social psychological factos Flashcards
What is an agentic state
The agentic state is when people see themselves as just following orders from someone in charge, so they don’t feel personally responsible for their actions. Milgram suggested this as a reason why people obey authority, even if it means doing something they believe is wrong.
what is an autonomous state
we are independent and have free will over our actions
What is legitimacy of authority
An explanation for obedience that suggests we armoire likely to obey people who we believe to have authority over us,
What is the authoritarian personality
A personality type that is more likely to obey people in authority, usually submissive to those of a higher status and dismissive to inferiors
What can the authortian personality be measured using
F scale,
Adorno said if u score high, u have that personality
Adorno’s aim
To find support for the dispositional explanation of obedience
Adornos procedure
-2000 middle class white Americans to complete a range of scales to measure their unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
- one used was the F scale
Disadvantage of ap
P- methodological problems using self report data
E - uses f scale, may lack validity due to social desirability bias , pps may give answers they dont agree with in order to appear a certain type of way to the researcher
L- therefore limits internal validity of the research and therefore this explanation of obedience
Adornos findings
People with authoritarian leanings, identified with strong people and were generally disapproving of the weak, shows high levels of respect for those with a higher status
Disadvtange of ap
biased sample - only used white middle class Americans, meaning results aren’t generalisable as there’s issues with culture and gender bias
strength of agentic state regarding obedience
P- Milgram’s study supports it.
E - many pps said that they didnt feel responsible as they were just doing what they were told
Explain: shows that people can enter an agentic state where they obey orders without showing any remorse for what they’ve done
L- so the agentic state helps explain why people obey even if it feels wrong
limitation of as regarding obedience
P- however, the agentic state doesn’t explain why some people disobey.
E- e.g in milgrams study not everyone obeyed, 40% of people stopped giving shocks after 300v even when they were told to carry on
E- suggests that other factors come into account such as person belief and responsibility
L- Therefore, the agentic state doesn’t fully explain why people disobey authority.
strength of legitamcy of authority regarding obedience
P - the legitimacy of authority explanation is supported by research across different cultures.
E- Studies show that people in countries where authority is respected more, like Germany, tend to obey more than in countries with less respect for authority, like Australia.
E - This shows that obedience depends on how legitimate the authority figure is seen, which can vary by culture.
L - Therefore, the legitimacy of authority is a strong explanation because it works in different cultural settings.
