legitimacy of authority

• Legitimate authority - an individual has a higher status in society, so people feel obliged to follow the hierarchy
• Legitimate authority example - child, older sibling, parent, police officer
• AO3. There is real life application for legitimacy of authority. Tarnow looked at a plane crash. The rule of the cockpit is that the captain is to be obeyed. However, in this situation the blind obedience to the captain led to the plane crash. Staff on the plane were aware of the mistakes but had excessive dependance on the captains authority. This shows a real life example of the hierarchy.
• AO3. There are individual differences in legitimacy of authority. Everyone varies in their obedience to authority. Obedience may be due to dispositional factors instead, like authoritarian personality.
• AO3. There are cultural differences to legitimacy of authority. Obedience to legitimate authority is stronger in collectivist cultures due to family oriented nature and respect for elders / authority which is instilled from a very young age. On the other hand, individualistic cultures focus on what will benefit the individual, regardless of authority figures.