Title: Agency Theory AO1 AO2 AO3 - PSYCHOLOGY WIZARD
Headings: AGENCY THEORY
AGENCY THEORY
MILGRAM (1973)
AGENCY THEORY EXPLAINS BLIND OBEDIENCE
THE AGENTIC SHIFT
RESEARCH INTO AGENCY THEORY
THE FINDINGS OF STUDIES
APPLYING AGENCY THEORY (AO2)
OBEDIENCE IN THE REAL WORLD
EVALUATING AGENCY THEORY (AO3)
CODA
EXEMPLAR ESSAY
HOW TO WRITE A 8-MARK ESSAY

Content: In the Agentic State we perceive ourselves to be the agent of someone else’s will; the authority figure commanding us is responsible for what we do so we feel not guilt. We perceive some people to be “ authority figures ”. These people may carry symbols of authority (like a uniform) or possess status (like rank). An order from an authority figure triggers the agentic shift into the Agentic State. Moral Strain
When an authority figure issues an order that goes against our conscience, we experience moral strain. This is because we have two contradictory urges: to obey the authority figure (and society's expectations) and to obey our consciences (and keep our own self-image as "a good person"). Moral strain might appear as physical distress, like shaking or weeping. Milgram points out that his own participants used "defence mechanisms" (a term originally used by Freud) to lessen the moral strain: