Level of Authority and Response Cost in the Obebedience of Schoolchildren
In the present study an analysis was made of the effect of establishing two levels of authority (Total or Partial) in the obedient behavior of schoolchildren under two test situations: one with no response cost for disobedient responses (NRC) and the other, with response cost for disobedient respons...
| Autores: | , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2009 |
| País: | México |
| Institución: | Universidad de Guadalajara |
| Repositorio: | Redalyc-UDG |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:redalyc.org:282221726006 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=282221726006 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Psicología Authority obedience restitution response cost power functions |
| Sumario: | In the present study an analysis was made of the effect of establishing two levels of authority (Total or Partial) in the obedient behavior of schoolchildren under two test situations: one with no response cost for disobedient responses (NRC) and the other, with response cost for disobedient responses (RC). The level of authority was determined by the number of power functions, as proposed by Ribes (2001) that were wielded in the experimental situation. At the beginning of the experiment, half of the participants were exposed to a condition of Total Authority consisting of three sessions of computer games in the presence of the experimenter while he wielded the four power functions (prescription, regulation, supervision and the administration of consequences). The other half of the participants was exposed to a condition of Partial Authority in which these three sessions took place in the presence of the experimenter while she wielded only two of these functions (prescription and regulation). Subsequently, by means of a puzzle-solving activity that allowed for two types of response: one permitted (obedience) and another forbidden (disobedience), the participants were exposed to a baseline phase and to test phases alternating NRC and RC conditions. It was observed that the participants who were exposed to a Total Authority figure gave fewer disobedient responses than the participants exposed to a Partial Authority figure. Furthermore, it was observed that regardless of the level of authority that was established, the participants who started the test sessions with an NRC condition gave fewer disobedient responses than those starting with an RC condition. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of the presence of an authority figures who wield power functions in different ways, and in terms of their interaction with the response cost implemented in the situation. |
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