Obedience Theories

Question 1

Who was agency theory proposed by?

Answer 1

Milgram as a response to Nazi war crimes

Question 2

What are the two mental states in agency theory?

Answer 2

Autonomous and agentic

Question 3

What is the autonomous state?

Answer 3

Perceiving ourselves to be responsible for our own actions and behaviour as we feel guilty. This happens when we disobey orders from authority

Question 4

What is the agentic state?

Answer 4

Perceiving ourselves to be the agent of someone else’s (authority figure) will so we don’t feel guilty. This happens when we obey orders therefore going through the agentic shift

Question 5

When an order is given we may feel…

Answer 5

Moral strain - uncomfortable with orders as it goes against morals and values

Question 6

What happens when we go through the agentic state?

Answer 6

The diffusion of responsibility (to authority figure)

Question 7

AO3 for autonomous state?

Answer 7

OG Milgram (1963)- 35% disobeyed and didn’t go to 450v therefore in autonomous state

Question 8

AO3 for moral strain?

Answer 8

Variation 5 (chest pain) - more participants dropped out at 150v than OG showing they are going through moral strain

Question 9

AO3 for agentic state?

Answer 9

OG milgram- 65% obeyed the authority figure and went to 450v

Question 10

AO3 for diffusion of responsibility?

Answer 10

OG milgram - 65% obeyed and went to 450v as they are following the authority figures instructions therefore they believe it is not their own will

Question 11

Who proposed social impact theory (SImT)

Answer 11

Latané (1981)

Question 12

What is strength in SImT?

Answer 12

How much power (status/ authority) you believe the person influencing you has

Question 13

What is immediacy in SImT?

Answer 13

How recent the influence is (time) and how close they are to you (proximity)

Question 14

What is numbers in SImT?

Answer 14

The more people putting pressure on you to do something the more social force they will have

Question 15

What is divisions of impact in SImT?

Answer 15

When social force gets spread out between all the people it is directed at. If all force is directed at one person there is a huge pressure to obey but the pressure is halved if there is two people.

Question 16

AO3 for strength in SImT?

Answer 16

• Mr Wallace in variation 13 wore a lab coat (authority) gave orders but left room.
• A 2nd confederate with volunteer was dressed like a participant and suggested a new way of doing the study.
• Only 20% obeyed showing less authority means less power leading to less obedience

Question 17

AO3 for immediacy in SImT?

Answer 17

Milgram variation 7 -
- in the OG, experimenter sat behind the teacher but in #7 experimenter gives instructions and leaves the room.
- Only 22.5% obeyed and some gave lower shocks than told to.
- without physical presence of authority figure, obedience levels decreases

Question 18

AO3 for divisions of impact?

Answer 18

Variation 13a
- when participant had a rebellious partner, 68.75% of them allowed them to go to 450v
- shows how more numbers employs diffusions of responsibility which increases obedience compared to when participant is alone

Question 19

Opposing AO3 for SImT?

Answer 19

• agency theory explains obedience better
• when participants were sweating and crying it showed they were undergoing moral strain but there is no reasoning for this in Latané explanation

Question 20

What is an authoritarian personality?

Answer 20

• more likely to end up in agentic state
• had a strict upbringing
• Believes in hierarchy and obeying legitimate authority
• expects people beneath them to do what they say

Question 21

What is the locus of control?

Answer 21

A persons belief about how much control they have over what happens to them in their life and how much power they believe the power of influence they have over the world around them

Question 22

What are the two types of locus of control

Answer 22

Internal and external

Question 23

What is internal locus of control?

Answer 23

More likely to defy orders and show dissent (having opposing opinions to others)

Question 24

What is external locus of control?

Answer 24

A person who is more likely to obey and go into the agentic state

Question 25

How does gender affect obedience?

Answer 25

Women seem to show more distress but proceed to obey but men seem to be more defiant as shown by Sheridan and King (1972) experiment on shocking puppies