Theories of Obedience Flashcards
define socialisation
the process by which we learn the rules and norms of society e.g. through parents and teachers
define moral strain
when people dislike their own behaviour as they know it goes agonist their own values
define agentic state
agents (in this case, participants) of a higher authority figure and so obeying their commands
define autonomy state
under your own control, and making your own decisions
define agency theory
people are agents in society and so behave in a way to benefit society
define evolution theory
idea of natural selection
Why did people say they obeyed until the end in Milgram’s 1963 study?
Because they were ordered to, despite knowing it was wrong (moral strain) which may have come from many sources
What are some of the sources of moral strain?
hearing victim cries
fearing victim retaliation
going against their own moral values
conflict of interest between the victim and the authority figure
unwillingness to harm and therefore going against their own view of themselves
Why weren’t the participants of Milgram’s 1963 study, ‘agents’ of the experimenter?
They had consented to take part as if in an agentic state, but not agents through the setting and lab coat (though this added to the experimenter’s power and strengthened the participant roles
What is agency theory?
Our social system leads to obedience. If someone sees themselves as an individual instead of a collective, they would become autonomous e.g. avoid aggression in threatening situations as evolutionary theory suggests this to be a good way to survive
Why does a hierarchical social structure lead to the agentic state?
This is what the participants of Milgram’s study were used to, and therefore led to the agentic state and the passing on of responsibility from the participant to the experimenter.
What evidence can be used to support the shifting of responsibility to the authority figure?
Gupta (1983)
How does Gupta (1983) support the shifting of responsibility to the authority figure?
They studied obedience with a similar procedure to Milgram and asked male participants to allocate responsibility:
Obedient accepted 27.6% and gave 52% whereas Defiant accepted 49.4% and gave 39.2%
Can the agentic state be seen as a survival mechanism?
Milgram thought it may be a survival mechanism learnt from family and school, as in this state, they feel less responsible for their own actions, as if they have no power and so are more likely to act against the moral code e.g.
when participants had to hold learner’s hands down to obtain the shock, they felt more responsible and so there was less obedience or when the experimenter told them to stop, they stopped showing them to be within an agentic static as they stopped as soon as they were able to.
How do agentic states come about?
When the individual perceives the order as a legitimate authority figure or when they know the other person will take on that responsibility
What are the strengths of agency theory?
Explains the different levels of obedience in the basic study as well as its variations, i.e. as they moved away from the agentic state by being in a less prestigious setting , fewer participants increased the shock levels.
It helps explain the Holocaust - Eichmann stated that he was just obeying orders and this theory helps explain why someone would obey to such an extent
It helps explain inexplicable actions i.e. the Holocaust and the Mae Ling Massacre (soldiers told to shoot own women and children in a village, and did so despite this not being within their job description)
What are the weaknesses of agency theory?
There are many other possible explanations for obedience such as social power
French and Raven (1959) identified 5 different types of power:
- Legitimate power by those in certain role (such as an experimenter)
- Reward power by those with certain resources (meney)
- Coercive power by those who can punish (Milgram give the participants a shock; they could have felt as if the could have done the same or retract their payments
- Expert power by those considered to have knowledge (Milgram)
- Referent power by those who can win people over (politicians)
The obedience shown could have been explained by social power theory, making it less powerful as a theory
More of a description of how society works, rather than an explanation → states obedience occurs as participants are agents of the experimenter, but obedience is defined as obeying authority figures but is not explained in detail
No evidence other than it is a claim that makes sense
What studies are considered to be important to agency theory?
Milgram (1963;1973), Milgram (1973), Bickmann (1973)
Why is Bickmann (1973) important to agency theory?
Bickman’s (1973) showed that people are more likely to follow an order from someone in a guards uniform, compared to someone in ordinary clothes, which is consistent with the idea that people respond agentically in response to social cues of authority such as uniforms.
Why is Milgram (1963;1973) important to agency theory?
Milgram (1963;1973) observed that most of his participants (65%) followed orders from an experimenter in a lab coat to cause harm to someone by administering electric shocks, despite feeling that this action was morally wrong. Participants shifted to an agentic state to avoid the moral strain of the situation.He concluded that obedience is not a dispositional trait, but a consequence of the situation in which the person finds themselves, arguing that people are socialised to respond to certain social cues indicating authority. This is illustrated by the ordinary man variation of his study, where the orders are given by someone wearing a sports jacket rather than a grey lab coat. Without the cue of the labcoat to suggest scientific authority, obedience was lower, at 20%, compared to 65% with the experimenter in a lab coat.
Why is Milgram (1973) important to agency theory?
Milgram (1973) found that when participants felt less responsible e.g. when a confederate was the person administering the shocks, they were more likely to continue to obey the orders from the experimenter. This finding is consistent with the idea that they were in an agentic state.
define strength
when a source is perceived as having power (e.g. status; physical strength; scientific authority etc.) they have a greater influence on our behaviour.
define immediacy
When the source is physically in close proximity or more recent (temporal immediacy) there is a greater influence on behaviour than when the source is further away or longer ago
define number
when there are more sources, they have a greater influence on the behaviour of the target individuals. BUT this increased influence with numbers only goes up to a certain point. As the number goes up, the increase in social force starts to diminish. This is called the Psychosocial Law
