explanations for obedience: agentic state and legitimacy of authority

agentic state theory

Milgram (1974) - suggested people are more likely to obey when they enter an agentic state

• autonomous state: person believes they’re responsible for own actions and consequences of behaviour

• agentic state: person believes they’re acting on behalf of an authority figure and the authority figure is responsible for consequences of actions

movement from autonomous state to agentic state is called an agentic shift

agentic state

• feel less personally responsible for own actions

• believe they’re simply following orders

• transfer responsibility for consequences onto authority figure

makes people more likely to obey commands even if actions go against own morals

agentic state theory strength - supported by Milgram’s obedience research

Milgram found many pp continued to give increasingly high electric shocks because they believed they were following orders from an authority figure

after study pp reported feeling distressed and conflicted about their actions

said they didn’t personally identify with behaviour but saw themselves as carrying out experimenter’s orders

support idea people may enter agentic state and reduce sense of personal responsibility when obeying authority

agentic state theory weakness - doesn’t fully explain why some people enter an agentic state while others resist authority

eg. in Milgram’s study not all pp obeyed as some refused to continue despite authority figure’s commands

suggests factors (eg. personality, moral beliefs, individual differences) may influence obedience

agentic state theory may provide incomplete explanation of obedience as it doesn’t explain resistance to authority

legitimacy of authority

refers to if person is seen as having right to give orders and if others believe they should be obeyed (milgram 1974)

people more likely to obey authority figures who are seen as:

• credible

• knowledgeable

• having a recognised position of power

society teaches us certain people have right to control behaviour (eg. police)

legitimate authority

when authority figure is viewed as legitimate:

• people trust their judgement

• they believe authority figure knows what they’re doing

• feel they should follow instructions

creates legitimate authority: people obey because authority figure has a recognised position of power within social hierarchy

pp more likely to follow experimenters instructions

agentic state theory and legitimacy of authority theory strength - applied to real life examples of destructive obedience

eg. My Lai Massacre during Vietnam war

American soldiers killed around 500 Vietnamese civilians - can be explained using both theories

agentic state theory suggests soldiers may have shifted responsibility for actions onto commanding officers as they were following orders

legitimacy of authority theory suggests obedience occurred as military leaders held a recognised position of authority in the social hierarchy

suggests both theories have practical applications and help explain real world examples of destructive obedience

legitimacy of authority theory limitation - extent to which people accept authority may depend on their culture

some cultures place more value on obeying authority figures

other cultures focus on independence and questioning authority

legitimacy of authority may not have sam effect on obedience in all societies

theory does provide complete explanation of obedience across cultures