Evaluation

• Strength:

  There is research support for the role of legitimate authority(as well as the agentic state.)
• Blass and Schmidt(2001)- showed the Milgram film to students. They were asked who they thought was responsible for the 'harm for the leaner.' Most blamed the experimenter and not the actual ppts delivering the 'shocks.'
• This supports this explanation because this is demonstrating when an authority figure is wearing a uniform i.e. a lab coat. This gives them a sense of legitimate authority. Therefore, suggests LoA as an explanation for obedience has validity.
• There are differences in the degree to which authority figures are seen and accepted as legitimate in some cultures.
• Kilman and Mann(1974) replicated Milgram's procedure and found only 16% shocked the learner to 450V whereas Mantell(1971)found it was 81%

  when they conducted the experiment in Germany.
• This supports LoA as an explanation for obedience because this shows that in some cultures, authority is more likely to be accepted, which reflects the way that different societies are structured supporting the ides that societal hierarchies dictate obedience.