Obedience

• Obedience is a form of social influence where an individual performs an action under the orders of an authority figure. Involves explicit demands or orders.
• Legitimacy of authority is a factor of obedience where people are more likely to obey those who we perceive to have legitimate authority as they are respected and viewed as knowledgable.
• Proximity is a factor of obedience says physical closeness of the authority figure can increase obedience. A person is more likely to comply with a direct order if the authority figure is close by.
• Agentic state is a factor of obedience which is a psychological state of thinking you are acting as an agent for others orders, removing personal responsibility.
• Milgram's experiment (1963) had participants administer electric shocks to another person as orders from an authority figure. 65% continued to the max 450v and all participants continued to 300v.