SI- 3 obedience

What does obedience to authority mean?

Obedience to authority is a type of social influence whereby somebody acts in response to a direct order from a figure with perceived authority

Who was obedience to authority most famously investigated by?

Milgram (1963)

What are explanations for obedience?

• agentic state

• Legitimacy of authority

• Binding factors

What is an agentic state?

An agentic state is when an individual carried out orders of an authority figure and acts as their ‘agent’, with little personal responsibility.

What two ways do people operate in according to Milgram?

• autonomously

• Agentic state

What does it mean when an individual is operating ‘autonomously’?

When someone is operating autonomously, they choose their behaviour with full responsibility

What does it mean when an individual is operating ‘agentic state’?

When someone is in an agentic state, they carry out orders from authority with no responsibility

When does an agentic shift happen?

An agentic shift happens when someone changes from autonomous to an agentic state

What are ‘binding factors’

Binding factors are aspects of situations that allow the individual to ignore the damaging effect of their behaviour and keep them in an agentic state

What are examples of binding factors?

Examples of binding factors include shifting responsibility to the victim, denying the damage that was done, or feeling obligated to continue due to payment

What are examples of things that affect legitimacy authority?

• location

• Uniform

What’s crucial for a person to be able to obey an instruction?

They need to believe that the authority is legitimate