Situational explanations

• Agentic state

  • Adolf Eichmann (Nazi death camp leader) "just following orders"
  • Milgram proposed that individuals obey destructive authority because they believe that they are acting for someone else
  • They experience high anxiety ('moral strain') when they realise that what they are doing is wrong, but feel powerless to disobey
• Autonomous state

  • Opposite of being in an agentic state
  • Being free to behave according to your own principles and feeling responsible for your own actions
  • The shift from autonomy to 'agency' is called the agentic shift
  • Milgram suggested that this happens when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure
• Binding factors

  • Many participants said they wanted to stop but felt powerless to do so - they remained in the agentic state
  • Binding factors are aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus reduce the 'moral strain' they are feeling
  • Milgram proposed a number of strategies that the individual uses, such as shifting the responsibility to the victim or denying the damage they were doing to the victims
• Legitimacy of authority

  • Most societies are hierarchal
  • The authority that certain individuals (teachers, police officers, parents etc) wield is legitimate in the sense that it is agreed by society
  • Most of us accept that they have to be allowed to exercise their power because this allows society to run smoothly
  • Some people are granted the power to punish others
• Destructive authority

  • Charismatic and powerful leaders (Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot) can use their legitimate power for destructive purposes
  • This was evident in Milgram's study, when the Experimenter used prods to order participants to behave in ways that went against their consciences