Legitimacy of authority- soldiers claimed they were only followingorders. They would have trusted their commanders and possibly feared punishment by not obeying.
Agentic state- Acted in their agentic state as soldiers on behalf of the US army.
What is a weakness of Milgram's research?
Using explanations to explain real life atrocities:
Use of an 'obedience alibi' to explain real life events such as the Holocaust/ Abu Ghraib is distressing for those who were affected by them.
The justification of 'only obeying orders' effectively creates excuses for why people behaved destructively towards other human beings.
It gives obedience an 'alibi'.
What is a weakness of Milgram's research?
Reductionist:
Only considering situational factors that lead to obedience is reductionist.
There may be other characteristics and individual differences to consider, e.g., gender, culture and personality.
