obedience: social-psychological factors

• Agentic State


  - occurs when we act on behalf of another person

  - in agentic state a person feels no personal responsibility for their actions
• what is the opposite of an agentic state

  autonomous state (independent/free)
• Agentic Shift


  Transition to obeying an authoritative figure.
• Binding Factors


  reduces moral strain in obedience.
• strength of agentic state

  has research support
• limitations of agentic state

  - doesn't explain many research findings, so can account for some situations of obedience

  - can't account for behaviour of nazis
• Destructive Purposes


  Use of legitimate power for harmful actions.
• Charismatic Leaders


  Influential figures who misuse authority destructively.
• Amoral Compliance


  Following orders without moral consideration.
• Destructive Personality


  Tendency to harm others under authority influence.
• Milgram's Study


  Experiment demonstrating obedience to authority figures.
• Impact on Relationships


  Destructive behaviors can harm personal connections.
• Aggression


  Hostile behavior that can disrupt relationships.
• Manipulation


  Influencing others for personal gain or control.
• Lack of Empathy


  Inability to understand others' feelings or experiences.
• Mental Health Influence


  Destructive personalities can lead to anxiety and depression.
• Emotional Distress


  Negative emotional states resulting from destructive behaviors.
• Social Hierarchy


  Structured ranking of individuals in society.
• Trust in Authority


  Reliance on leaders due to perceived legitimacy.
• Cultural Acceptance


  Variability in acceptance of authority across cultures.
• Conflict in Communication


  Breakdowns in dialogue due to destructive behaviors.
• Legitimacy of authority

  - when we obey people at the top of a social hierarchy

  - authorities have legitimacy through societies agreements

  - we hand control of our behaviour over to authority figures due to trust and upbringing

  - charismatic leaders use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes

  strengths of loa

  + can explain real life obedience and give reasons why destructive obedience is committed

  + useful account for cultural differences

  + authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate in some cultures
• destructive personality

  - problems arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive

  - charismatic and powerful leaders like hitler/stalin can use their powers for destructive purposes, like ordering people to act in callous, cruel, stupid and dangerous ways

  - shown in milgrams study when prods were used by experimenter to behave inlays that went against their consciences

  drawbacks

  - impact on relationships, DP often exhibits behaviour that can harm relationships (aggression, manipulation, lack of empathy can all lead to conflicts/breakdowns in communication so its harder to maintain healthy connections

  - negatively influence mental wellbeing

  - stressed caused by mental wellbeing can lead to anxiety, depression, cycles of negativity and emotional distress