There are three explanations of obedience - Legitimacy of Authority, Agency theory & the Authoritarian personality.
Legitimacy of authority is when people obey because they believe their superiors have legitimate power over them. This can lead to conformity as we want to please our superiors.
The authoritarian personality is where some people are naturally inclined towards obedience due to their upbringing. These people tend to be submissive and passive which makes them easier to control.
Agency Theory suggests that individuals will act according to what they think others expect from them. They may feel guilty if they do not obey so they will obey even though they don’t agree with it.
Milgram found that participants were more likely to conform when they found an individual wearing a lab coat as is signalled for legitimate authority. This also applied for the location of the experiment.
A limitation of the legitimacy of authority is that it ignores individual differences that might also affect obedience. For example, having higher levels of self-esteem may make people more likely to obey. High internal locus of control may make people less likely to obey.
