Social pyschologial explanations of obedience Flashcards
what is the agentic state?
when we act as an agent of someone in authority so deny personal responsibility for our actions
‘just following orders or doing our job’
what is the autonomous state?
when people take responsibility for their own actions and consequences
what is the agentic shift?
moving from the autonomous state to the agentic state
If we obey an order that goes against our conscience, we are likely to experience moral strain, which results when we have to do something we believe to be immoral in order to function as an agent of authority.
Although people in such a situation may want to stop, they feel unable to do so due to binding factors – aspects of the situation that allow a person to minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour
what are strengths of the agentic state?
research support-
- milgram’s shock study
- blass and schmitt (2001) found that people who saw milgram’s study blamed the experimenter
what’s the weaknesses of the agentic state?
limited explanation as obedience could be due to dispositional factors rather than the situation
doesn’t explain why some people disobey authority figures
what are the social psychological explanations of obedience?
agentic state
legitimacy of authority
what is legitimacy of authority?
suggests we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
their authority is justified by their position of power within a social hierarchy
what did Kelman and Hamilton (1989) suggest about legitimacy of authority?
three main factors to explain obedience are:
legitimacy of the system
legitimacy of authority within the system
legitimacy of demands or orders given
what does legitimacy of the system mean?
the extent to which the ‘body’ is a legitimate source of authority
for example
government
army
religious group
school
family
what does legitimacy of authority within the system mean?
This is the power individuals hold to give orders because of their position in the system
This therefore is linked to status and the hierarchy within a particular establishment
what does legitimacy of demands or orders given mean?
This refers to the extent with which the order is perceived to be a legitimate area for the authority figure
for example
It is reasonable for a teacher to tell you off for not having completed your homework
BUT It is not reasonable for the teacher to demand that you go and wash their car
what is destructive authority?
when people use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes.
Destructive authority was shown in Milgram’s study when the experimenter used prods to order the pps to behave in ways that went against their consciences
