Situational Explanations

• Agency theory

  Humans have two mental states:

  • Autonomous - we perceive ourselves to be responsible for our own behaviour so we feel guilt for what we do
  • Agentic - we perceive ourselves to be the agent of someone else's will, the authority figure commanding us, so we are not responsible for what we do and do not feel guilt
• Agentic shift


  Occurs when an authoritative figure asks us to do something. We shift from autonomous to agentic state of mind.
• Moral strain


  When an authority figure issues an order that goes against our conscience, because we have two contradictory urges: to obey our authority figure and to obey our consciences as a good person. Milgram identified that his own participants used defense mechanisms to lower moral strain.
• Binding factors to reduce moral strain

  • Denial
  • Avoidance
  • Degree of Involvement
  • Helping the Learner
• Degree of involvement


  • Some participants ticked the shock generator tightly as if this would lessen the pain
  • Some participants tried to help the learner by stressing the correct answer
  • In variation #1, some participants deliberately gave weaker shocks because they thought no one was watching
• Agentic shift reduces moral strain because we think the authoritative figure is now responsible
• Legitimate authority


  People obey because they trust them or because they have the power to punish
• Legitimate authority


  • Hoffling's study found 21 out of 22 nurses were willing to carry out an instruction by an unknown doctor
  • In Milgram's study, people were more likely to obey in Yale University than in a New York office
• Denial 


  Participants minimised the moral strain by convincing themselves the shocks weren't dangerous
• Avoidance 


  Many participants tried not to look at the experimenter or even look up from the shock generator
• Helping the Learner


  Try and help the learner by stressing the correct answer, others deliberately gave weaker shocks when they thought no one was looking
• Situational Explanations: Evaluation Points

  • Milgram's support for agentic state
  • Milgram's support for legitimate authority
  • Incomplete explanation
• Situational Explanations: Milgram's Support for Agentic State


  Participants resisted giving shocks and asked who would be responsible. They obeyed once they knew that the experimenter would take responsibility. Shows the agentic state as participants shifted from the autonomous, acting on their own behalf, to the agentic, acting on someone else's behalf.
• Situational Explanations: Milgram's Support for Legitimate Authority 


  In Milgram's uniform variation, obedience decreased when the experimenter wore normal clothes rather than a lab coat which shows authority. Decreased from 65% to 20%.
• Situational Explanations: Incomplete Explanations

  Situational explanation does not explain the rate of obedience in Milgram's study. 35% didn't obey, not acting as an agent of someone else's will even when they perceived them to have legitimate authority. Doesn't explain why some people are more likely to obey than others