Agentic State & Legitimacy of Authority

Needs eval.

Agentic State

Mental state where we feel no personal responsibility for our behaviour because we believe we are acting on behalf of an authority figure

Autonomous State

Individuals direct their own behaviour, taking responsibility

Agentic Shift

Moving from autonomous state into agentic state

What did obedient participants say in the interviews at the end of Milgram’s obedience experiment?

I wouldn’t have done it by myself, I was just doing what I was told

• Individual feels no responsibility for the actions that the authority dictates 

What is an explanation for why people adopt an agentic state?

To maintain a positive self-image

• Once someone enters the agentic state, the action done is no longer their responsibility - it no longer reflects their self image

• From the participant’s perspective, they are guilt-free

Legitimacy of Authority

We are highly likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us

• Justified by individual’s position of power within a social hierarchy 

• Participant allows authority figure to define the action’s meaning.

Destructive authority

Legitimate powers for destructive purposes

• For them to be perceived as legitimate, they must occur within some sort of institutional structure (e.g. uni, military) 

  • Doesn’t have to be distinguishable or reputable institution.