Obedience: Agency Theory (Situational) Flashcards
Define the ‘autonomous state’.
When an individual acts voluntarily under their own free will.
Define the ‘agentic state’.
When an individual surrenders their free will to an authority figure and carries out any actions they command.
Define the ‘agentic shift’.
The process of leaving the autonomous state and entering the agentic state through surrendering free will to an authority figure.
Define ‘moral strain’.
The feeling that can occur when an individual disagrees with the orders that are given, often going against their moral code.
Define ‘differed responsibility’.
When an individual puts the blame/responsibility of the consequences of their actions carried out in the agentic state on someone else and is often referred to as a ‘scapegoat’.
Using what you have learnt in agency theory, explain Milgram’s findings.
- Ppts went through the agentic shift as they were following orders given by an authority figure.
- They were also put under moral strain due to administering the shocks which is what caused the nervous laughter out of stress.
- They also differed the responsibility to the experimenter as a defense mechanism to rationalise what they were doing.
What did Milgram describe as the ‘organisational mode’?
When the agentic state becomes suppressed due to people working as a group.
Give an example of how we were socialised as children to give up our autonomy to hierarchy.
Obeying authority was reinforced with the use of punishments to stop undesirable behaviour, such as getting grounded for not listening to an instruction given by a parent.
Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘evidence’ points.
P - Milgram’s (1963) study supports
E - 65% of ppts followed orders given by the authority figure
E - They were in the agentic state
P - Hofling’s (1966) study supports
E - 95% of nurses follow instructions and gave an overdose to the patient
E - They were in the agentic state due to the doctor being seen as a legitimate authority figure
Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘how’ points.
P - Milgram’s (1963) study has low credibility
E - Only 65% carried out the full 450V
E - Doesn’t account for the 35% who may not have been in the agentic state
P - Hofling’s (1966) study has high validity
E - Used a field experiment where environment was natural to nurses and told them to give their patients an overdose
E - Therefore would reflect their behaviour in a real life situation giving more credibility to the 95% who obeyed
Are there any applications?
P - Yes
E - It removes prejudice and full accountability of Nazis due to them surrendering their free will to Hitler in the agentic state
E - It shows that the agentic state occurs in every day life
Using the acronym ‘EACH’, evaluate 2 ‘criticisms’ points.
P - Reductionist
E - It doesn’t explain why 35% of ppts in Milgram’s (1963) study disobeyed giving the highest shock of 450V
E - And so doesn’t give an explanation for disobedience making the theory too simple and not complex enough
P - Deterministic
E - It states that people give up their free will when they enter the agentic state and so are not in control of their own actions
E - However people are more complex than that with individual differences that allow them to make their own decisions
