Agency theory

• Agency theory is the idea that people obey authority figures to maintain a stable society.
• The autonomous state is when we are free to take responsibility for our actions and make our own decisions.
• Deciding what to wear is an example of the autonomous state
• Agentic shift is when we move between thinking freely and obeying an authority figure.
• The Agentic State is a state where the individual feels controlled by an authority figure so gives up responsibility for their actions.
• Moral strain is the stress caused by the conflict between an individual’s moral beliefs and the orders of authority.
• Deciding whether to wear your lanyard because a teacher told you to is an example of agentic shift.
• A soldier killing someone due to the general’s instructions could be an example of being in the agentic state.
• Shaking and sweating or using verbal buffers when ordered to hurt somebody is an example of moral strain.
• One strength of Agency theory is that Milgram found participants demonstrated moral strain when following the order to give an electric shock. This shows that people can experience physical reactions (such as stuttering) to orders they think are wrong but still carry them out due to being ordered by authority.
• Another strength is that Hofling found 95% of nurses gave a dose of a drug that exceeded the max allowed when ordered to by a doctor. This shows that people will obey authority and go into the agentic state.
• Sedikedes and Jackson found that 60% of visitors complied when in groups of 1 or 2 but only 14% in groups of 5 or 6. This is a weakness of agency theory as it shows that obedience may be influenced by the number of targets and not just the presence of an authority figure.
• One weakness is that adorno found that those with an authoritarian personality were more likely to obey those with a higher status. This shows agency theory is a limited explanation as it doesn’t account for the impact personality has on obedience.
• Social impact theory states that the number of sources and targets, immediacy and the strength of the source all affect how obedient we will be. This criticises Agency theory as it suggests it is too simplistic and that obedience is more complex than just the presence of an authority figure.
• One weakness of Agency theory is that it is reductive since authority is the only factor affecting obedience. This suggests Agency theory is too simplistic and that obedience is more complex than just the presence of an authority figure.
• This theory can be considered useful as it can explain historical events such as the atrocities in the Holocaust and help us understand how to prevent people from following certain authority in the future.
• Agency theory can also be applied to everyday life where we are often told what to do by our bosses/teachers etc. It helps us understand why we might follow their orders even if they aren't always right.