WHAT ARE AUTHORITY FIGURES? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The authority figures in a society are public or private employees in charge of ensuring that the rules are met. In the event that the norms are not complied with, the authority figures are in charge of punishing the transgressor accordingly.

An authority figure is also a person who has influence over a child, adolescent or youth. For example, a father can be an authority figure for her son; the child sees him as someone to pay attention to.

Society expects authority figures to maintain a commitment to impartiality that goes beyond personal, or in some cases, political interests. Authority figures are expected to strictly abide by the precepts established by society and thus set an example and punish wrongful behavior.

Authority figures are not only focused on large societies, but we can find them in most social groups, such as a family, or settings such as schools or universities.

The social norms that are learned in childhood through the authority figure of the family, many times determine the character of the person.

These social norms are polished in the school where the behavior of individuals is perfected in interactions with people outside the family.

Main authority figures in society

We can highlight the authority figures in the government, the police, parents and teachers.

Government

The government fulfills the function of maximum authority in the sovereign territory. This is in charge of the legal system of the country. It is also in charge of controlling and managing the country's institutions, ensuring that they follow the established precepts.

In democratic states there is a constitution. In this are the basic precepts by which all its inhabitants must abide by. The government has to ensure that all duties are fulfilled without exception for its citizens.

The government, in its tasks as an authority figure, must also ensure that the rights of all citizens are covered, or ensure that they are covered in the future.

The government establishes a series of legal norms, what is called legal order, that all citizens must comply with. It is made up of regulations and treaties, and they are the supreme norm of the country.

Being an authority figure, it is obliged to punish non-compliance with these series of rules. Because a state has thousands of citizens, the government delegates the task of punishments to judges and prosecutors who determine the type of punishment required, depending on each offense.

In a court of law, the judge is the most influential authority figure. It has the jurisdictional power to punish the faults of citizens through the law and legal regulations.

The police officers

The police force is one of the tools of the Government to ensure compliance with the rules by citizens. It is responsible for maintaining the public order of a country and therefore the safety of its citizens.

His main function as an authority figure is to deter and investigate crimes, whether against third parties or those who disturb public order.

If a crime occurs, they have the power to arrest the persons suspected of having committed the crime and inform the competent authorities who will establish the punishment depending on the crime committed.

To ensure your posture as an authority figure, the police can handle the punishment of minor transgressions of the law. Through citations, minor offenses that citizens can make to the law are reported.

These summons are usually resolved through the payment of a small bond. The main causes of citations by the police force are due to vehicular traffic.

Disturbances of the order of citizens when they are driving a vehicle are punished by the police without the need for a judge to establish the punishment.

If the citizen thinks that the punishment for the transgression is excessive, he can always resort to a higher authority figure such as the judges, to establish which of the two parties is right.

Teachers or teachers

In addition to teaching specific subjects, teachers are also an authority figure in charge of transmitting values, techniques, and knowledge applicable to everyday life to students.

The pedagogical function helps the student's learning, so that they acquire the necessary knowledge to participate in society, in the best possible way.

Teachers must commit to the social environment by training their students so that they acquire values, and that they are governed by an ethical code.

The teacher has the responsibility and commitment to train future generations with qualities that allow them to be citizens who are clear about their duties and also their rights.

It has to be able to train humanistic citizens, with a critical and responsible attitude towards the environment that surrounds them.

Fathers and mothers

Fathers and mothers are the first authority figure an individual comes across. Not only are they responsible for meeting basic needs, but they also have the duty to train individuals for their contact with society.

It is very important in the life of an individual, that he learns what are the limits that are allowed. This begins with the limits that parents impose on their children.

These limits always have to be reasonable and must be adhered to. In the society in which we live where time is increasingly a scarce resource, we must be consistent with the limitations we impose on our children.

If we impose a rule at home, parents must teach their children that the rules are to be followed, and that they cannot be broken even on special occasions.

The rules must be followed and individuals must be used to following the rules that are imposed from authority figures.

References

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2. JAUREGUIZAR, Joana; IBABE, Izaskun. Violent behaviors of adolescents towards authority figures: the mediating role of antisocial behaviors. Journal of Social Psychology, 2012, vol. 27, no 1, p. 7-24.
3. HENAO LÓPEZ, Gloria Cecilia; RAMÍREZ PALACIO, Carlota; RAMÍREZ NIETO, Luz Angela. Family educational practices as facilitators of the development process in children. The usb agora, 2007, vol. 7, no 2.
4. MORENO RUIZ, David, et al. Relationship between family climate and school climate: the role of empathy, the attitude towards authority and violent behavior in adolescence. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 2009, vol. 9, no 1.
5. ESTÉVEZ LÓPEZ, Estefanía, et al. Styles of family communication, attitude towards institutional authority and violent behavior of the adolescent at school. Psicothema, 2007, vol. 19, no 1.
6. ÁLVAREZ GALLEGO, Mónica María. Parental educational practices: family authority, incidence on aggressive behavior in children. Virtual Magazine Universidad Católica del Norte, 2010, no 31.
7. RIGAU-RATERA, E.; GARCÍA-NONELL, C.; ARTIGAS-PALLARES, Josep. Treatment of oppositional defiant disorder. Rev Neurol, 2006, vol. 42, no Suppl 2, p. S83-S88.