of responsibility for their own actions

Question 10

what is the agentic shift?

Answer 10

it is the shift from the autonomy to ‘agency’

Question 11

what did Milgram 1974 suggest this happens when?

Answer 11

he suggested that this occurs when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure

the authority figure has greater power because they have a higher position in social hierarchy

Question 12

what happens in most social groups if one person is in charge ?

Answer 12

others defer to the legitimate authority of this person and shift form autonomy to agency

Question 13

what did Milgram observe his participants doing?

Answer 13

that many wanted to stop but felt powerless to do so

Question 14

what did Milgram wonder?

Answer 14

he was unsure why the participants remained in an agentic state

Question 15

what are binding factors?

Answer 15

aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore / minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour

and so reduce the moral strain they are feeling

Question 16

what were the number of strategies that Milgram suggested the participants used?

Answer 16

shifting responsibility to the victim (he was a foolish volunteer) or denying the damage they were doing to the victim

Question 17

how are most societies structured?

Answer 17

in a hierarchical way -

means that certain positions hold authority over the rest of us (e.g. teachers, parents, police, bouncers)

the authority they have is legitimate in the sense that it is agreed by society

most of us accept that authority figures have to be allowed to be exercised as this allows society to function smoothly

Question 18

what is a consequence of the legitimacy of authority?

Answer 18

some people are granted the power to punish people

generally, we agree that the police and courts have the power to punish wrongdoers

so we are willing to give up some independence and to hand control of our behaviour over to people we trust

Question 19

what has history shown about destructive authority?

Answer 19

that charismatic and powerful leaders such as Stalin and Hitler can use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes

ordering poeple to behave in dangerous cruel ways

Question 20

how was destructive authority used in Milgram’s study?

Answer 20

the experimenter used prods to order participants to behave in ways that went against their consciences

Question 21

what is a strength of the role of the agentic state in obedience?

Answer 21

Milgram’s own studies support the role of the agentic state in obedience

most of his participants resisted shocks at some point

and often asked the experimenter ‘who is responsible if Mr Wallace is harmed’

when the experimenter replied saying ‘I am’ , participants often went through with the procedure quickly with no further objections

Question 22

what does this show?

Answer 22

that once participants perceived that they were no longer responsible for their own behaviour, they acted more easily as the experimenter’s agent , as Milgram suggested

Question 23

what is a limitation to the research of obedience?

Answer 23

the agentic shift doesn’t explain many research findings about obedience

Question 24

what is an example of this?

Answer 24

it does not explain the findings of STEVEN RANK and CARDELL JACOBSON’S 1977 study

they found that 16 out 18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to administer an excessive drug dose to a patient

the doctor was an obvious authority figure , but almost all the nurses remained autonomous , as did many of Milgram’s participants

Question 25

so what did this suggest?

Answer 25

that at best, the agentic shift can only account for some situations

Question 26

what did David Mandel 1998 do?

Answer 26

he described one incident in the second world war involving German Police Battalion 101

these men shot many civilians in a small town in Poland - despite not having direct orders to do so

they behaved autonomously

Question 27

what is a strength of the legitimacy explanation?

Answer 27

it is useful account of cultural differences in obedience

Question 28

what do many studies show?

Answer 28

that countries differ in the degree to which people are obedient to authority

for example - Wesley Kilham and Leon Mann 1974 found that 16% of Australian women went up to 450 volts in a Milgram style study

Question 29

however, what did David Mantell 1971 find?

Answer 29

he found that for German participants it was 85% of participants who went up to 450 volts

Question 30

so what does this show?

Answer 30

that in some cultures, it is more likely to be accepted as legitimate and entitled to demand obedience from individuals

this reflects the ways that different societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures

Question 31

what is another limitation for explaining legitimacy?

Answer 31

legitimacy cannot explain instances of disobedience in a hierarchy where the legitimacy of authority is clear and accepted

this includes the nurses in Rank and Jacobson’s study .
most of them were disobedient despite working in a rigidly hierarchical authority structure

Question 32

also how does this link to Milgram’s study?

Answer 32

a significant minority of Milgram’s participants disobeyed despite recognising the experimenter’s scientific authority

suggesting that some people may be more /less obedient that others

it is possible that innate tendencies to obey/ disobey have a greater influence on behaviour than the legitimacy of an authority figure