explanations of obedience Flashcards
2 main explanations of obedience
the agentic state
legitimacy of authority
agentic state theory
obedience to authority occurs because a person DOESN’T take RESPONSIBILITY
- acting as an AGENT : someone who acts IN PLACE for ANOTHER
- proposed by Milgram
2 different ways people operate in social situations (according to Milgram)
when acting as INDEPENDENT individuals, people are AWARE of the CONSEQUENCES
- know they’ll be held ACCOUNTABLE for their actions
- AUTONOMIC STATE
when in AGENTIC STATE, individual sees themselves as under the AUTHORITY of ANOTHER
- NOT RESPONSIBLE for the actions they take
- often will carry out an order without question (in this state)
what is the agentic shift?
change from autonomous state to the agentic state
Milgram suggested that agentic shift occurs when …
a person perceives someone else as a FIGURE OF AUTHORITY
- other person has GREATER POWER because of their position in a SOCIAL HIERARCHY
binding factors
the reason an individual remains in the agentic state
these binding factors include aspects of the situation that allow the person to IGNORE the DAMAGING EFFECTS of their behaviour
- reduce ‘moral strain’
- shifting responsibility to the VICTIM
- helps them feel calm and in control - they’re merely agents following orders
how did Milgram apply the agentic state theory to his own study?
argued pps saw themselves as SUBORDINATE of the experimenter
- not responsible for their own actions
- when pps were debriefed, they said they knew it was wrong (giving electric shocks), but they felt they were expected to obey the experimenter
strength of agentic state explanation (theory makes sense and has …)
the theory actually makes sense and has RESEARCH SUPPORT
- Blass and Schmitt (2001) showed a film of M’s study to students and asked them who was responsible for harming the learner
— students BLAMED the EXPERIMENTER (not the participant)
- students recognised the experimenter was a scientist - top of hierarchy, so had AUTHORITY
— pps were merely AGENTS and following orders
weakness of agentic state explanation (nurse)
theory does NOT explain many other research findings - why some pps did NOT obey in M’s study
- doesn’t explain why one of the nurses in Hofling’s study didn’t give the drug
— doctor = higher in hierarchy, nurse = agent BUT one nurse didn’t obey
- not explaining why people who are agents STILL DON’T OBEY
limitation of agentic state explanation (shooting)
research evidence has REFUTED the idea that Nazi’s behaviour can be explained in terms of the agentic state
- Mandel (1998) explained one incident - men obeyed orders to SHOOT civilians
— (German Reserve Police Battalion)
— the men weren’t given any DIRECT orders to do so, told they could do OTHER duties if they preferred
— police CHOSE to carry out the shootings
- police weren’t acting as agents, but still chose to
— agentic state theory doesn’t explain obedience
legitimate authority
people in certain positions hold AUTHORITY over the rest of us
- eg parents, teachers, police
- we’re SOCIALISED to obey certain authority figures from childhood
- refers to amount of SOCIAL POWER held by person giving orders
- we’re taught we should obey ppl w legitimate authority because we TRUST them, or because we FEAR PUNISHMENT
one of the consequences of this legitimacy of authority is that …
some people are granted the POWER TO PUNISH others
- eg police and courts allowed to punish criminals
legitimate authority in Milgram’s study
the scientist
- we’re taught to have respect for scientists
what are often a symbol of legitimate authority?
UNIFORMS
- explains Bickman’s study - ppl more likely to obey orders from a stranger wearing a uniform
when does legitimate authority become a problem?
when it becomes DESTRUCTIVE
- eg powerful leaders like Hitler use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes
- M’s study - experimenter used prods on pps to administer lethal shocks to an innocent learner
