Social Psychology: Obedience Lecture Notes

Key Concepts

Obedience: Complying with rules set by a recognized authority, potentially facing sanctions for non-compliance.
Involves surrendering free will to an authority figure.

Positive: Prevents accidents (e.g., drivers obeying road signs).
Destructive Obedience: Obeying authority to perform immoral acts, potentially harming others.

Inspired by the Holocaust; aimed to understand if Germans were uniquely obedient.
Found that general tendency to obey authority exists across cultures.

Two States of Behavior:
- Autonomous State: Individuals direct their own behavior, take responsibility for actions.
- Agentic State: Individuals follow authority, attributing responsibility to the authority figure.
Socialization: Childhood development of agentic behavior through societal influence (e.g., school discipline).
Moral Strain: Conflict experienced when actions under authority are immoral, leading to defense mechanisms like denial.

Supporting Evidence:
- Milgram's 1963 study and subsequent variations.
- Blass (1996): Participants in agentic state saw themselves not responsible.
- Berger (2009): Replication supports theory.
- Hoffling's hospital study: Nurses followed orders against protocol.
- Bushman (1988): Authority figure appearance affects obedience.
Conflicting Evidence:
- Studies or theories that disagree with agency theory.
Other Explanations:
- Charismatic leadership theory.
- Individual differences not explained by agency theory (e.g., Gretchen Brandt).
Usefulness: Helps understand historical events like the Holocaust.
Testability: Consider how agency theory can be tested or observed.

Agency theory explains obedience in societal contexts, particularly destructive obedience.
Encouraged to practice exam questions on this topic to reinforce understanding.