Authority relationships between obedience and disobedience

Authority, conformity and obedience: Applying Friedrich's theory of authority to the classics

In the conformity and obedience studies of Asch and Milgram, legitimate authority is defined as a form of power to which subjects submit irrationally. This view assumes a causative process which the subjects' behaviour is said to manifest. Furthermore, this view assumes that there is illegitimate (or malevolent) authority. Carl J. Friedrich's theory of authority as reasoned elaboration offers an alternative perspective, which reveals conceptual differences between authority and such related constructs as power and legitimacy. When these concepts are properly distinguished, a re-interpretation of the classical studies of conformity and obedience is called forth. Such an exercise produces insights into some of the discipline's most controversial, if not disturbing, results. Specifically, it leads to an understanding of laboratory conformity and obedience in rational terms.

The obedient mind and the volitional brain: A neural basis for preserved sense of agency and sense of responsibility under coercion

Milgram’s classical studies famously suggested a widespread willingness to obey authority, even to the point of inflicting harm. Important situational factors supporting obedience, such as proximity with the victim, have been established. Relatively little work has focused on how coercion affects individual cognition, or on identifying the cognitive factors that underlie inter-individual differences in the tendency to yield to coercion. Here, we used fMRI to investigate the neural systems associated with changes in volitional processes associated with sense of agency and sense of responsibility under coercion. Participants either freely chose, or were instructed by the experimenter, to give mildly painful electric shocks to another participant, or to refrain from doing so. We have previously shown that coercion reduces temporal binding, which has been proposed as an implicit proxy measure of sense of agency. We tested how reduced agency under coercion related to differences in neural activity between free choice and coercion. In contrast to previous studies and to participants performing the task outside the MRI scanner, on average there was no effect of coercion on agency for participants in the scanner. However, greater activity in the medial frontal gyrus was reliably associated with greater agency under coercion. A similar association was found using explicit responsibility ratings. Our findings suggest that medial frontal processes, perhaps related to volition during action planning and execution, may help to preserve a sense of accountability under coercion. Further, participants who administered more shocks under free choice showed reduced activity during free choice trials in brain areas associated with social cognition. Possibly, this might reflect participants cognitively distancing themselves from the recipient of the shocks under free choice, whereas this was not observed under coercion.

Self-Regulation Assessment Based on Compliance and Noncompliance in Children

En este trabajo llevo a cabo una reflexión acerca de la información que los comportamientos de cumplimiento e incumplimiento nos brindan acerca del desarrollo de la autorregulación en los niños. Sostengo que las diferencias que estos comportamientos revelan en cuanto a la autorregulación dependen del nivel de autonomía de los niños, su motivación y la activación emocional que demuestran cuando desobedecen. Sugiero también algunas metodologías para valorar cada uno de estos factores. Específicamente, propongo diferenciar entre los distintos tipos de cumplimiento e incumplimiento, registrar de manera simultánea el comportamiento de los niños y el tipo de control ejercido por los padres y analizar el comportamiento con el que responden los niños a exigencias legítimas e ilegítimas. Estas distinciones son importantes para un abordaje más completo y preciso del estudio de la autorregulación en los niños

(Dis)Obedience in U.S. American Young Adults: A New Way to Describe Authority Relationships

The present research aims to investigate the psychosocial phenomena of obedience and disobedience in young adults residing in the United States, as a replication of a previous study by Pozzi, Fattori, Bocchiaro, and Alfieri (2014). We utilize social representation theory as a means to better understand and define (dis)obedience, a behavioral dimension of the concept of authority. The analysis was conducted using a concurrent mixed methods design. One hundred and fifty-one participants completed a self-report online questionnaire. The results indicate that participants see both obedience and disobedience as related to an authority. Obedience was mostly perceived as an ability to be responsive to laws, social norms, or physical authorities, as well as a positive social object. Disobedience, instead, was defined as a failure of a negative line of conduct. These results differ from previous research, contributing meaningfully and pragmatically to the theoretical debate on (dis)obedience. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Freedom, democracy, and values: Perception of freedom of choice and readiness to protest

In so-called democracies, although several political measures have recently curbed citizens’ personal freedom (e.g., 2001 US Patriot Act), no major demonstrations have been organized against such restrictions. The main idea underlying this manuscript is that citizens living in democracies often have an overestimated perception of their freedom of choice. This perception may lead to the risk of not recognizing possible restrictions of liberties with the consequence of being less prepared to protest in order to defend them. Some sociopsychological variables that prevent or favor the recognition of these limitations of freedom of choice in democracies are considered. In particular, a value-based political orientation and a strong moral stance toward social equality are thought to lead citizens to have a more active evaluation of institutional policies regardless of the political system they live in.

