Agency Theory Milgram

• Autonomous state


  Behaviour ‘self directed’ and we take responsibility for consequences of our actions. Exercise our morals. Operate in this state alone, w peers or people below
• Agentic shift

  With persons of authority or higher in hierarchy with LEGITAMATE authority (eg your boss). Legitimate when consensus that they have right to give orders
• Agentic state


  Become ‘agent’ and act on authority figures behalf. Responsibility for our actions lie with them - can lead to destructive obedience
• Moral strain


  In agentic state when orders go against your morals - eg told to harm people (like holocaust). Strain not sufficient to provoke defiance and binding factors ensure obedience + status quo is not jeapordised
• Socialisation

  We’re socialised from young age to be obedient with authority figures (teachers + parents)
• Strength (1)

  Blass showed students an edited film of Milgrams study and questioned if Ps or Milgram was responsible and they said Milgram - supports agency theory
• Strength (2)

  Can offer credible explanation for actions of war criminals who claim to be ‘following orders’. Such as Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam.
• Weakness (1)

  Doesn’t state HOW the agentic shift takes place and what process is involved or how it can be measured. Makes is harder to carry out research to test the theory which weakens it’s validity. So theory lacks credibility.
• Weakness (2)

  Doesn’t explain individual differences in obedience eg why did some not obey Milgram
• Weakness (3)

  Doesn’t explain why some people who aren’t in positions of authority, can still be highly skilled in commanding obedience from others