Social influence - Situational explanations - obedience Flashcards

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1
Q

what is agency theory

A
  • proposed by Milgram in 1974
  • socialised from an early age to learn that obedience to rules is necessary to keep stability in societywh
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2
Q

what does being in an autonomous state mean

A
  • aware of the consequences of their actions and choose voluntarily to behave in particular ways
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3
Q

what does being in an agentic state mean

A
  • person sees themselves as the agent of others
  • they carry out their orders but do not feel personally responsible for their actions
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4
Q

what is the agentic shift

A
  • shift from an autonomous state to an agentic state
  • occurs when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure and have a higher position in social hierachy
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5
Q

what are binding factors

A
  • aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging affect of their behaviour and reduce the moral strain they feel
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6
Q

what is the research support for agentic state

A
  • support from Milgram’s own studies
  • most participants asked experimenter who was responsible if the learner is harmed
  • experimenter said he was responsible
  • participant carried on quickly with no further objections
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7
Q

why is the agentic state a limited explanation

A
  • Rank and Jacobson’s study (1977)
  • 16/18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to administer an excessive amount to a patient
  • doctor was an authority figure
  • nurses remained in an autonomous state
  • agentic shift only accounts for some explanations of obedience
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8
Q

what is legitimacy of authority

A
  • we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
  • authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within the social hierarchy
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9
Q

what is a consequence of legitimacy of authority

A
  • some people are granted the power to punish others
  • general agreement that police and courts have the power to punish wrongdoers and trust them to exercise their authority appropriately
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10
Q

what is destructive authority

A
  • use legitimate powers for destructive purposes
  • ordering people to behave in cruel and dangerous ways
  • Hitler
  • experimenter uses prods to coerce the participants to carry on
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11
Q

how does legitimacy of authority explain cultural differences

A

Kilham and Mann (1974)
- 16% of female Australian participants went to 450v

Mantell (1971)
- 85% of german female participants went to 450v

  • different societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures
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12
Q

why does legitimacy of authority not explain all obedience and disobedience

A
  • nurses in Rank and Jacobson’s study were mainly disobedient in a rigidly hierarchal authority structure
  • minority in Milgram’s study disobeyed the experimenter even though he had authority
  • some people may be more or less obedient than others
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