The Psychology Behind Obedience and Authority

Throughout the world, figures of authority have been put in place to maintain control of societies. They’re often viewed as superior or knowledgeable due to their power, and therefore usually result in the obedience of mass groups of people. Oftentimes, individuals neglect to question those in positions of power, as it is a preconceived notion that has been ingrained in us that authority figures are to be trusted. Through the research of psychology, it has been shown that ordinary people may perform unseemly tasks when ordered to do so by an authority figure. Despite what one may think of them self and their beliefs, it is shocking how their morals may be altered under certain circumstances.

The blind submission to dictators is a major issue throughout the world, and in some cases has been detrimental to humanity. Particularly, in Germany, a mass genocide- known as the Holocaust- had taken place due to the obedience of civilians to an unhinged dictator. Adolf Eichmann, a high level Nazi officer, highlights the devastating impacts of the corrupt authority system. Although Eichmann had not killed people himself, he was responsible for deporting millions of Jews to concentration camps, where they would be tortured and killed. When Eichmann was hated by Jewish people and sent to jail, he was surprised, insisting that he was simply following orders and had not done anything wrong.

Following the Holocaust, psychologists recognized the phenomenon of human obedience and decided to investigate this. The Milgram experiment, conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, now one of the most famous psychology experiments in history, explored the willingness of study participants to obey those in authority positions. It was designed to test the extent to which those who appeared as an authority figure would be able to produce obedience, even when pain was inflicted on others. The findings were shocking, as it was shown that sixty-five percent of participants followed all orders, despite their personal morals and the obvious pain of those they were harming by obeying. The subjects listened to strangers they don’t know over themselves, and even inflicted pain on others, just because they were called a “teacher” and wearing a lab coat. This proves that all of us may be capable of horrific things when under the circumstances, and society must begin to question those in power, not blindly follow.

Many aspects of life are controlled by authority figures, and society has raised us to believe and trust in them. The idea that they might be incorrect, or to listen to ourselves instead, is an uncommon and foreign notion for the majority of people. The ability to doubt and question those in power must exist in order to have an intelligent and functioning society. This will not only promote growth in an individual, but will overall be beneficial for people around the world. This limits the jurisdiction that authoritative figures possess, and allows us as a society to take back control of ourselves and our decisions.