Explanations for Obedience - Agentic State and Legitimacy of Authority
- Created by: rosannaaa
- Created on: 05-05-18 08:29
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- Explanations for Obedience: Agentic State and Authoritarian Personality
- AGENTIC STATE
- Milgram 1974 argues we are all socialised from early age to learn obedience is necessary to keept stability in society.
- Destructive authority occurs because the person believes they are acting for someone else, they are not responsible.
- The individual hands over the responsibility for the outcome of their action to an authority figure.
- Autonomous State - Autonomy (being free/independent), the individual has control and acts to their own wishes, therefore feels sense of responsibility.
- Agentic Shift - shift from autonomy to agentic, occurs when someone perceives a person as a figure of authority. They act as an agent for those seen as higher in social hierarchy than themselves.
- Binding Factors - why the person stays in this state. Aspects of the situation that allow the person to ignore or minimise damaging effect of their behaviour and reduce 'moral strain' they are feeling.
- Suggests we are more likely to obey people who we believe have to have authority over us. The degree to which individuals are seen as justified in having power over others.
- LEGITIMACY OF AUTHORITY
- Parents, teachers, bouncers all have authority over us at times. The authority they wield is legitimate in the sense that it is agreed by society.
- LEGITIMACY OF AUTHORITY
- Exercise social power to enable society runs smoothly.
- We learn acceptance of legitimate authority in childhood, from parents and then teachers.
- Destructive Authority - Problems arise when legitimate authority becomes destructive, charismatic and powerful leaders (Hitler, Stalin) ordered people to behave in callous, cruel ways.
- Destructive authority shown in Milgram's study where the experimenter used prods to order ppts to behave in ways that went against their consciences.
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