Legitimacy of authority

• Situational explanation of obedience are external factors on a persons environment that can increase the likelihood of obeying to authority.
• Legitimacy of authority – people who are willing to obey someone whose perceived as a legitimate authority someone whose above them in the social hierarchy.
• Destructive authority – where a legitimate authority becomes destructive by misusing their power for damaging purposes eg experimenter in Milgram study encouraging participants to go against their moral judgement.
• One strength of the legitimacy of authority explanation is that it is a useful account of cultural difference obedience. Many studies show that countries differ in the Degree to which people are obedient to Authority. For example, Wesley Kilham and Leon Mann (1974) found that only 16% of Female Australian participants went all the way Up to 450% volts in Milgram study. However, David Mantell (1971) found that German participants went up to 85%.
• This can Explain cultural differences in obedience levels As different cultures have different social Hierarchies. This reflects the ways that Different societies are Structured and how Children are raised to Perceive authority figures
• One limitation is That legitimacy Cannot explain Instances of Disobedience to Legitimacy authority. Rank and Jacobson’s study is a good example because most of them were disobedient despite working in a strict hierarchical authority structure. Also, a significant minority of Milgram’s participants disobeyed despite recognising the experimenter’s scientific authority. Including real world crime rates.
• This suggests that some People may just be more (or less) obedient that Others. It is possible That innate tendencies To obey or disobey Have a greater Influence on Behaviours than the Legitimacy of an Authority figure.
• However, Kelman and Hamilton (1989) argue that a real-world example of Obedience such as Adolf, My Lai Massacre operate within a clearer Legitimate hierarchy than hospitals doctors and have a greater power to Punish or even kill, that’s the reason why the nurses in Rank and Jacobson’s study were able to resist obedience and remained autonomous.