situational explanations obedience- social influence Flashcards
what is agentic state
eichmann- been in charge of nazi death camps ad defence was that he was only obeyed orders- led milgram to propose obdience to destructive authority occurs because person doesnt take responsibility
believe they are acting for someone else- agent- someone acts for or in place of another
what is autonomous state
independent or free to behave according to own principles and feels sense of responsibility for actions
shift from autonomy to agency is agentic shift- milgram suggested that occurs when person perceives someone else authority figure- has greater power because higher position in social hierarchy
what are binding factors
milgram observed pps said they wanted to stop but seemed powerless to do so
remain in agentic state
aspects of situation that allow person to ignore or minimise damaging effect of behavioour and reduce moral strain theyre feeling
milgram proposed number strategies individual uses- shifting responsibility to victim or denying damage they were doing to victim
what is legitimacy of authority
people in certain positions hold authority over the rest of us due to hierarchal structure in society
authority wield is legitimate it is agreed by society- most accept authority figures have to be allowed to exercse social power over others because allows society to function smoothly
some people granted power to punish others
willing to give up some independence and to hand control of behaviour over to people we trust to exercise their authority properly
learn acceptance of legitimate authority from childhood from parents and then teachers and adults
what is destructive authority
probelsm arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive
can use legitimate powers for destructive purposes ordering people to behave in ways that are cruel and dangerous
milgram- experimenter used prods to order pps to behave in ways that went against consciences
what is research support (eval- agentic state)
milgrams own studies support role of agentic state
pps resisted giving shocks at some point and asked questions about procedure and who was responsible and went through with the procdure with no further questions
shows that once pps perceived they were not responsible for own behaviour they acted more easily as experimenters agent
what is a limited explanation (eval-agentic)
agentic shift doesnt explain research findings about obedience
doesnt explain findings of rank and jacobsens study- found 16/18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from doctor to administer excessive drug dose to patient- doctor obvious authority figure- all nurses remained autonomous
agentic shift can only account for some situations of obedience
what is explains cultural differences (eval-legitimacy of authority)
useful account of cultural differences in obedience
countries differ in degree to which people obedient to authority
kilham and mann found 16% of austrialian women went to 450V in milgram style study
mantell- german pps 85%
shows that some cultures authority more liekly to be accepted as legitimate and entitled to demand obedience from individuals
reflects the way that different societies are structured and how children raised to perceive authority figures
what is cannot explain all disobedience (eval- legitimacy)
cant explain instances of disobedience in hierarchy where legitimacy of authority clear and accepted
rank and jacobsens study- most disobedience despite working in hierarchal authority structure
signf minority of milgrams pps disobeyed despite recognising experimenters scientific authority
suggests some people more or less obedient than others
innate tendancies to obey or disobey have greater influence on behaviour than legitimacy of authority figure
