situational explanations SI

Question 1

agentic state

Answer 1

a mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting in an authority figure

Question 2

Legitimacy of authority

Answer 2

an explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. The authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within social hierarchy.

Question 3

agent

Answer 3

someone who acts for or in place of another

Question 4

Autonomy

Answer 4

to be independant or free

Question 5

Agentic shift

Answer 5

the shift from autonomy to agency

Question 6

Binding factors

Answer 6

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

Question 7

What did milgram propose to explain obediance to destructive authority?

Answer 7

Milgram then proposed that obedience to destructive authority occurs when a person does not take responsibility → they believe they are an agent

Question 8

what does an agent experienec?

Answer 8

An agent experiences high anxiety (moral strain) but feels powerless and therefore obeys orders.

Question 9

when does Milgram suggest that the agentic shift occurs?

Answer 9

when a person sees another person as an authority figure.
- The authority figure has greater power because they are higher in the social hierarchy
- Others defer to legitimate authority of the authoritative figure and shift from autonomy to agency

Question 10

binding factors

what did **milgram **observe?

Answer 10

a lot of his participants wanted to stop but it seemed powerless to do so → they remained in an agentic state because of binding factors.

Question 11

strength

research support for Milgram

Answer 11

• Milgram’s studies support agentic state in obedience
• Once participants believe they are not responsible they will obey more

Question 12

limitation

limited explanation

Answer 12

• Agentic shift doesn’t explain many findings about obedience
• Rank and Jacobson
• 16/18 nurses disobeyed dangerous orders
• Agentic shift only accounts for some situations of obedience

Question 13

strength

explains cultural differences

Answer 13

• Kilham and **Mann **found that 16% of australian women shocked up to 450v
• Mantell found that 85% of german participants obeyed
• In some countries authority is perceived as legitimate over other cultures

Question 14

limitation

cannot explain all disobediance

Answer 14

• Includes the nurses study
• Some people may be more obedient than others
• Innate tendencies have a higher influence on obedience