Agency theory - AO3

Supporting research and credibility

The agency theory supports Milgram’s study into obedience. Within the experiment, the experimenter instructed the Teacher/ participants to administer shocks each time the Learner/ confederate got an answer wrong. The results showed that the particpants mostly obliged as 100% went up to 300V and 65% went up to the lethal maximum shock, 450V. The participant obliged due to to them perceiving the experimenter as an authoritative figure - held legitimate power due to the uniform of a lab coat within a lab - and themselves as in an agentic state, hence why they followed orders as they didn’t feel responsible for their own actions. This supports adds credibility to the agency theory.

Other explanations

The agency theory is a reductionist explanation of obedience. This is due to the lack of explanation of people’s upbringings and culture. Individualistic cultures are less likely to obey authority figures as the orders won’t aline with what they want to do. Collectivistic cults are more likely to obey due to their strong emphases for group harmony and respect for social hierarchy. This theory is a more reliable explanation, in comparison to the agency theory, for obedience.

Debates

The agency theory is a reductionist explanation for obedience, as people follow orders without the presence of a authority figure, for example people following the speed limit.

Applications

The agency theory has strong applications to real- life scenarios. For example The Holocaust. The Nazi soldiers were in an agentic state when following the orders of Hitler,  who they viewed as an authoritative figure due to his legitimate power - his uniform and hierarchy demanded power. This caused soldiers to obey Hitler and caused a mass tragedy. this strengthens applications to the agency theory and adds validity for an explanation for obedience.