Social Influence- Obedience: Social-psychological factors Flashcards
Agentic state -
A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure, i.e. as their agent. This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure.
Legitimacy of authority -
An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy.
What sparked Milgram’s interest in obedience?
Milgram’s interest in obedience was sparked by the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961, who claimed he was only obeying orders during the Holocaust.
What is the agentic state?
The agentic state is when a person believes they are acting on behalf of an authority figure and does not take personal responsibility for their actions, experiencing moral strain but feeling powerless to disobey.
What is the opposite of the agentic state?
The opposite of the agentic state is the autonomous state, where a person acts independently according to their own principles and feels responsible for their actions.
What is the agentic shift?
The agentic shift is the transition from an autonomous state to an agentic state, occurring when a person perceives someone else as a figure of authority within a social hierarchy.
What is destructive authority?
Destructive authority occurs when legitimate authority is used for harmful purposes, such as when leaders like Hitler or Stalin order people to act in cruel or dangerous ways.
What are binding factors?
Binding factors are aspects of a situation that allow a person to ignore or minimize the damaging effects of their behavior, reducing moral strain. Examples include shifting responsibility to the victim or denying the harm caused.
What is legitimacy of authority?
Legitimacy of authority refers to the societal agreement that certain individuals or roles (e.g., parents, teachers, police) have the right to exercise power over others, enabling society to function smoothly.
What is a limitation of the agentic shift explanation?
The agentic shift does not explain why some participants disobeyed or why nurses in Hofling et al.’s study did not show high anxiety despite handing responsibility to a doctor.
How does legitimacy of authority explain cultural differences in obedience?
Cultural differences in obedience, such as higher obedience rates in Germany (85%) compared to Australia (16%), reflect how societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures.
What did Blass and Schmitt (2001) find about responsibility in Milgram’s study?
Blass and Schmitt found that students blamed the experimenter, not the participant, for harm to the learner, attributing responsibility to the experimenter’s legitimate and expert authority.
Why might the agentic state explanation be considered limited?
It fails to account for situations where individuals act destructively without direct orders, suggesting other factors beyond authority influence obedience.
How does legitimacy of authority explain real-life war crimes?
Kelman and Hamilton (1989) argue that events like the My Lai massacre can be understood through the power hierarchy of the U.S. Army, showing how legitimate authority can lead to destructive obedience.
What challenge does Mandel (1998) pose to the agentic state explanation?
Mandel described an incident where German Reserve Police Battalion 101 shot civilians without direct orders, challenging the idea that obedience is solely due to an agentic shift.
