The Obedient Brain: Authority in Relation to Perceived Coercion to Obey, Sense of Control, Sense of Responsibility and Legitimacy

Abstract

Law enforcement aims at ensuring safety within society. However, the rules and regulations that civilians are obligated to follow may restrict their freedom of choice. This can impact their intrinsic experience when they are confronted with law enforcement. The present study investigated the effect of authority level on perceived coercion to obey, sense of control and sense of responsibility. In addition, the relationship between authority and legitimacy was investigated. Lastly, the interrelationship between perceived coercion to obey sense of control, sense of responsibility and legitimacy were researched. An online experiment has been set up where 121 participants were confronted with authority figures of different rank and were asked to report about their experience. At the end of the experiment, participants scored the authority figures on legitimacy. Results indicated that a higher authority level resulted in a higher perceived coercion to obey, a lower sense of control, and a lower sense of responsibility. Results also revealed that legitimacy was not predicted by authority level. Finally, the results indicated that there are direct links between legitimacy and perceived coercion to obey, between perceived coercion to obey and sense of control and between sense of control and sense of responsibility. This is the first study to show the direct effect of authority level on intrinsic experience. The findings are discussed and interpreted within the context of previous literature, limitations of the present study were addressed, and directions for future research were provided.