Social Influence: Lesson 7 - Situational Explanations of Obedience

Question 1

What is agentic state and what affect does it have on obedience?

Answer 1

Milgram argued that people can obey a horrific order not because of their personalities but because of their situation

• he suggested that people following orders can go from an autonomous state into an agentic state (agentic shift)
• in the agentic state people carry out orders without thinking and perceive themselves as merely and instrument of an authority figure
• they believe the authority figure is respufor their actions (diffusion of responsibility) and they do not follow their conscience or feel guilt for their actions

Question 2

How does the agentic state occur?

Answer 2

• those in authority are usually trustworthy and their orders seem reasonable at first before becoming more aggressive (gradual commitment)
• people are psychologically protected from the consequences of their actions (buffers)

Question 3

Why do people adopt the agentic state

Answer 3

• to maintain a positive self-image and stay in it because they are scared that breaking their commitment to the authority would seem arrogant and rude
• milgram thought that the agentic state had developed during human evolution and is necessary for hierarchies to function in society, to prevent chaos

Question 4

What is agentic shift?

Answer 4

The process of going from the autonomous state into the agentic state

Question 5

Evaluation for agentic state (+)

Answer 5

+ participants were less likely to shock Mr Wallace when they were in the same room
+ this is because they could see the consequences of their actions and there were no buffers
+ being in close proximity to Mr Wallace and seeing his pain would have prevented some participants from going into the agentic state

Question 6

Evaluation for agentic state (-)

Answer 6

• without buffers people should not go into the agentic state and obey orders to harm someone
• however Mandel (1998) reported the case of Major Wilhelm Trapp:
• in 1942 Major Trapp was given orders to take a large group of Jewish people to the edge of the village and have then shit
• although the members were given the chance to say no and be assigned to other duties, few did, and the massacre went ahead
  (despite the soldiers being in close proximity to the victims)

Question 7

What is legitimate authority?

Answer 7

A situational explanation for obedience

• claims that people are more like to obey an order given by someone who has legitimate authority
• they are perceived to be in a position of social control within a certain context/setting
• can be shown through symbols of power, such as uniform and requires a location

Question 8

Evaluation for legitimate authority 1 (Hoffling) (+)

Answer 8

+Hofflinh (1966) found that nurses would obey a dangerous order from a doctor because they were in a hospital
+ Nurses received a call from “Dr. Smith” who asked them to administer 20 milligrams of Astroten (which was really just a sugar pill) to a patient. This broke hospital rules but 95% of nurses carried out these instructions

Question 9

Evaluation for legitimate authority 2 (bickman) (+)

Answer 9

+ bickman asked confederates to order passersby to pick up litter off the street
+ one confederate was dressed as a guard, knew a milkman and one just in smart clothes
+90% obeyed the guard, only 50% obeyed the civilian
+ shows tha a person in a guard uniform is more likely to be obeyed

Question 10

Evaluation for legitimate authority (resistance to authority, milgram)(-)

Answer 10

• legitimate authority does not explain why some people are able to resist the order of legitimate authority figures
• 35% of participants in Mikgrams (1963) study refused to obey the experimenter, even though he had legitimate authority in that situation