Temporary Deck Flashcards
16 MARK: Explanation 1
Layout
- Agentic state.
- Agentic shift.
- Binding factors.
- Evaluation(1): research support.
- Evaluation(2): limited explanation.
Explanation 1
Agentic State
- Mental state where we feel no responsibility for our behaviour, freeing us from our consciences.
- Allows us to obey even a destructive authority.
- However, “agents” are not unfeeling and often experience moral strain.
- May feel powerless to disobey.
Explanation 1
Autonomy (+ agentic shift)
- Autonomy is the opposite of an agentic state.
- A person is free to behave according to their own principles.
- The shift from autonomy to agency is called an agentic shift.
- Occurs when a person is percieved to be socially superior to an individual.
- In social groups, people may defer to the authority of an individual and experience agentic shift.
Explanation 1
Binding Factors
- Binding factors are aspects of a situation that allows a person to ignore or minimise the damaging effects of their behaviour.
- Milgram’s participants had said they wanted to stop but felt powerless to do so.
- He wondered why they remained in an agentic state.
- Suggested the participants may have shifted responsibility to the victim or denied that any damage was done.
Explanation 1: Evaluation(1)
Research Support
- Milgram’s own studies support the role of the agentic state to obedience.
- Most participants often resisted giving shocks at some point.
- One question asked was ‘who is responsible if Mr Wallace (the Learner) is harmed?’.
- When the Experimenter replied ‘I am’, participants proceeded quickly without further objections.
Suggests that once participants percieved they were not responsible for their own behaviour they acted easier as E’s agent.
Explanation 1: Evaluation(2)
Limited Explanation
Counterpoint to Research Support
- Doesn’t explain results from other obedience studies.
- One study found 16 out of 18 hospital nurses refused orders from a doctor to administer an excessive drug dose to a patient.
- Despite the doctor being an authority figure that was responsible, nearly all the nurses remained autonomous.
Suggests that agentic shift can only account for some situations of obedience.
16 MARK: Explanation 2
Layout
- Presence of a social hierarchy.
- Destructive authority.
- Evaluation(1): cultural differences.
- Evaluation(2): real-world application.
Explanation 2
Presence of a Social Hierarchy
- People higher in the social hierarchy have authority over those below them.
- E.g. police officers, parents, teachers.
- The authority they wield is legitimate because it is agreed on by the majority of society.
- They are allowed to exercise their authority as it allows society to function smoothly.
Explanation 2
Consequences of Authority
- Some people are granted the power to punish others.
- It is generally accepted the police and courts have the power to punish wrongdoers.
- This means we give up some of our independence to those we trust to exercise their authority appropriately.
- We learn acceptance of legitimate authority in childhood.
Explanation 2
Destructive Authority
- Sometimes, that authority is not exercised appropriately.
- History has shown how powerful leaders (Hitler, Stalin) can use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes.
- Ordering people to behave in ways which are cruel and dangerous.
- Destructive authority was obvious in Milgram’s study when the Experimenter prompted participants to continued against their consciences.
Explanation 2: Evaluation(1)
Cultural Differences
- A strength of the legitimacy explanation is that it’s a useful account of cultural differences.
- Studies show countries differ in the degree in which people are obedient to authority.
- For example, a study found only 16% of Australians went to 450V in a Milgram-style study.
- Another found this figure in Germany to be 85%.
Shows some cultures believe those in authority are entitled to demand obedience from individuals. Reflects how societies are structures and the way in which children are raised to percieve authority figures.
