The Agentic State and Obedience Factors

This page introduces Milgram's concept of the agentic state and factors influencing obedience:

The agentic state, proposed by Milgram, explains participant behavior:

• Autonomous state: People direct their own actions and take responsibility
• Agentic state: People allow others to direct their actions and pass responsibility to the authority

Conditions for entering the agentic state:

• Authority must be seen as legitimate
• Belief that authority will take responsibility for actions

Supporting evidence:

• Milgram's two-teacher condition: 92.5% shocked to maximum when instructing someone else, showing increased obedience with less personal responsibility

Definition: The agentic state is a condition where individuals allow their actions to be directed by others and pass responsibility to the authority figure.

Highlight: Understanding the agentic state is crucial for explanations of conformity A Level Psychology, as it helps explain why people may obey harmful orders.

Authoritarian Personality

This page introduces the concept of authoritarian personality as an explanation for obedience:

Proposed by Adorno, the authoritarian personality theory suggests that dispositional factors, rather than situational ones, explain obedience. Key features include:

• Hostility towards those of inferior status
• Extreme respect for authority
• Belief in the need for a strong leader

Research method:

• Used the F-scale to assess 2000 middle-class white Americans
• Measured unconscious attitudes towards other racial groups
• Found a correlation between authoritarianism and prejudice

Vocabulary: The F-scale (Fascism scale) is a personality test designed to measure authoritarian personality characteristics.

Highlight: The authoritarian personality theory provides an alternative explanation for obedience in social influence psychology, focusing on individual differences rather than situational factors.

Social Influence Types and Explanations

This page introduces key concepts related to social influence in psychology. Conformity is defined as changing one's attitude or behavior due to group pressure. Three types of conformity are outlined:

1. Compliance - agreeing publicly but disagreeing privately
2. Identification - agreeing publicly and privately only when with the group
3. Internalization - agreeing both publicly and privately

Two main explanations for conformity are provided:

• Normative social influence - conforming to fit in with a group
• Informational social influence - conforming due to a desire to be correct

Definition: Conformity is when someone changes their attitude or behavior due to group pressure.

Example: The Jenness study on estimating beans in a jar demonstrates informational social influence, as participants changed their estimates to align with the group.

Highlight: Understanding different types of conformity and the reasons behind it is crucial for social influence psychology A level studies.