Situational Explanations Of Obedience Flashcards
What are the 2 situational explanations of obedience
- agentic state
- legitimate authority
What did Milgram (1974) argue [Agentic state] that makes this a situational explanation
That people obey horrific orders not bc of their personality, but because of the situation they’re in - that people following orders go from an autonomous state into an agentic state
What is the change from an autonomous to an agentic state called
The agentic shift
What happens when someone is in an agentic state
People ‘unthinkingly’ carry out orders & perceive themselves as merely the instrument of an authority figure
-> they believe that the authority is responsible for their actions (diffusion of responsibility) so they don’t feel guilt for their actions
Why does the agentic state occur
As those in authority are usually trustworthy
- Gradual commitment (when orders seem reasonable at first b4 becoming aggressive)
- buffers (people are psychologically protected from the consequences of their actions)
Why might people adopt an agentic state
To maintain a positive self image
-> once in that state, they fear that breaking it would be arrogant to the authority figure
Why did Milgram think the agentic state developed
Due to human evolution + for hierarchies to function in society & prevent chaos
-> obedience is essential in life;
we constantly submit to authority
AO3 Agentic State P1 (+) Experimental Evidence
- Pp’s in Milgram’s experiment less likely to shock Mr Wallace in the close proximity variation, where there were no buffers + they could see their consequences
-> supports the idea of an agentic state & how seeing Mr Wallace in pain would have prevent it
AO3 P2 (-) Agentic State Major Trapp (Mandel 1998)
-> without buffers, people shouldn’t go into an agentic state + obey harmful orders
However, Mandel 1998 reported the case of Major Trapp, who was given orders to take a large group of Jewish people + have them shot
-> battalion members given the chance to say no, but most went agreed with hooting the Jews, despite victims being in close proximity
What does legitimate authority claim (AO1)
- that we recognise our own & other people’s position in the social hierarchy, & obey those who have ‘legitimate authority’; those who have a higher position in authority than us
Which people will we not obey (legitimate authority AO1)
- those who have an equal or lower position in the social hierarchy than we do
What increases legitimate authority
Visible symbols of authority e.g uniform
What is legitimate authority dependent on
Setting, order, system & location (e.g. the military or a prison, esp if the commands are potentially harmful)
AO3 (Legitimate Authority) P1 (+) Hofling 1966 nurses agreed
Holfing (1966) found that nurses would obey a dangerous order from a ‘doctor’ just because they were in a hospital location
-> Nurses received a phone call from ‘Dr Smith’ (an actor) to give 20mg of Astroten to a patient
-> this was twice the max dose (shown on the bottle) + instructions given over the phone
-> 95% of nurses carried out these instructions just because doctors have legitimate authority
AO3 Legitimate Authority (+) Bickman Uniform study
- confederate in either a guard, mailman or suit + tie
- 90% obeyed ‘guard’ giving orders to pick up litter etc, but only 50% obeyed ‘civilian’
- guard uniform = more likely to be legitimate authority
