Situational explanations

Agentic state

A mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe ourselves to be acting for an authority figure.

Autonomous state

The person is free to behave according to their own principles and feels a sense of responsibility for their actions

Agentic shift

The change from an autonomous state to an agentic state.

Binding factors

Something that keeps a person in an agentic state by preventing them from acting on their conscience and exiting the situation. Examples

• Pressure from others to not cause distraction

• The legitimacy of the authority figure’s position

• Surroundings and context

Legitimacy of authority

An explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have more authority over us. Their authority is justified by the individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy.

Destructive authority

Powerful leaders use their authority power for destructive purposes by ordering people to behave in cruel ways.

LoA W Rank + Johnson

Cannot explain disobedience in a hierarchy

Replicated Hofling’s study -

Nurses ordered by telephone to give overdose of drug unknown to them by a doctor who they didn’t know. 95% obeyed.

Modifications - Ordered directly, asked to give overdose of drug they did know. They knew the doctor.

2/18 obeyed despite being in a hierarchy.

Suggests that some people have more innate tendencies to obey than others

LoA S Mantell

LoA S Kilham + Mann

Cross-cultural differences

85% of German participants went to 450V in a Milgram style study

16% of Australian participants went to 450V in a Milgram style study.

Suggests that authority is more legitimate in some cultures. Reflects how societies are structured.

AS S Milgram

Research support

If Experimenter said they were responsible if the Learner is hurt, participants were more likely to obey until the end.

Acted as the Experimenter’s agent when they knew they weren’t responsible for their actions

AS W Birney

Limited explanation

Obedience is a product of the situation and not just an inclination to obey.

AS would predict high obedience, but it varied from 0-100%

All characteristics of obedience need to be taken into account.