Strength of the agency theory - Milgram's studies support agentic state
P: Milgram's own studies support the agentic state explanation of obedience
E: Most of his ppts resisted giving shocks at some point and often asked the experimenter questions such as 'who is responsible if X is harmed?'. When the experimenter replied, I'm responsible, the ppts often carried on with no further obligations.
Ex: Once ppts perceived they were no longer responsible for their own behaviour, they shifted autonomous state to agentic state to help reduce their moral strain
L: This is as Milgram suggested in his agency theory, therefore strengthening it as an explanation for obedience
C: Not all of Milgram’s ppts shifted responsibility. One ppt stopped at 225V and said, “I would put it on myself entirely,” when asking who was responsible, suggesting the agentic state is reductionist as it overlooks dispositional factors like personality.