explanations for legitimate authority

what does ‘agentic state’ refer to ?

the belief that we are acting on behalf of an authority figure and so all responsibility is placed onto the other

what does autonomous state refer to ?

other influences don’t impact behaviour and so we take personal responsibility for actions 

what does agentic shift mean ?

switching from an autonomous state to being an agent because we perceive someone else to be an authority figure entitled to expect obedience 

define legitimate authority 

a position of authority that has been entrusted by society to provide some form of order and so have certain powers 

what is a feature of a legitimate authority’s power ?

the power to punish - we obey authority out of fear of punishment , which is learnt in childhood 

Give strengths for the explanations of legitimate authority

• explains cultural difference 

countries differ in the degree of obedience to authority

for example , Kilham and Mann found only 16%  of Australian women went all the way up to 450V in a Milgram style study 

whereas David Mantell found that 85% of Germans obeyed .

this shows the difference in cultures and that recognition of authority depends on societal  factors like upbringing . 

Give a weakness of explanations for legitimate authority

• cannot explain all (dis)obedience even in a hierarchical society where authority is clear and accepted 

• Rank and Jacobson’s study on nurses revealed that most were disobedient despite working in a strict hierarchical place with defined authority figures 

• Additionally , a few of Milgram participants disobeyed despite recognising the experimenters scientific role eg lab coat 

• suggests some levels of obedience are dispositional and fluctuate depending on the individual 

• therefore the innate tendencies obey or disobey has a  larger influence on behaviour than legitimate authority