Milgram's Agency Theory and Study Y12

Milgram's agency theory is used to explain which social behaviour?

• Conformity

• Minority Influence

• Bystander Behaviour

• Obedience

Which best defines obedience?

• when we comply to the orders of an authority figure

• when we copy the behaviour of the majority in a group

• when we change our behaviour to follow the minority in a group

Which TWO mental states did Milgram propose to affect whether or not we obey?

• Agentic state

• Fixed mindset

• Coercive power

• Autonomous state

In this state, we act according to our own free will.

• State of agency

• State of autonomy

In this state, we act as agents for the authority figure.

• State of agency

• State of autonomy

When we are in an agentic state, the responsibility and consequences of our actions is given to....

• ourselves.

• the authority figure.

Which TWO are true about moral strain?

• We experience it only as adults after full cognitive development is complete

• We feel it when we are pressured to do something that we think is morally wrong

• It makes us anxious/ uncomfortable

• It is related to authoritarian personalities

In which state are we more likely to dissent (not obey)?

• State of agency

• State of autonomy

True or False: We shift into an agentic state to relieve moral strain.

• True

• False

Choose the weaknesses of Milgram's Agency Theory.

• The theory is supported by his experiment and Hofling et al.'s nurse experiment.

• Other theories like social power theory can also explain obedience.

• Real life reports from war veterans support the existence of the agentic state.

• The mental states are hard to measure in an objective way