Value-oriented citizenship index: New extensions of Kelman and Hamilton's theory to prevent autocracy

In Crimes of obedience, Kelman and Hamilton argue that societies can be protected by the degeneration of authority only when citizenship is based on a strong values orientation. This reference to values may be the weakest point in their theory because they do not explicitly define these values. Nevertheless, their empirical findings suggest that the authors are referring to specific democratic principles and universal values (e.g., equality, fairness, harmlessness). In this article, a composite index known as the value-oriented citizenship (VOC) index is introduced and empirically analysed. The results confirm that the VOC index discriminates between people who relate to authority based on values rather than based on their role or on rules in general. The article discusses the utility of the VOC index to develop Kelman and Hamilton's framework further empirically as well as its implications for the analysis of the relationship between individuals and authority.

Authority Relationship From a Societal Perspective: Social Representations of Obedience and Disobedience in Austrian Young Adults

Obedience and disobedience have always been salient issues for both civil society and social psychologists. Since Milgram’s first studies on destructive obedience there has not been a bottom-up definition of what obedience and disobedience mean. The current study aimed at investigating the social representations young adults use to define and to co-construct knowledge about obedience and disobedience in Austria. One hundred fifty four (106 females, 68.8%) Austrian young adults (Mean age = 22.9; SD = 3.5) completed a mixed-method questionnaire comprising open-ended questions and free word associations. Overall obedience and disobedience are respectively defined as conformity and non-conformity to regulations, ranging from implicit social norms to explicit formal laws. Authority is multi-faceted and has a central role in orienting obedience and disobedience. Further fundamental determinants of the authority relationship and relevant application of the results are discussed in this paper.

Autonomy and Resistance to Authority

This research examines the impact of autonomy on the behavior of participants faced with an authority figure. More specifically, it examines obedience behaviors and behaviors related to subterfuge, as studied by Milgram in his work on obedience to authority. The protocol used here is a new measure of obedience and disobedience which allows us to record compliant behavior, withdrawal from the activity, and sabotage (subterfuge). A total of 105 participants, separated into groups, were asked to perform a tedious and pointless task (copy down a page from the telephone directory) after their autonomy had been assessed using Beck’s Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale. Only one participant refused to participate. The results show that autonomy is associated with disobedience. This study suggests that individuals faced with an authority figure show greater freedom than has been suggested by previous experiments, producing less visible forms of disobedience than the refusal to participate. The nature of the measure of obedience is discussed, particularly because of the role of attention in the activity.

The role of family experiences for adolescents’ readiness to use and participate in illegal political activity

This study used reactance theory as a starting point to explain what role a perceived undemocratic and controlling family has for adolescents’ readiness to use illegal political activity. Additionally, we examined whether adolescents’ readiness to use illegal political means was related to actual political behaviour, which has been lacking in research. Data came from a longitudinal sample of 424 younger ( Mage = 13.44) and 296 older ( Mage = 16.62) adolescents collected in a mid-sized city in Sweden. Results showed that adolescents who perceived their families as undemocratic and controlling increased in readiness to use illegal political means over time. In addition, but only for older adolescents, readiness was associated with an increase in actual political behaviour. The findings highlight the role a perceived family environment has on adolescents’ development of political values and behaviours in today’s democratic societies.

A binge-consuming culture: The effect of consumerism on social interactions in western societies

We live in a “binge-consuming” culture. Indeed, a certain compulsion to consume seems to characterize not only the way in which people relate to the object world of luxury goods, but also the way we relate to other people, institutions and society in general. In this sense, the term “binge”—usually associated with addictions—may be also useful in identifying our consuming culture. The aim of this article is to discuss how the same psychological processes that are taken into account to explain binge compulsions may be applied to binge as a consumerist and utilitarian way of relating to others. In particular, four aspects characterizing binge addictions—present-time orientation, impulsiveness, the crisis of the relationship with authority and narcissism—may also be recognized in the “normal” way of approaching life and society.

Working Toward the Experimenter

The behavior of participants within Milgram’s obedience paradigm is commonly understood to arise from the propensity to cede responsibility to those in authority and hence to obey them. This parallels a belief that brutality in general arises from passive conformity to roles. However, recent historical and social psychological research suggests that agents of tyranny actively identify with their leaders and are motivated to display creative followership in working toward goals that they believe those leaders wish to see fulfilled. Such analysis provides the basis for reinterpreting the behavior of Milgram’s participants. It is supported by a range of material, including evidence that the willingness of participants to administer 450-volt shocks within the Milgram paradigm changes dramatically, but predictably, as a function of experimental variations that condition participants’ identification with either the experimenter and the scientific community that he represents or the learner and the general community that he represents. This reinterpretation also encourages us to see Milgram’s studies not as demonstrations of conformity or obedience, but as explorations of the power of social identity-based leadership to induce active and committed followership.

