AO1 - Explanations of Obedience

• Legitimacy of authority figure: obedient individuals accept the power and status of authority figures e.g. parents, teachers, and see them as being in charge. (1) The authority they have is legitimate in the sense that is it agreed by society. We know people's credentials and believe they know what they are doing. (1) It is ingrained in us to obey these people even if we believe the order may be un-ethical or unjust. Factors that can affect legitimacy of authority are uniform and location. (1) - (If asked about LOA + AS)
• In Milgram's research, when he changed the experiment and conducted his research in a seedy office or gave orders over the phone, obedience reduced as the experimenter has less legitimate authority (1) - (If asked about legitimacy of authority on its own)
• Agentic State: People may move away from being in a state where they take personal responsibility for their actions (autonomous state) to a state where they believe they are acting on behalf of an authority figure (agentic state) (1) - this is known as agentic shift.

• Agentic shift occurs when someone perceives somebody as an authority figure (a higher position in a social hierarchy). When an individual is in agentic state, they lose a sense of personal responsibility and no longer feel guilty for their actions as they see themselves carrying out the wishes of a more knowledgeable authority figure. (1) If a person is in agentic state, they will be more likely to obey (1).