Situational explanation

• What is the autonomic state?

  Individuals take responsibility for their own actions.
• What is the agentic state?

  Individuals allow someone else to direct their behaviour.
• What is legitimate authority?

  An authority that is entitled to have its decisions and rules accepted and followed by others. We learn who authority figures are through early socialisation.
• How does legitimate authority link to Milgram?

  People saw Yale as more legitimate which made them want to cooperate more. Milgram concluded that people obey out of fear or desire to appear cooperative.
• What is autonomous/agentic state?

  The autonomous state is a state of agency in the Agency Theory where individuals act on their own behalf and take responsibility for the consequences of their actions. The agentic state is when an individual gives up their autonomy & moral responsibility to an authority figure.
• What is the shift from autonomy to agency?

  They carry out orders from the authority figure, shifting the responsibility from themself to the authority figure. They are able to deny responsibility for their actions and distance themselves from the consequences of these actions.
• How does agentic state link to Milgram?

  During debriefs, participants admitted to feeling under 'moral strain' but still continued to obey. This is consistent with an agentic state.