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Summary AQA A level explaining obedience
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L5 - explaining obedience:Milgram proposed that we believe we are following the destructive orders of authority = we are
not responsible but acting on behalf of someone else
There are 2 situational explanations considered in explaining obedient behaviour - the agentic
state and legitimacy to authority
Agentic state -
● Autonomous state refers to being free to behave according to their own principle - feels a
sense of responsibility of their actions
● Agentic state happens in the presence of an authority figure and is when the
responsibility of individuals actions is placed on authority figure
● Agentic shift is when you shift from autonomous to agentic state (THIS OCCURS
WHEN SOMEONE PERCEIVES SOMEONE AS AN AUTHORITY FIGURE) - someone
who we consider an authority figure is one who has a higher position in social hierarchy
than ourselves
● by acting on behalf of someone -we become an agent, they still experience morals strain
- where we do something immoral in order to function as an agent of authority (anxiety
for when they do something wrong)
● Agent feels powerless to disobey
● Agentic state is maintained through binding factors refers to coping mechanisms that
allows a person to minimise damaging effect of their behaviour = reduces moral strain
In milgram’s case ppts blamed mr Wallace saying he was foolish to volunteer
Legitimacy of authority :
Society is structured in hierarchical way - some people hold authority over the rest of us -
authority held by these people is legitimate and is accepted by everyone in society e.g the
government
Allows these figures to exercise social power over others - we recognise that this is needed in
order for society to run smoothly - generally accepted rule that police and courts are given the
power to punish - so we surrender our independence and hand control of our behaviour to
people we trust will exercise their authority
Destructive authority :
People use their authority for negative purposes - becomes destructive
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