AO1

• Agentic state is when a person sees himself or herself as an agent for carrying out another person's wishes
• Legitimate authority is when a person who is perceived to be in a position of social control within a situation
• Legitimacy of authority is learnt in childhood through socialisation processes such as the relationship between parent and child, teacher and student ..etc. This idea extends to suggest that some people have the right to punish/harm others such as the police force and in the criminal justice system. It is accepted by most people that legitimacy of authority is needed in order for society to function properly.
• Legitimate authority requires an institution

  • If an authority figures commands are of a potentially harmful form, then for them to be perceived as legitimate they must occur within some sort of institution structure (e.g. a university or the military)
• Bindings factors in agentic state

  • once a person has entered the state there is a social etiquette that plays a part in regulating our behaviour
• Moving from the autonomous state to the agentic state is known as the agentic shift.
• Agentic state is the opposite of the autonomous state where individual’s actions are free from control, and so they feel that they have responsibility for their actions and behave according to their moral values
• Whether or not we obey a person depends on the legitimacy of the authority.
• Legitimacy of authority is learnt in childhood through socialisation processes such as the relationship between parent and child, teacher and student ..etc. This idea extends to suggest that some people have the right to punish/harm others such as the police force and in the criminal justice system.
• It is accepted by most people that legitimacy of authority is needed in order for society to function properly.