Agency Theory

• What does the Agency Theory suggest about obedience?

  People are socialized to obey authority
• How does the Agency Theory view social systems?

  As hierarchical where individuals act as agents
• What is the agentic state?

  When individuals hand over responsibility to authority
• What happens to individuals in the agentic state regarding their moral code?

  They obey orders against their moral code
• What is the opposite of the agentic state?

  Autonomous state
• How are individuals viewed in the autonomous state?

  As personally responsible for their actions
• What transition can individuals undergo from the autonomous state?

  They can experience an agentic shift
• What is the definition of the agentic shift?

  The transition from autonomous to agentic state
• A03 - Agency Theory:

  Supporting Evidence

  • Hofling et al. 95% nurses obeyed without hesitation when on a phone call and asked to administer a dose. This suggests that they may have been in the agentic state and handed responsibility over to the authority figure.
• A03- Agency Theory

  Supporting Evidence

  • Milgram - 62.5% went up to 450V which means that they may not have been under moral strain, and instead handed complete responsibility to authority by acting like agents.
• A03- Agency Theory

  Other factors

  • The agency theory cannot explain why 37.5% of Milgram's Ps remained independent and refused to give shocks to their Ps
  • Situational factors
• A03 - Agency Theory

  Alternative Explanations

  • Dispositional
  • Situational variables