explanations for obedience: agentic state & legitimacy of authority

Question 1

agentic state

Answer 1

Milgram proposed that we have 2 states of consciousness; the autonomous state and the agentic state.
The autonomous state is where we are fully aware of what we are doing and feel responsible for our actions. E.g. picking what to eat or wear.
The agentic state occurs when people obey. This means that they stop feeling responsible for their actions and become an ‘instrument’ or ‘agent’ of the authority figure. We no longer believe that if things go wrong it is our fault.

Question 2

legitimacy of authority

Answer 2

People are most likely to accept the power and the status of a person and therefore obey them when they consider them to be credible and legitimate. How legitimate we believe someone to be will depend on the context of the situation, the person’s role and their appearance.
E.g. if a nurse dressed in uniform asked you to turn your phone off whilst in a hospital ward, you would. However if they asked the same thing whilst you were on the bus, you would not obey.

Question 3

AO3 - shown film of Milgram’s research

Answer 3

Researchers showed students a film of Milgram’s study and asked them who they felt was responsible for the harm to the learner. They blamed the experimenter rather than the participant. This therefore provides evidence for the agentic state, as the teachers became an ‘instrument’ of the authority figure and were no longer at fault for their actions.

Question 4

AO3 - agentic state has external validity

Answer 4

The agentic state has strong external validity. This is because examples of the agentic state can be seen in acts of atrocity throughout history. For example, the Holocaust in Nazi Germany was only made possible by thousands of ordinary people obeying horrific orders and directives from people above. Therefore, it is a useful way of explaining obedience.

Question 5

AO3 - deterministic

Answer 5

Both of these explanations for obedience are deterministic. They imply that those who commit crimes of destructive obedience have no control over their actions. This therefore negates the idea of people as being autonomous and able to exercise free will.

Question 6

AO3 - LOA explains cultural differences

Answer 6

Legitimacy of authority explains cultural differences in obedience. Kilham and Mann found lower obedience rates in Australia compared to Germany, suggesting that in some cultures, authority is less likely to be accepted as legitimate.