Legitimacy of authority

Question 1

What is legitimacy of authority?

Answer 1

An explanation of obedience which suggests that we are more likely to obey people who we perceive to have authority over us.

Question 2

What is legitimacy of authority justified by?

Answer 2

The individuals position of power within a social hierarchy

Question 3

Who suggested three main factors to explain obedience in terms of legitimacy

Answer 3

Kelman and Hamilton (1989)

Question 4

What are the three legitimacy explanations of obedience?

Answer 4

Legitimacy of the system
Legitimacy of authority within the system
Legitimacy of demands or orders given

Question 5

What is legitimacy of the system?

Answer 5

The extent to which the ‘body’ is a legitimate source of authority

Question 6

What is legitimacy of authority within the system?

Answer 6

The power individuals hold to give orders because of their position in the system

Question 7

What is legitimacy of demands or orders given?

Answer 7

The extent with which the order is perceived to be a legitimate area for the authority figure

Question 8

What is a strength of the theory? (Culture)

Answer 8

It is useful to account for cultural differences in obedience
Kilham and Mann (1974) replicated Milgram experiment and found that only 16% of Australian participants went to 450v compared to 65% in USA.
Shows that in some cultures authority is more likely to be accepted as legitimate.
Reflects the ways different societies are structured.
Cross cultural research increases validity

Question 9

What is a strength of the theory? (War crimes)

Answer 9

It can help to explain how obedience to authority can lead to real life war crimes.
Kelman and Hamilton (1989) argue that the My Lai massacre can be understood in terms of the hierarchy of the US Army.
Good practical applications