Social influence - Situational explanations - obedience

Question 1

what is agency theory

Answer 1

• proposed by Milgram in 1974
• socialised from an early age to learn that obedience to rules is necessary to keep stability in societywh

Question 2

what does being in an autonomous state mean

Answer 2

• aware of the consequences of their actions and choose voluntarily to behave in particular ways

Question 3

what does being in an agentic state mean

Answer 3

• person sees themselves as the agent of others
• they carry out their orders but do not feel personally responsible for their actions

Question 4

what is the agentic shift

Answer 4

• shift from an autonomous state to an agentic state
• occurs when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure and have a higher position in social hierachy

Question 5

what are binding factors

Answer 5

• aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging affect of their behaviour and reduce the moral strain they feel

Question 6

what is the research support for agentic state

Answer 6

• support from Milgram’s own studies
• most participants asked experimenter who was responsible if the learner is harmed
• experimenter said he was responsible
• participant carried on quickly with no further objections

Question 7

why is the agentic state a limited explanation

Answer 7

• Rank and Jacobson’s study (1977)
• 16/18 hospital nurses disobeyed orders from a doctor to administer an excessive amount to a patient
• doctor was an authority figure
• nurses remained in an autonomous state
• agentic shift only accounts for some explanations of obedience

Question 8

what is legitimacy of authority

Answer 8

• we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us
• authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within the social hierarchy

Question 9

what is a consequence of legitimacy of authority

Answer 9

• some people are granted the power to punish others
• general agreement that police and courts have the power to punish wrongdoers and trust them to exercise their authority appropriately

Question 10

what is destructive authority

Answer 10

• use legitimate powers for destructive purposes
• ordering people to behave in cruel and dangerous ways
• Hitler
• experimenter uses prods to coerce the participants to carry on

Question 11

how does legitimacy of authority explain cultural differences

Answer 11

Kilham and Mann (1974)
- 16% of female Australian participants went to 450v

Mantell (1971)
- 85% of german female participants went to 450v

• different societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures

Question 12

why does legitimacy of authority not explain all obedience and disobedience

Answer 12

• nurses in Rank and Jacobson’s study were mainly disobedient in a rigidly hierarchal authority structure
• minority in Milgram’s study disobeyed the experimenter even though he had authority
• some people may be more or less obedient than others