Situational explanations - AO3

Question 1

What is a strength of agency theory?

Answer 1

• P: strength = research support
• E: Milgram: most PPs in baseline studychesitated before giving a shock at some point, asking experimenter what would happen if learner was harmed
• E: Experimenter asured PP he was responsible for harm, PPs continued experiment with little complaint
• L: This shows that PPs found it easier to obey when they percieved to no longer be responsible for actions

Question 1

What is a limitation of agency theory

Answer 1

• P: Limitation = contradicting research
• E: Rank and Jacobson’s (1977): hospital study, nurse got phone call from “doctor” to administer lethal dosage of medicine
• E: 16 out of 18 nurses disobeyed orders, despite “doctor” being clear authority figure- would expect nurses to be in agentic state
• L:This suggests that agentic state only accountss for some situations of obedience (if at all)

Question 2

What is a strength of legitmacy of authority?

Answer 2

• P: Strength = accounts for cultural differences
• E: Kilham and Mann (1974): only 16% of female Australian PPs went up to 450V in a Milgram-style study
• E: Perception of authority varies across cultures, dependent on societal structures and how children are raised to see authority
• L: This shows that… in some culturess, authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate

Question 3

What is a limitation of legitmacy of authority

Answer 3

• P: Limitation = cannot account for individual differences
• E: Rank and Jacobson: 16 out of 18 nurses disobeyed
• E: Milgram: many still disobeyed, depite scientific nature of the study giving experimenter legitimacy of authority
• L: This suggests that individual differences (i.e dipositional factor) may have a greater influence that legitmacy of authority figure