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Milgram's agency theory (social factors) - Coggle Diagram
Milgram's agency theory (social factors)
Agency
Agentic state
Someone acting on behalf of someone else and follows order blindly.
Doesn't feel personal responsibility.
Autonomous state
Behave according to their own principles. Independant.
Authority
Agentic shift
Going from the autonomous state to the agents state.
Happens when someone perceives another as a figure of authority.
Culture - the social hierachy
Some people have more authority than other due to their position in society. E.g. children-> parents-> courts -> government.
Most societies structured in a hierarchical way. Most think that people higher up in society should use social power as this makes society run smoothly.
The culture you live in is the set of beliefs and expectations of your society.
Proximity
In Milgram's theory, when the teacher got closer to the teacher obedience decreased from 65% to 40%. Increased proximity = less obedience.
Research support
Blass and Schmitt (2000) showed a film of Milgram's study to students and asked them to identify who was responsible for the learner's harm. They blamed the experimenter. This shows that they recognised the authority as the cause of obedience.
Doesn't explain all findings
The theory can't explain why there wasn't 100% obedience, 35% of participants didn't go to 450V. This means that social factors can't fully explain obedience.
The obedience alibi
The theory blindly excuses people who blindly follow destructive orders. Mandel (1998) claims that it is offensive to holocaust survivors that the Nazi's were just following orders. The theory ignores the roles of racism and prejudice. This means that the theory could be dangerous as it could make people think that they aren't always personally responsible.