SOCIAL INFLUENCE - Situational Explanations of Obedience

Question 1

What are the two main explanations of obedience?

Answer 1

• Agentic state
• Legitimacy of authority

Question 2

What was Milgrams ideology behind the agentic state?

Answer 2

• Obedience to destructive authority occurs because a person does not take responsibility - instead they are acting because of the situation they are in.
• People ‘unthinkingly’ carry out orders and perceive themselves as an instrument of an authority figure.

Question 3

What are the 2 different ways people operate in social situations occurring to Milgram in his Agentic State Theory?

Answer 3

• When acting as independent individuals, people are aware of the consequences of their actions and make decisions knowing they will be held account for the consequences. This is the AUTONOMIC state.
• When acting in an AGENTIC state, an individual sees themselves as under the authority of another, not responsible for the actions they take. In this state they will often carry out an order without question.

Question 4

What is the agentic shift

Answer 4

The change from an autonomous state to the agentic state.

Question 5

What was Milgrams reasoning behind his proposed agentic shift?

Answer 5

the agentic shift occurs when a person percieves someone else as a figure of authority and this other person has greater power because of their position in a social hierarchy

Question 6

What was Milgrams reasoning as to why individuals stayed in the agentic state?

Answer 6

• Individuals stayed in the agentic state due to binding factors
• Binding factors include aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore the damaging effects of their behaviour and thus reduce the ‘moral strain’ they are feeling and shifting the responsibility to the victim
• This helps the person feel calm and in control because they feel that what they are doing is not their fault and that they are merely agents following orders
• The fault lies within the victim and the authority figure

Question 7

How did Milgram apply the agentic state theory to his shock experiemnt?

Answer 7

He argues that participants viewed themselves as subordinates of the experimenter not responsible for their own actions. When participants were debreiefed after the experiment, many reported that they knew it was wrong to deliver dangerous shocks but they felt they were expected to obey the experimenter.

Question 8

What are the strengths of the agentic state theory?

Answer 8

• The theory is supported by research
• Blass and Schmitt showed a film of Milgram’s study to some students and they were asked who was responsible for harming the learner.
• The students blamed the experimenter rather than the participant
• The students pointed out that the experimenter was a scientist and he was at the top of the hierarchy, thus he had authority
• Thus the patients were merely agents and following orders from the scientist

Question 9

What are the weaknesses of the agentic state theory?

Answer 9

• The theory doesn’t explain many other research findings such as why some of the participants in Milgram’s study did not obey the authority figure and also does not explain why one of the nurses in Holfling’s study did not give the drug prescribed by the doctor who is higher up in the hierarchy than a nurse, when the nurse is merely the agent. Furthermore, Rank and Jacobson’s study found only 2/18 nurses were willing to give the drug prescribed by the doctor. The agentic state theory is not explaining why people who are ‘agents’ still do not obey.
• Research evidence has refuted the idea that Nazi behaviour in killing Jews was as a result of the agentic state. Mandel explained one incident where German Reserve Police Battalion 101 obeyed orders to shoot civilians in Poland. However, they were not given any direct orders to kill Polish civilians and were told they could do other duties if they preferred. The police still carried out the shootings – the agentic theory does not explain obedience here as the police were not acting as agents and therefore did not have to shoot.

Question 10

Outline legitimate authority.

Answer 10

• Most societies are structured in a hierarchical way
• People in certain positions hold authority over the rest of us such as parents or the police
• From early childhood, we are conditioned to obey certain legitimate authority figures
• Legitimate authority refers to the amount of social power held by the person who gives the instruction
• We are taught that we should obey such people with legitimate authority because we trust them, or because we fear punishment

Question 11

What are one of the consequences of legitimate authority?

Answer 11

some people are granted thepower to punish others e.g. we accept that the police and courts are allowed to punish people

Question 12

Give an example of legitimate authority in Milgram’s study.

Answer 12

The scientist/experimenter was the legitimate authority; we are taught to have respect for scientists plus his white coat, manner of speaking and the fact that he worked for Yale university added to his authority, thus motivating participants to shock the learner.

Question 13

What does Bickman’s study show in reference to legitimate authority?

Answer 13

uniforms are often a symbol of legitimate authority; Bickman’s study showed that individuals are more likely to obey an order from a stranger wearing a uniform.

Question 14

What examples show the destructive nature of legitimate authority?

Answer 14

• Powerful leaders such as Hitler used their legitimate authority for destructive powers such as carrying out the Holocaust
• Milgram’s study showed destructive authority when the experimenter used prods on the participants to administer seemingly lethal electric shocks to an innocent learner

Question 15

What are the strengths of legitimate authority as an explanation of obedience?

Answer 15

• Legitimate authority is the backbone for a well-functioning, ordered society. Legitimate authority figures such as the police help prevent crime so without the police society would not function well.
• Legitimate authority can help explain how obedience can lead to real-life war-crimes. Kelman and Hamilton argue that the My Lai massacre can be understood in terms of the power of the hierarchy of the US army. Only one soldier was found guilty of causing havoc in a village and his defence was that he was only following orders. This shows how the legitimacy of authority works in real life.
• Legitimate authority explains cultural differences in obedience. Kilham and Mann replicated Milgram’s study in Australia and found 16% went to the full voltage. However, when Mantell replicated Milgram’s study in Germany he found an 85% obedience rate. These studies show the cultural differences in perceived legitimacy of authority and how different cultures have different upbringings thus strengthening the legitimacy of authority explanation.

Question 16

What are the weaknesses of legitimate authority as an explanation of obedience?

Answer 16

Not all legitimate authority figures should be obeyed; sometimes we will obey a legitimate authority figure because of their status even if we disagree with their order. Milgram’s study showed that people will obey a legitimate authority figure even if obedience went so far as to harm another person. Harold Shipman was a doctor and because he was a trusted, justified authority figure he was able to kill over 200 patients without suspicion. This suggests that a balance must be struck between teaching children to obey authority figures, but also encouraging them to sometimes question the orders they give just in case the orders are destructive.