Agency Theory

• Key Concepts:

  • Agentic/Autonomous State
  • Socialisation
  • Social Hierarchy
  • Displacing Responsibility and Moral Strain
  • Social Etiquette
  • Perceived Legitimate Authority
  • Institutional Structure
• Dissent (autonomous), can also ease moral strain, when people are reminded of their capacity for this (witness disobedience) they are less obedient - censorship
• Milgram based Agency theory on his research and assumption society is hierarchical; it states people tend to obey authority, and social rules to maintain a stable society; an evolutionary purpose, those without structure died out
• To obey we must give up our free will, but sometimes this has horrific consequences, just as we are born with the capacity for language, we are innately prepared to be obedient which is nurtured through socialisation

  • Primary socialisation - parents; use a reward and punishment system
  • Secondary socialisation - institutions use sanctions/punishments/rewards
• We expect socially dominant people’s presence in most social situations; power of authority comes from their perceived status in the situation, not their characteristics
• People will feel moral strain (distress) after an authority figure gives them an order that differs from their morals; to overcome this they may shift to an agentic state: The individual displaces responsibility to the authority figure so that they can remain guilt-free, so the actions taken no longer affect their self-image