Explanations for obedience

AGENTIC STATE: According to agency theory, individuals are socialized to obey societal rules, but in doing so, they must relinquish some of their free will. Autonomy describes the state of acting independently, whereas the agentic state occurs when individuals follow orders from an authority figure and act as their "agent," with reduced personal responsibility and moral strain. The shift from autonomy to agency is known as the "agentic shift."

Milgram's original study found that 65% of participants administered the full 450 volts and were potentially in an agentic state. However, in a variation of the study, a confederate administered the electric shocks on behalf of the teacher, resulting in a significant increase in the percentage of participants who administered the full 450 volts, from 65% to 92.5%. This highlights the power of shifting responsibility (agentic shift) to another person by having them act as the agent.

LEGITIMACY OF AUTHORITY: Milgram hypothesized that participants recognized the experimenter as a legitimate authority figure by adhering to the procedure and obeying instructions. In his original research at Yale University, 65% of participants administered the full 450 volts. However, when the experiment was replicated in a less prestigious location in Bridgeport, Connecticut, obedience levels decreased to 47.5%. The change in setting diminished the authority's legitimacy, causing participants to distrust the experiment and reducing the power of the authority figure.

SITUATIONAL EXPLANATIONS: OBEDIENCE

Situational explanations for obedience emphasize external influences that can impact the probability of following orders. The specification cites several situational factors, including proximity, location, and uniform, as examples.

PROXIMITY: The situational variable of proximity pertains to how physically near or far a person is to another person or object. Milgram's obedience study involved various levels of proximity, such as the distance between the teacher and the learner, and between the teacher and the experimenter.

To examine the influence of proximity on obedience, Milgram conducted a variation of the study where the teacher and learner were situated in the same room. In this variation, the percentage of participants administering the full 450 volts decreased from 65% to 40%. This suggests that obedience levels were lower when the teacher was in closer physical proximity to the learner, as the teacher was able to more directly perceive the learner's pain. Milgram also observed that when the experimenter was absent from the room and gave instructions over the phone, obedience levels dropped even further to 20.5%.

LOCATION: Milgram's original research was conducted in a laboratory at Yale University. As outlined above, Milgram also conducted a variation of the study in a rundown building in Bridgeport, Connecticut to test the power of location. In this variation, the percentage of participants who administered the full 450 volts decreased from 65% to 47.5%, demonstrating the significance of location in creating a prestigious atmosphere that fosters respect and obedience.

UNIFORM: Milgram investigated the impact of uniform on obedience by having the experimenter wear a white lab coat in most of his variations, which symbolized his authority as a university professor or scientist. However, in one variation, the experimenter was replaced by an ordinary-looking confederate in regular clothes. In this case, the percentage of participants who delivered the maximum 450 volts decreased significantly from 65% to 20%. This illustrates the substantial influence that uniform has on obedience levels.