Obedience and Resistance

A set of vocabulary flashcards based on concepts related to obedience, authority, and resistance from a lecture.

Banality of Evil

The concept that ordinary people can commit atrocities not out of hatred, but due to obedience to authority.

Authoritarian Personality

A personality type characterized by submission to authority, contempt for norm violators, and prejudice, as proposed by Adorno and others.

Obedience to Authority

The tendency to comply with commands from a legitimate authority figure, even when such commands may lead to harmful actions.

Agentic State

A psychological condition in which individuals see themselves as agents executing the wishes of an authority figure, thereby relinquishing personal responsibility.

Norm of Obedience to Authority

The social expectation that individuals must comply with commands issued by legitimate authorities.

Reactance

A psychological response where individuals resist a perceived threat to their freedom, often leading to noncompliance with authority.

Systematic Processing

A form of thoughtful and comprehensive analysis that challenges norms and claims made by authority.

Identification-Based Followership

The phenomenon where followers consciously identify with their leader and the leader's ideology, motivating their actions in support of the leader.

Physical and Psychological Distance

The separation from victims in obedience situations that can increase compliance and reduce empathy for the victim.

Populism and Authoritarianism

Political dynamics exploiting basic psychological needs, cognitive biases, and promoting identity politics and moral panic.