Obedience: Agentic State

Question 1

What is a situational explanation

Question 2

Why does obedience to destructive authority occur

Answer 2

The person following the orders doesn’t take responsibility

Question 3

What is agentic state

Answer 3

A condition where someone who acts on the behalf of someone else to carry out an order, relinquishing their responsibility of their actions

Question 4

How do agents feel when obeying morally challenging orders

Answer 4

They are aware of their wrongdoings but feel powerless to disobey

Question 5

What is the autonomous state

Answer 5

A state where people are free to behave according to their own principles with full responsibility

Question 6

What is the agentic shift

Answer 6

The shift from the autonomous state to the agentic state, when the individual perceives someone else as an authority figure

Question 7

Why does the authority figure have more power

Answer 7

They have a higher position in the social hierarchy

Question 8

What are binding factors

Answer 8

Aspects of the situation that allows the person to ignore/minimise the moral strain they are feeling, hence why they remain in the agentic state