Explanations for Obedience

• What is an autonomous state?

  When an individual takes personal responsibility for their actions.
• What is the agentic state?

  When an individual believes they are acting on behalf of an authority figure.
• What happens to an individual when they are in the agentic state?

  They lose sense of personal responsibility and see themselves as carrying out the wishes of a more knowledgeable authority figure.
• What happens to obedience when an individual is in the agentic state?


  They will be more likely to obey.
• How does the agentic state apply to Milgram's study?

  As ppts asked continually "who is responsible?" - they did not want to be held responsible for their actions - showing they were in the agentic state when obeying.
• What did Milgram suggest about legitimacy of authority?

  We are more likely to obey a person who has a higher position or status in a social hierarchy.
• What is legitimacy of authority?

  An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified by the individual's position of power within a social hierarchy.
• What do we accept about legitimacy of authority?

  We accept that some people have the power to punish others.
• How is legitimacy of authority shown in Milgram's study?

  He changed the experiment and instead conducted his research in a 'seedy office' or gave orders over the telephone, obedience reduced as the experimenter has less legitimate authority.
• How does setting affect legitimacy of authority?


  If an authority figure is not in their usual setting, any order they give may lack power.
• When does a person enter the agentic state?

  When they perceive an authority figure is legitimate.
• How can legitimacy of authority be praised for having research to support conducted by Blass and Schmitt?

  • Ppts were shown a film of Milgram's study and asked to identify who they felt was responsible for the harm inflicted on the learner.

  • The ppts blamed the experimenter rather than the 'teacher'.

  • The experimenter was top of the hierarchy, he was seen as having expert authority.
• How can legitimacy of authority and the agentic state be praised for having research to support conducted by Hofling?

  • Conducted a study using nurses on a hospital ward - ordered by an unknown doctor to give a dangerous dose of a drug to patients via telephone.

  • 21/22 nurses gave the medication even though they knew not to take orders over the phone.

  • LoA = the doctor had more authority than the nurses.

  • AS = the nurses may have felt that the doctors were ultimately responsible as the authority figure, and this is why they obeyed.
• How can the agentic state be criticised for having research to contradict?

  • Mandel (1998) described one incident involving German Nazi soldiers - men obeyed to shoot civilians in a small town in Poland.

  • They were told beforehand that they could be given other duties instead.

  • Contradicts the agentic state as the soldiers chose to shoot the civilians over other duties - they would not be able to place the blame on an authority figure.
• How can legitimacy of authority be praised because it can account for cultural differences in obedience?

  • In some cultures, authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate.

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

  • Cross-cultural replications of Milgram's studies - found differences in obedience (Australia 16% went to 450V and Germany 85% went to 450V).

  • Increase the external validity.
• Who proposed the dispositional explanation (authoritarian personality) as an explanation of obedience?

  Adorno
• Is the Authoritarian Personality external or internal?


  Internal
• What idea does the authoritarian personality focus on?

  Certain personality characteristics are associated with higher levels of obedience.
• What is the authoritarian personality a collection of?

  Personality traits
• What are these personality traits said to develop from?

  Strict parenting during an individual's childhood.
• What examples of strict parenting may lead to the development of the authoritarian personality?

  Extremely strict discipline, an expectation of loyalty, impossibly high standards, and severe criticisms of failings.
• What are the personality traits associated with the authoritarian personality?

  Extreme respect for perceived authority and submission to people in perceived authority as they seen them as superior.
• What do people with an authoritarian personality disapprove of?

  Individuals perceived as low status.
• What do people with an authoritarian personality do to individuals perceived as low status?

  Direct anger towards them as they view them as inferior.
• What do people with an authoritarian personality have strict adherence to?

  Social rules and hierarchies - they have a black and white way of thinking.
• How was the Authoritarian Personality assessed?

  Using the F-Scale (potential facism scale) questionnaire.
• Who developed the F-Scale questionnaire?

  Adorno
• What was the sample that Adorno assessed using the F-Scale questionnaire?

  Over 2000 American participants.
• What did those who scored highly on the questionnaire have?

  The authoritarian personality - they displayed the characteristics of the authoritarian personality.
• How can the authoritarian personality be praised for having research to support conducted by Milgram and Elms?

  • Milgram and Elms interviewed ppts who had taken part in Milgram's experiment - asked them to complete the F-Scale questionnaire to measure their levels of authoritarianism.

  • They found higher levels of authoritarianism among those ppts classified as obedient (gave electric shocks to 450V) compared with those classified as defiant.

  • Therefore, the authoritarian personality is associated with obedience.
• How can research conducted by Adorno et al into the authoritarian personality be criticised for social desirability?

  • Ppts may have lied on the F-Scale questionnaire to present themselves in the best possible light. E.g. by trying to minimise any facist views.

  • Adorno may not be measuring what he set out to measure e.g. the authoritarian personality.

  • Reduces the internal validity.
• How can Adorno's research into the authoritarian personality be criticised for being correlational?

  • E.g. only shows that there is a relationship between harsh parenting and the development of an authoritarian personality.

  • Therefore, Adorno could not claim that harsh parenting caused the authoritarian personality.

  • Limits the use of the authoritarian personality when explaining obedience to authority through disposition.
• How is a limitation that an alternative explanation for obedience is situational factors?

  • Would argue that obedience is due to external factors e.g. proximity of the victim, the location where an individual is asked for obey and whether the individual giving the order is wearing a uniform.

  • Suggesting that obedience may not just be due to an authoritarian personality (internal factors)

  • Weakens the research into dispositional factors as an explanation for obedience as it is not the sole explanation.