Milgram (1974) and Agency Theory

Agency theory = Proposed by Milgram in 1974, argues that obedience to rules is necessary for societal stability Autonomous state = When an individual has conscious control over thoughts and actions and sees themselves as personally responsible for their actions Agentic state = When an individual gives up some free will and sees themselves as an agent of the authority figure giving the order De-individuation = When a person loses their sense of individuality and may obey orders that go against their moral code

Obedience to rules = Seen as necessary for societal stability according to agency theory Free will = The ability to have conscious control over thoughts and actions Authority figure = Individuals who are perceived as having higher ranks in hierarchical social systems Responsibility = Shifts from the individual to the authority figure in an agentic state

Autonomous state = Individual has control, acts according to own wishes, and sees themselves as responsible Agentic state = Individual obeys authority figure, gives up free will, and sees themselves as agent of authority

De-individuation = Loss of sense of individuality due to seeing oneself as an agent of authority figure Obedience to orders against moral code = May occur when individuals don't see themselves as personally responsible for their behavior

Hierarchy in social systems = Leads individuals to act as agents for those perceived as having higher ranks Sense of responsibility = Shifts from the individual to the authority figure in an agentic state

Autonomous state = Opposite side of the agentic state, where individuals are seen as personally responsible for their actions Agentic state = The way in which an individual may obey an order, perhaps to do something that they see as 'wrong', because the individual hands over the responsibility for the outcome of the action to the authority figure Remote authority variation = A variation in Milgram's procedure where the confederate researcher wasn't in the same room as the teacher, but gave orders on a telephone link Obedience decline = Refers to the decrease in obedience percentage when participants are in the autonomous state and see themselves as responsible for their actions

Adolf Eichmann = Defence of 'only following orders' during the Second World War Aeroplane co-pilots = Undergoing simulations where captains issue wrongful orders for training purposes Nurses in Hofling's study = Not challenging decisions based on assumption that more senior doctor knows what he is doing Milgram participants = Experiencing moral strain and admitting they knew what they were doing was wrong

Unquestioning obedience = Can lead to terrible mistakes in institutional settings Challenging authority figures' commands = Important for staff members to prevent potential harm and follow official procedures Simulation training for co-pilots = Involves captains issuing wrongful orders to prepare co-pilots on how to resist such instructions Expectation of obedience = Seen in clear command structures and can result in individuals acting in an agentic state

Milgram's remote authority variation results = Suggest that participants were in the autonomous state and felt responsible for their actions Milgram's moral strain observations = Participants knew their actions were wrong but continued to obey, indicating they were in an agentic state Eichmann's 'only following orders' defence = Relates to his belief that he was not personally responsible due to compliance with higher-ranked authority figures Nurses not challenging decisions = Similar behavior observed in Milgram's study where obedience prevailed over questioning authority

Milgram (1974) = Reported a decline in obedience percentage in a remote authority variation of his procedure Milgram (1963) = Reported participants under moral strain who knew their actions were wrong but continued to obey Aeroplane co-pilots' trainers = Introduced simulations involving wrongful orders issued by captains for training purposes Researchers studying social influences = Explored concepts like agentic state, autonomous state, and obedience