Obedience: Social-psychological factors Pages 26-27 of course text 4.1.1 - Social influence: Explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority

Social-psychological explanations These explanations concern the influences of others on an individual’s behaviour, rather than external factors in the situation The two theories you need to know are: Agentic state Legitimacy theory

He had only been ‘obeying orders’ Stanley Milgram Milgram’s initial interest in obedience was sparked by the trail of Adolf Eichmann in 1961 for in war crimes during the Second World War Eichmann had been in charge of the Nazi death camps His defence? He had only been ‘obeying orders’

1. Agentic State From his research, Milgram proposed the agentic theory By this he meant: When we act as the agent (representative) of someone in authority we find it easy to deny personal responsibility for our actions – it’s just doing our job or just following orders.

Agentic Shift People have two ways of acting: autonomous state – individuals direct their own behaviour, and take responsibility for the consequences Agentic state – individuals allow someone else to direct their behaviour – they pass responsibility to them People move from the autonomous state into the agentic state when confronted with an authority figure. This shift from autonomy to ‘agency’ is called the agentic shift. If we obey an order that goes against our conscience, we are likely to experience moral strain, which results when we have to do something we believe to be immoral in order to function as an agent of authority. Although people in such a situation may want to stop, they feel unable to do so due to binding factors – aspects of the situation that allow a person to minimise the damaging effect of their behaviour. “he was foolish to volunteer” – shifting responsibility to victim

Obedience How far can social-psychological factors of obedience explain why an normal person could push someone to their death today? Challenge: Can you think of any contemporary examples of agentic state/legitimate authority?

Agentic versus Autonomous State Social Influence: Social-Psychological Factors of Obedience AO1 UNDERSTANDING Agentic versus Autonomous State Milgram believed that in cases of obedience to destructive authority, individuals believe they are acting on behalf of someone else and that they are not _______________ for their actions. In other words they act as an ___________ and complete the orders under a mental state in which they feel no sense of responsibility or guilt for their behaviours. This is also known as the ____________ ___________. The individual might feel some ____________ ____________ or anxiety when they realise their wrongful behaviour but are powerless to disobey when they are at a lower ___________ in the social hierarchy to their authority figure. Most of the time individuals are in the _________________ state, a state of independence in which they have the free will to choose how to behave and take full responsibility for their actions. However, when people are in the presence of a perceived authority figure, they make a change from being autonomous to taking on the agentic state. This is what Milgram named an _____________ _______________. But why do people stay in this agentic state even though in reality they want to disobey? Milgram said that there are always aspects of the situation which bind us to the task and allow us to block out the moral strain we are experiencing. These are called _____________ _____________. There are a number of strategies we use to do this, including denying responsibility and making out it’s the victim’s fault. agent moral strain responsible agentic state position autonomous state social agentic shift binding factors AO2 APPLICATION Explain one of the historical cases of obedience using the agentic state explanation. Ensure you use the key terms detailed above! Historic case of obedience ___________________________________________ Explanation: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluations Research support The theory is supported by several studies. Milgram’s own research demonstrated how the majority of ordinary people will follow instructions even when they are acting against conscience. Blass and Schmitt (2001) found that people who saw Milgram’s study blamed the experimenter, indicating that they believed the participants were agents of authority. The explanation is also supported by many historical events which demonstrate that as a result of social pressure normal people can act in a callous and inhumane way.

Evaluations A limited explanation On the negative side, there are alternative reasons why people obey an authority figure. It could be due to personality rather than the situation. In addition, agency theory cannot explain why some people disobey authority figures, as was shown by about a third of the participants in the original Milgram study.

le·git·i·mate  adj. 1. Being in compliance with the law; lawful: a legitimate business. 2. Being in accordance with established or accepted patterns and standards: legitimate advertising practices. 3. Based on logical reasoning; reasonable: a legitimate solution to the problem. 4. Authentic; genuine: a legitimate complaint.

