Situational explanations

• What are situational explanations

  They explain the situational variables of obediance
• Milgram: agentic state


  The obedience to the destructive authority is because the person becomes an agent. Agent - carry out actions for someone else.

  The autonomous state is the opposite of the agentic state (behaves according to their own principals) and this is what we usually are
• Milgram: agentic shift


  The change from the autonomous state to the agentic state is the called the agentic shift. It occurs when there is an authority figure present. Binding factors also play a role.
• Milgram: binding factors


  Binding factors allow the person to ignore the damage of their behaviour by justifying it. This reduces the moral strain. This can include victim blaming.
• Credits of the agentic state

  Binding factors can be seen in milgrams original study (cues to continue).

  Bass and Schmitt found people identified that the experimenter was to blame (authority figure was the cause of obedience).
• Criticisms of the agentic state

  It doesn't explain why some ppts didn't obey in milgrams experiment.

  The agentic shift is a rapid change that can be reversed. There is no explanation for the gradual more permanent shift that could be seen (e.g. the doctors in auschwitz).
• Milgram: legitimacy of authority

  Most societies are structured hierarchically and these authority figures have legitimacy by social agreement. This means we give up some independence to those authority figures.

  Problems arise when legitimate authority is used in a negative way (as seen in milgrams study).
• Criticisms of legitimacy of authority

  - many countries show that different countries differ in obedience. Kilham, Australia found 16% obey. Menetell, Germany found 85% obey.This shows that authority is more accepted here (explanation for Nazis which is a credit)

  - people still disobey which can't be explained