Psychological A01

• Adolf Eichmann

  Charged with Nazi death camps, claimed he was under orders
• Milgram


  Suggested people do not take responsibility in agentic state
• Agent


  Acts for/in place of another person, experiences moral strain
• Agentic state


  State where people feel no responsibility for their actions because they believe they're under a authority figure
• Autonomous state


  State where people are free to behave according to their own principles
• Agentic shift

  Shift from autonomous to agentic state due to perception of authority
• Binding factors


  Ignoring or minimising aspects of situation to reduce moral strain
• Legitimacy of Binding Factors

  Societal acceptance of authority to maintain social order
• Legitimacy of authority

  Acceptance of authority figures in hierarchical societies
• Consequence of legitimacy of authority

  Some people are granted the power to punish others
• Destructive power


  Demonstrated in Milgram's study on obedience and real life examples: Hitler and Stalin