Agentic state and Legitimacy of authority

Adolf Eichmann

* Milgram initial interest in obedience was sparked by Adolf Eichmann in 1961for war crimes.
* he was in charge of Nazi death camps
* his defence was that he was just obeying orders.

2 arguments for obedience

* Agentic state
* Legitimacy theory

agentic state

A mental state where individuals feel they are acting on behalf of an authority figure, leading them to relinquish personal responsibility for their actions.auton

autonomous state

the individual taking responsibility for the consequence of their own actions because they direct their own behaviour

Agentic shift

Agentic shift is when individuals shift between agentic and autonomous state, either deflecting blame or taking responsibility for their actions.

Binding factor

aspects of a situation that allow a person to minimise the damaging effects of their behaviour e.g. fear

Legitimacy theory

to be legitimate:


1. being in compliance with the law
2. being in accordance with established patterns and systems
3. based on logical reasoning
4. authentic and genuine

legitimacy of authority

* explanation for obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who have authority over us.
* this authority must be justified by the individuals position of power within a social heirerchy

**Kelman et al**: 3 factors to explain obedience

1. legitimacy of system
2. legitimacy of authority within the system
3. legitimacy of demands or orders given

legitimacy of system

* concerns the extent to which the ‘body’ is legitimate.
* e.g. government, army, school

legitimacy of authority within the system

* power individuals hold to give orders because of their position in the system.
* linked to status and the hierarchy within a particular establishment.

legitimacy of demands and orders given

* extent to which the the order is perceived to be a legitimate area for an authority figure.
* e.g. it is reasonable for a teacher to tell you off for not doing homework, **but** they wouldn’t tell you to wash their car.

destructive authority

* powerful leaders (Hitler, Stalin) can use their legitimate powers for destructive purposes
* was shown in Milgram’s study when experimenter gave prods to order pps to behave in ways that went against their conscience

“outline the role of Legitimacy of Authority in obedience” \[4\]

1. legitimacy of authority is an explanation for obedience that suggests that we’re more likely to obey a person with legitimate authority over us.
2. **Kelman et al** found there are 3 factors in obedience: legitimacy of system, legitimacy of authority within system, and legitimacy of demands.
3. legitimacy of system concerns the extent to which the body is legitimate for example, the government, army
4. therefore the higher the legitimacy, the higher the obedience rate.

AO3 - lack of research support for agentic state in real life

* **Lifton (1986)** - carried out research into German doctors during Auschwitz period and found they changed from medical professionals that were caring to carrying out lethal experiments on prisoners.
* **Staub (1989)** - argues Milgrim’s idea of agentic shift doesn’t explain German doctor change in behaviour.
* could be due to experience of carrying out evil tasks over long periods of time that altered behaviour
* > therefore. the shift from autonomous to agentic doesn’t accurately explain change in behaviour

AO3 - agentic state or just cruel?

* for some, actions can be argues through agentic shift
* when accountability is taken away from you and switched onto someone else, this could change your behaviour
* however, some people may play into the idea of obedience to express sadistic behaviour that they’re holding secretly.
* > therefore, hard to establish causation.

AO3 - negative aspects of a legitimate authority figure and real life obedience

* many cases where obedience to an authority figures is a positive thing
* however, legitimacy can cause people to engage in unquestioning obedience to authority. no matter how destructive or immoral the action
* people begin to lose sight of their own morals and this can become reflective in their conduct when a legitimate authority figure starts to question their judgement.

AO3 - loss of personal control

* **Fennis et al (2012):** claim that the likelihood of the ‘agentic shift’ being demonstrated increases in a situation where someone has a loss of personal control.
* The researchers demonstrated that a loss in personal control increases both, greater obedience as well as bystander apathy
* > They conclude that the less personal control you have in a situation, the more likely you are to;


1. Demonstrate bystander apathy
2. Be obedient
3. Comply to behavioural requests

AO3 - support for legitimate authority

**Tarnow (2000)**: did a study from 78-90 where he studied date from serious aircraft accidents.

found that the flight crew were a contributing factor to the 37 accidents because they followed orders of the captain rather than their own personal beliefs.

this is because they accepted the definition of the situation put forward by the legitimate authority figure.

> supporting the power of legitimate authority in enforcing obedience on the people around them