Social Influence : Milgrams Agentic State & Legitimacy Of Authority Flashcards
What research is there to support Milgrams explanation of obedience in terms of legitimacy of authority and the Agentic state?
Blass and Schmidt showed students a film of the Milgram experiment and then interviewed them, they said that they held the experimenter not participant responsible for the shocks due to his authority as a scientist. This supports Milgrams explanation of Legitimate authority as participants identified the experimenters authority as they assumed that scientists have authority in science experiments. Secondly this supports Milgrams findings for Agentic Shift as the participants held the experimenter rather than the participants responsible suggesting they recognised the participants entered Agentic state and were no longer responsible for their actions. Therefore, the study provides support for Milgrams explanation of obedience to in terms of legitimacy of authority and the Agentic state.
Why might Milgrams concept of the Agentic state and legitimacy of authority provide limited evidence for obedience?
Milgram and Elms measured the personality traits of 20 fully obedient and 20 disobedient participants from Milgrams study. They found the obedient participants were more likely to have a type of personality called authoritarian personality. Suggests a persons personality plays a role in why people obey or disobey, as Milgrams concepts of Agentic state and legitimacy of authority ignore the role of a persons disposition and only focus on interpersonal factors, suggesting his explanation for obedience in limited. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean Milgram was completed wrong.
What is Agentic Shift?
When obedient individuals make a transition from an autonomous state into agentic state
What is Autonomous state?
When individuals see themselves as free to act according to their own principles.
What is Agentic State?
When individuals carry out the instructions given by an authority figure. People no longer see themselves as responsible for their own actions.
What is Moral strain?
The desire to leave the agentic state.
What are Binding Factors?
Refers to social pressures that act as subtle barriers to disobedience, helping to trap participants in the agentic state.
What is a Legitimate Authority?
A person who is perceived to be in a position of higher control within a situation.
What research support is there from legitimacy of authority as an explanation for obedience?
Replications of Milgrams study have produced inconsistent results: the obedience in Milgrams US study of 65% differs substantially from 16% in the Australian replication and 85% in a German replication. Milgrams concept of legitimacy of authority can help explain these variations, as the participants from these different cultures may have had different shared assumptions about the extent to which an experimenter has legitimate authority to issue destructive orders. However, there were limitations with Milgrams procedure which would have affected the replication studies too. For example. It was vulnerable to demand characteristics. Meaning its findings may have lacked internal validity.