Formal and Informal Hierarchy in Different Types of Organization

This paper addresses the paradox that despite all organizational change towards flatter and postmodern organizations, hierarchical order is quite persistent. We develop a differentiated understanding of hierarchy as either formal or informal and apply this analytical framework to several types of organization. The analysis reveals that hierarchy is much more widespread than thought; in particular, postmodern, representative democratic and network organizations are much less ‘alternative’ and ‘hierarchy-free’ than their labels and common understanding may suggest. The main argument is that the persistence of hierarchy in different types of organization can be explained by different dynamic relationships between formal and informal hierarchy.

Individual responsibilities and moral inclusion in an age of rights

In reference to Western cultures, some scholars (see Finkel & Moghaddam, 2005) have pointed out that we live in an ‘‘age of rights.’’ That is, people attach priority to their individual rights within a narrow-minded, individualistic worldview and de-emphasize duties. Such self-centred individualism focuses on the rights of individuals, forgetting to consider that rights can be effective only in relation to corresponding duties. In this article, a psychosocial theory on psychological boundaries for fairness, norms, and moral rules—namely moral inclusion/exclusion theory—will be used as a useful theoretical framework to resolve the apparent antinomy of rights versus duties. In particular, the use of this theory is relevant in understanding that the issues of claiming and protecting human rights and the balance between each individual’s rights should be based on the concept of responsibility. In this sense, universality of human rights ought to deal with the universal recognition of other individuals and cultures and can be achieved only by means of intercultural dialogue.

Age differences in understanding precedent-setting decisions and authorities' responses to violations of deontic rules

To examine age trends in precedent-setting decisions and the effects of these decisions on perceptions of authorities, preadolescents and adolescents were presented with deontic rule infractions that occurred in the absence or presence of mitigating circumstances. In Study 1, in the absence of mitigating circumstances, adolescents recommended punishing rule violations more than preadolescents; when mitigating circumstances were present, adolescents recommended punishing infractions less than preadolescents. In Study 2, before and after receiving information that authorities had punished or permitted rule violations, participants indicated their beliefs in authority legitimacy, rule strength, and rule deterrence value. In the absence of mitigating circumstances, beliefs strengthened when infractions were punished and beliefs weakened when infractions were permitted. When mitigating circumstances were present and authorities punished violations, preadolescents' legitimacy and deterrence beliefs strengthened. Adolescents' deterrence beliefs strengthened, but their beliefs in authority legitimacy weakened. When justifiable infractions were permitted, preadolescents' legitimacy and deterrence beliefs weakened, whereas adolescents' beliefs strengthened. Discussion focuses on age differences in legitimacy beliefs and understanding the consequences of setting precedents and on the relevance of the findings to theories of deontic reasoning, moral judgments, and epistemological development.

Freiwilliges Arbeitsengagement

Zusammenfassung. Freiwilliges Arbeitsengagement hat sich nach fast 50-jähriger Forschungsarbeit in der organisationspsychologischen Forschung zur beruflichen Leistung als bedeutsames Kriterium neben der aufgabenbezogenen Leistung etabliert. Übertragungen des Konzeptes auf andere Anwendungsbereiche sind bislang jedoch nur spärlich und größtenteils fragmentarisch erfolgt. In diesem Beitrag wird nach der Diskussion bisheriger Konzeptionen ein Ansatz vorgestellt, der die Vielzahl von Konzeptionen in diesem Feld (z.B. Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Contextual Performance, Extra-Rollenverhalten, Prosoziales organisationales Verhalten, Citizenship Performance) integriert. Erstmals werden die bislang häufig vernachlässigten konstruktiv-kritischen Formen freiwilligen Arbeitsengagements systematisch in einen übergreifenden Ansatz eingegliedert und es wird eine umfassende facettentheoretische Definition erarbeitet. Schließlich wird die Übertragung des Konzeptes freiwilligen Arbeitsengagements auf andere als klassische organisationspsychologische Anwendungsbereiche aufgezeigt, um seine Bedeutung als übergreifendes Rahmenkonzept darzustellen. Die Integration von Forschungsergebnissen zu entsprechenden Verhaltensweisen aus verschiedensten Kontexten (d.h. nicht nur am Arbeitsplatz, sondern auch in Schulen, Sportvereinen etc.) in einem gemeinsamen Rahmenkonzept eröffnet die Möglichkeit, Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede, z.B. bzgl. Häufigkeiten, Prädiktoren und der relativen Bedeutsamkeit der unterschiedlichen Formen freiwilligen Engagements in unterschiedlichen Kontexten zu untersuchen.