situational explanations for obedience

• 2 situation explanations for obedience?

  1. agentic shift
  2. legitimate authority
• what is an autonomous state?

  • when an individual can act independently/according to their own principles
  • they are aware of consequences to actions
• what is an agentic state?

  • when an individual carries out orders on behalf of authority figure
  • feel no responsibility/guilt for actions
  • person unthinkingly carries out orders - diffusion of responsibilty
• what is agentic shift?

  occurs due to presence of authority figure & changes from autonomous to agentic state
• what are binding factors?

  aspects of situations that allow person to ignore their damaging behaviour

  taking away their moral strain
• example of agentic shift in milgrams study?

  • original - p were told experimenter held full responsibility & acted as agent carrying out order
  • many p said they wanted to stop but were powerless to do so
  • binding factors caused them to remain in agentic state
• what is legitimate authority?

  refers to amount of social power held by authority figure
• what is seen as being a legitimate authority?

  1. wearing a uniform
  2. being in a legitimate environment
  3. having power/status in society
• how are we socialised?

  to obey those who have authority over us
• societal heirarchy?

  some members of group have legitimate social power above those below them
• example of legitimate authority in milgrams study?

  • experimenter displayed destructive authority when giving verbal prods & encouraging teacher making p go against their own moral judgement to potentially kill another person
  • this was destructive obedience
• 4 * for situational explanations for obedience?

  1. practical application
  2. evidence to support from milgrams variation
  3. evidence to support l.a from blass & schmitt
  4. evidence to support l.a from bickman
• * practical application a.s?

  • adolf eichmanns questioning he said he was "just doing his job" under leadership of hitler
  • nazis obeyed orders & can be understood by agentic state
  • occurs due to binding factors - allowed eichmann to ignore damaging effect of his behaviour
  • when presented with orders from authority figure we shift responsibility
  • experience agentic shift from autonomous state
  • more likely to obey someone who has social power - they are responsible
• * evidence to support a.s from milgrams variation?

  • found that when additional confederate gave electric shock on behalf of real p (teacher) obedience rose to 92.5% for 450v
  • comparing to 65% giving shocks themselves
  • p shifted responsibility to person giving shock
  • provides evidence that people obey more when they feel less responsible for outcome
• X evidence to contradict from milgrams original?

  • as humans all bought up in heirarchal society
  • according to this we should obey someone with higher legitimate authority
  • in ms study not everyone obeyed experimenter
  • 35% refused to obey
  • provides evidence that results do not generalise to all of p
  • shows there may be other factors involved in obedience
• * evidence to support a.s from blass & schmitt?

  • showed film of milgrams study to group of students & asked who they thought was responsible for harm to learner
  • they blamed experimenter rather than real p who gave electric shock
  • shows when we are in agentic state we believe authority figure is responsible as we do not see ourselves in control of our own actions
  • more likely to be obedient as we are acting as agent on behalf of authority figure
• * evidence to support l.a from bickman?

  • conducted field experiment where confederate dressed in casual jacket, milkman uniform, security guard jacket
  • asked real p in park to pick up litter
  • found p twice more likely to obey when confederate wore security uniform
  • uniform made him appear more/less like legitimate authority
  • provides evidence that when authority figure is wearing uniform this makes them seen as legitimate, increasing obedience