Agency Theory

• What is the main theory ?

  That we shift between autonomous and agentic state to obey authority figures, acting as an agent for them
• What is the autonomous state ?

  where an individual feels in control and responsible for their actions and can follow their own conscience
• What is the agentic state ?

  when we act as an ' agent ' to those with more authority than ourselves. We no longer feel responsible for our own behaviour and have to obey the figure, even if it goes against our conscience
• What are binding factors ?

  they keep the individual in the agentic state by ignoring the harm that they are doing, reducing moral strain
• What is moral strain ?

  When we feel stress because we know that what we are doing is wrong but we must obey
• Binding factors may reduce moral strain if the person believes that the authority figure will take responsibility for their behaviour
• Is his theory feasible ? (Is the theory supported by research evidence )

  Yes as his results from his original experiment support his assumtion
• Is his theory useful ?

  Yes it can explain real life events, such as the soldiers in the holocaust following Hitlers orders
• Is there a different explanation to this behaviour ?

  Yes - social impact theory would suggest that obedience isn't just because of evolution and a shift in states - it is due to the nature of the situation the person is being given an instruction in
• How well does the theory explain the behaviour ?

  It shows that this theory cannot explain that behaviour for all, as 35 % did not obey

  but personality differences and demand characteristics may not have been considered affecting the behaviour
• What is the overall conclusion for this theory? (8 marker)

  That it is effective to explain obedience in individuals in real life settings, but there are other feasible alternatives which explain the same behaviour