A01

• agentic state


  where an individual believes they are acting on behalf of someone else e.g., an authority figure, therefore they believe someone else will take responsibility for their own actions
• agentic shift


  agentic shift is where an individual switches from an autonomous state to an agentic state. Autonomous state is when an individual believes they will take responsibility and are not acting on behalf of anyone else. 
• agentic state= increase obediance

  An individual is more likely to obey when they are in an agentic state as they believe they will noy suffer the consequences of their own actions, this can therefore reduce guilt for wrongdoing and explain how people obey to immoral situations.
• legitimacy of authority

  • how credible an authority figure is.
  • more likely to obey if authority figure seen as credible and legitimate
  • An individual recognises own, and others position in the hierarchy, if other person holds higher position in social hierarchy, more likely to obey them.
• legitimacy increased by:

  • certain situational factors such as uniform or location. For example, in Milgram’s study people saw the experimenter as legitimate as they knew he was a scientist and therefore more knowledgeable and more responsible.