agency theory

agency theory - founded by Milgram to do with obedience.

What did Milgram believe about obedience?

• he believed that society is hierarchal by nature.

• some at the top giving orders, most of us at the bottom obeying what we are told.

• he believes obedience is innately programmed, we are exposed to authority figures through family and school, through processes like rewards and punishments - we are taught to obey.

What are the two states in agency theory?

• autonomous state - when an individual exercises their free will, acting as an individual.

• agentic state - when an individual is acting as an agent/on behalf of an authority figure. The consequences are passed onto the authority figure.

What is the idea of moral strain?

• Milgram said that when he asked his Pp to do something they didn’t want to they experienced moral strain.

• occurs when someone is asked to do something that goes against their morals or beliefs.

• creates anxiety and distress due to contemplating acting in ways that may be socially unacceptable - contradicts what they have been socialised to do.

• in acting as an agent the consequences of their actions are passed onto the authority figure, leading to obedience.

What are the three variations to support agency theory?

• Variation 7

• Variation 10

• Variation 13

What happened in variation 7 of Milgram’s study?

• Absent authority variation.

• Milgram tested how proximity to the authority figure in the experimenter would affect obedience.

• The procedure differed as the researcher would instruct the Pp from another room via telephone instead of being in the same room as them.

• The prompts were the same but over the phone.

• There was a drop to 22.5% in obedience - some Pp lied about delivering the shocks.

What happened in variation 10 of Milgram’s study?

• Change of venue variation.

• This variation took place in a rundown office building in the downtown area of Bridgeport - opposed to the prestige Yale setting.

• Therefore Pp may have shown more natural behaviour as they were not in a university setting where they may have questioned why another Yale staff member was not helping Milgram.

• Slight reduction to 47% in obedience.

What happened in variation 13 of Milgram’s study?

• Orders were given by an ordinary man.

• The experimenter gives them instructions and leaves, but doesn’t tell them to increase the voltage.

• A second confederate is present, who seems to be another Pp writing down the times on each test.

• The confederate suggests a new way of doing the study but taking the voltage up by 15v each time there’s a mistake.

• Only 20% obeyed by going to 450v.