2. Legitimacy of authority This is 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

To obey or defy…? Kelman and Hamilton (1989) suggest three main factors to explain obedience. These are:   Legitimacy of the system Legitimacy of authority within the system Legitimacy of demands or orders given

Legitimacy of the system This concerns the extent to which the ‘body’ is a legitimate source of authority For example: government, army, religious group school family

Legitimacy of authority within the system This is the power individuals hold to give orders because of their position in the system This therefore is linked to status and the hierarchy within a particular establishment

Legitimacy of demands or orders given This refers to the extent with which the order is perceived to be a legitimate area for the authority figure Example It is reasonable for a teacher to tell you off for not having completed your homework BUT It is not reasonable for the teacher to demand that you go and wash their car!!!

Destructive authority History has shown all too often that powerful leaders (such as Hitler, Stalin) can use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes, Destructive authority was shown in Milgram’s study when the experimenter used prods to order the pps to behave in ways that went against their consciences

authority destructive power independence legitimate hierarchy Social Influence: Social-Psychological Factors of Obedience AO1 UNDERSTANDING Legitimacy of Authority In order to act in an agentic state, the person we are obeying must be perceived to have legitimate authority. Society is structured in a _________________ with those at the top holding positions of _______________ such as police officers, parents, teachers and security guards. As society dictates their position, their authority is _______________ and we accept that they can exert their power in order to keep society in order. We learn to accept these legitimate authority figures from an early age and are brought up to understand that some of these figures have the _____________ to punish us. As a result we are willing to give up some of our __________________ and trust people in these positions to use their authority appropriately. However certain powerful figures have exploited their authority in a _________________ way. For example Hitler is a prime example of a charismatic leader who used his legitimate authority to order people lower down in the social hierarchy to behave in cruel, evil and torturous ways. authority destructive power independence legitimate hierarchy AO2 APPLICATION Explain one of the historical cases of obedience using the legitimate authority xplanation. Ensure you use the key terms detailed above! Historic case of obedience ___________________________________________ Explanation: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Evaluations Cultural differences The legitimacy theory is a useful account of cultural differences in obedience – in some cultures, authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate and entitled to demand obedience from individuals This reflects the ways that different societies are structured and are raised to perceive authority figures

Social Influence: Social-Psychological Factors of Obedience AO3 EVALUATTION Blass and Schmitt (2001) A video of the Milgram study was shown to students and asked them to identify who they felt was responsible for the harm to the learner, Mr. Wallace. The students blamed the ‘experimenter’ rather than the participant, arguing he had responsibility due to his authority. This is a strength / weakness of the _______________________explanation. Explain why? A Limited Explanation The agentic shift doesn’t explain many of the research findings. Eg. It did not explain why some of the participants did not obey in Milgram’s study. The agentic shift also does not explain the findings in Hofling’s study. The agentic shift predicts that, as the nurses handed over responsibility to the doctor, they should have shown high levels of anxiety as they understood their role in the destructive process. This was not the case. This is a strength / weakness of the _______________________explanation. Explain why? Cultural Differences Many studies show that countries differ in the degree in which people are traditionally obedient to authority. Eg. Kilburn and Mann (1974) replicated Milgram’s procedure in Australia and found that only 16% of participants went to the top of the voltage scale. On the other hand Mantell (1971) found that 85% of German participants delivered the maximum shock. This shows that in other cultures, authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate and entitled to demand obedience from individuals. This reflects the way different societies are structured and how children are raised to perceive authority figures. This is a strength / weakness of the _______________________explanation. Explain why?

Essay Outline and evaluate one or more explanation of obedience (12 marks – AS/16 marks A level)

Homework Ensure you have made notes on the social-psychological factors affecting obedience (pages 26 + 27) Your notes should include: Explanations of: agentic state and legitimacy theory How these factors impact on obedience levels Evaluations of agentic state and legitimacy theory Complete the ‘Apply it: Massacre at My Lai’ on page 26