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GCSE Psychology · key term
A psychological state in which someone sees themselves as acting on behalf of an authority figure and feels that the authority is responsible for their actions.
Used by AQA and OCR
Paper 2
Revise: ObedienceIn an agentic state, people see themselves as an agent carrying out an authority figure’s wishes. They feel that responsibility rests with the person giving the orders: ‘I am only doing what I was told.’
Paper 2
A state in which someone sees themselves as carrying out an authority figure’s wishes and regards that authority as responsible for the consequences.
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Milgram also argued that accepting the experimenter’s responsibility encouraged an agentic state. In this state, a person sees themselves as carrying out someone else’s wishes rather than acting independently and accepting responsibility for the consequences. This can make obedience easier even when an instruction conflicts with personal judgement.
