Obedience – situational explanation for obedience
Milgram
Agentic state
- Obedience to destructive authority occurs because a person does not take
responsibility. Instead, they believe they are acting as an ‘agent’ for someone else.
- An ‘agent’ is someone who acts for or in place of another, they experience high anxiety
(moral strain) when they realise what they are doing is wrong but feel powerless to
disobey.
Autonomous state
- Milgram proposed ‘agency theory’ suggesting people are socialised from childhood to
obey rules which involves giving up some free will and autonomy.
- When an individual feels they have complete control they are autonomous.
- When an individual obeys an authority figure they enter the agentic state.
- Opposite of agentic state, they are free to behave according to their own principles and
feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions.
- Shift from autonomy to ‘agency’ is called the agentic shift which occurs when a person
perceives someone else as an authority figure.
- When one person is in charge others defer to the legitimate authority of this person and
shift from autonomy to agency
Binding factors
- Many of Milgram’s participants said they wanted to stop but seemed powerless to do
so, the reason is binding factors.
- These are aspects of the imagination that allow the person to ignore or minimise the
damaging effect of their behaviour reducing the ‘moral strain’ (feeling uncomfortable,
anxiety/ distress)
- They may do this by shifting responsibility to the victim or authority figure denying the
damage they were doing to the victims.
- An individual may see an authority figure as responsible for the consequences and
become deindividuated (psychological state whereby an individual loses their sense of
identity, often taking on the identity of the social group)
Legitimacy of authority – we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority
over us. the authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a
social hierarchy.
- Learn to accept authority during childhood.
Destructive authority – using legitimate power for destructive purposes, ordering people to
behave in cruel and dangerous ways.
Milgram
Agentic state
- Obedience to destructive authority occurs because a person does not take
responsibility. Instead, they believe they are acting as an ‘agent’ for someone else.
- An ‘agent’ is someone who acts for or in place of another, they experience high anxiety
(moral strain) when they realise what they are doing is wrong but feel powerless to
disobey.
Autonomous state
- Milgram proposed ‘agency theory’ suggesting people are socialised from childhood to
obey rules which involves giving up some free will and autonomy.
- When an individual feels they have complete control they are autonomous.
- When an individual obeys an authority figure they enter the agentic state.
- Opposite of agentic state, they are free to behave according to their own principles and
feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions.
- Shift from autonomy to ‘agency’ is called the agentic shift which occurs when a person
perceives someone else as an authority figure.
- When one person is in charge others defer to the legitimate authority of this person and
shift from autonomy to agency
Binding factors
- Many of Milgram’s participants said they wanted to stop but seemed powerless to do
so, the reason is binding factors.
- These are aspects of the imagination that allow the person to ignore or minimise the
damaging effect of their behaviour reducing the ‘moral strain’ (feeling uncomfortable,
anxiety/ distress)
- They may do this by shifting responsibility to the victim or authority figure denying the
damage they were doing to the victims.
- An individual may see an authority figure as responsible for the consequences and
become deindividuated (psychological state whereby an individual loses their sense of
identity, often taking on the identity of the social group)
Legitimacy of authority – we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority
over us. the authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual’s position of power within a
social hierarchy.
- Learn to accept authority during childhood.
Destructive authority – using legitimate power for destructive purposes, ordering people to
behave in cruel and dangerous ways.
