Social influence - Situational explanations - obedience Flashcards
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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