Explanations For Obedience Flashcards
(18 cards)
What is the agentic state
- In the autonomous state the individual is aware of the consequences of their own actions and take responsibility for them. We act and make our own individual decisions.
- In the agentic state the individual sees themself as an “agent” of someone else, they are not responsible for any consequences.
- An individual is more likely to obey when they have undergone the ‘agentic shift’. This shift happens when we are in the presence of authority and no longer feel responsible.
What is the legitimacy of authority
- More likely to obey if it comes from someone who is in a perceived position of greater authority
- society gives power and status to certain individuals. Such as doctors, police teachers. These people sit higher in society’s hierarchy and are seen as in control in certain setting. These individuals must be part of some institutional structure Eg: military, business organisation in order to be perceived this way
- individuals are socialised from a young age to have unquestionable respect and trust for such individuals
- we accept their definition of the situation making it easier to obey them
Strength: supporting
I: supporting evidence from labatory experiments form milligrams research
E: variations of milgrams experiment demonstrate the effect of legitimacy of authority and agentic state has on obedience.
For example in Milgram’s study at Bridgeport obedience dropped to 48%. When the researcher was not wearing a lab coat obedience dropped to 20%. Supporting the legitmacy of authority
C: this means that the legitmacy of authority explanations can be accepted as a valid explaination for obedience
Strength: real life
I:supported by real life crimes of obedience
E: many war atrocities throughout history can be explained in terms of the power hierarchy in the military
For example nazi official Eichmann, when on trial for his war crimes said he was ‘only following orders’. This was also the defence used by Lt called who murdered unarmed civilians during the Vietnam war
C: this means the legitimacy and agentic explainations can be accepted as valid explanations for obedience
Weakness: incomplete
I: the explanations are incomplete
E: they fail to explain why, in milgrams experiment, not all participants obeyed the experimenter right until the end
In the original procedure, all Ppts received the same orders, from the same authority figure, in the same setting. All ppts were exposed to a legitimate authority and experienced an agentic shift. Yet 35% ppts refused to go to 450v
C: means legitimacy and agency are limited explainations of obedience in milgrams experiment
What type of explanation is the authoritarian personality?
A dispositional one
What is the authoritarian personality describes as ?
- cluster of character traits linked to obedience.
- measured by a questionnaire known as the F scale. A high score of 4.5 or over indicates the individual posses authoritarian traits and is more likely to be obedient by nature
What are the 3 primary traits that make up the authoritarian personality
- Conventionalism
- Authoritarian submission
- Authoritarian aggression
What is conventionalism ?
Rigid adherence to conventional, middle class values
What is authoritarian submission
Submission, uncritical attitude towards idealised moral authorities of the ingroup
Authoritarian aggression
Tendency to be on the lookout for, and to, condem, reject, and punish people who violate conventional values
What type of upbringing have people with the authoritarian personality usually had ?
A strict upbringing by parents who demanded obedience and used physical punishment
How do individuals with the authoritarian personality act towards those in authority
Fear and respect them
Unquestionably obey them
How do those with the authoritarian personality think about minority groups
they are prejudiced against minority groups who they feel are weak and inferior
What are the beliefs of those with the authoritarian personality
- believe society is deteriorating and that we need strong leaders to rectify this
- rigid and inflexible in their views, believing everything is either right or wrong and there is no in between or grey area
Strength: supporting
I: supporting evidence from milgrams research
E: his follow up study demonstrated a link between obedience and authoritarianism
Study involved 40 ppts who had taken part in the previous experiment. 20 of who went to 450v (obedient ppts) and 20 of who hadn’t. Each completed the F scale and was interviewed about their childhood and feelings towards milgrams experimenter.
Out of the 2 groups the obedient ppts showed higher levels of authoriariansim and view the experimenter as more admirable
C: means that having authoritarian characteristics such as respect for authority can be accepted as a valid explaination for obedience
Weakness: challenged
I: dispositions explanations are challenge by some of the evidence
E: I’m milgrams follow up study, many of the obedient Ppts lacks authoritarian traits
Although obedient ppts tended to admire the experimenter and scored higher on the F scale; when interviewed about their upbringing, many reported having good relationships with their parents
C: this means the authoritarian personality is a limited explaination of obedience, as obedience was not linked to have a harsh upbringing as stated
Weakness: incomplete
I: dispositional explainations are incomplete
E: this is because they fail to explain obedience that occurs in the majority of a population/society
Eg: during the holocaust, most German citizens and nazi soldiers obeyed the orders of the gov to persecute the Jews. It is highly unlikely that all these people had an authoritarian personality
C: this mean the authoritarian personality is a limited explaination of obedience
