Obedience: situational explanation

• Agentic state

  A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure, i.e. as their agent. This frees us from the demands of our consciences and allows us to obey even a destructive authority figure.
• Legitimacy of authority

  An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us. This authority is justified (legitimate) by the individual's position of power within a social hierarchy.
• Autonomous state


  The opposite of being in an agentic state. Autonomy means to be independent or free. So a person in an autonomous state is free to behave according to their own principles and feels a sense of responsibility for their own actions.
• Agentic shift

  The shift from autonomy to 'agency' when a person perceives someone else as an authority figure. The authority figure has greater power because they have a higher position in a social hierarchy. In most social groups, when one person is in charge others defer to the legitimate authority of this person and shift from autonomy to agency.
• Binding factors

  Aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour and thus reduce the 'moral strain' they are feeling. Strategies the individual uses, such as shifting the responsibility to the victim or denying the damage they were doing to the victims.
• Destructive authority

  Problems arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive. History has too often shown that charismatic and powerful leaders (such as Hitler, Stalin and Pol Pot) can use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes, ordering people to behave in ways that are cruel and dangerous.
• Research support (agentic state)

  Milgram's studies support the agentic state in obedience. When participants were told the Experimenter was responsible for any harm, they continued without objection, acting as the Experimenter's agent.
• A limited explanation (agentic state)

  The agentic shift theory is limited, as seen in Rank and Jacobson's study where 16 of 18 nurses disobeyed a doctor's orders, suggesting it only explains some obedience situations.
• Explains cultural differences (LOA)

  The legitimacy explanation effectively clarifies cultural obedience differences, with studies showing varied levels across countries like Australia and Germany, reflecting cultural norms and upbringing.
• Cannot explain all (dis)obedience (LOA)

  Can't explain disobedience in clear authority structures, like nurses in Rank and Jacobson's study and some of Milgram's participants. Suggests obedience differences may be innate rather than from authority legitimacy.