Children's Conceptions of Adult and Peer Authority

Abstract

LAUPA, MARTA, and TURIEL, ELLIOT. Children's Conceptions of Adult and Peer Authority. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1986, 57, 405-412. This study examines children's concepts of authority with regard to the age of persons giving commands, their position in a social context, and the type of command given. The study was conducted at a school with a program that places children in positions of authority. Subjects (24 female, 24 male) from the first, third, and fifth grades were interviewed to assess their evaluations of peer and adult authority commands and rationale for obedience. Subjects also made choices between different individuals who gave opposing commands; age (peer/adult) and social position (with or without an official school authority position) were varied. Subjects at all ages accepted the legitimacy of both peer and adult authorities and were able to conceptualize the social organizational role of authority. However, the boundaries of authority justification did not extend to commands that failed to prevent harm. In addition, children gave priority to adult authority over peer authority and to peer authority over adult nonauthority. The findings indicate that children do not have a unitary orientation toward authority and that they take into consideration the age and social position of authority as well as the type of command given.