The issue: There is a strong pressure in our society for compliance with the requests of an authority than is instilled in us from an early age as part of socialization practices. Society has a tendency to react through mindless obedience and respond to the symbol of authority in ways like titles, clothes, and trappings. Society needs to be more aware about who the true experts are and their trustworthiness.
Major Strength: A major strength of this reading is that Cialdini realizes that society’s actions aren’t those of unknowledgeable or uneducated individuals but that our reactions to authority are results of our upbringing. He states on page 180, “we are trained from birth to believe that obedience to proper authority is right and disobedience is wrong.” An individual’s actions are not judged by senselessness, harmfulness, injustice, or moral standards but by a command of authority that has been instilled in us.
Major Weakness: Cialdini references several examples of pressure in our society for compliance with the requests of an authority figure. However, many of his examples seem exaggerated or aged, therefore leaving loopholes and faults to be seen. For example: Cialdini talked about the bank examiner scheme where con artists taking advantage of an elderly woman. Upon reading this I thought back to our class discussion on answering the door. As a class we came to the conclusion that in today’s society we are more hesitant to approach or answer the door especially if it is someone we do not know or are expecting. If we see their presence as an inconvenience and take it as a sign that something is wrong, why then are people willing to not only allow the stranger in but also allow them to manhandle their finances. In our digital age I would definitely be suspicious if I did not receive a prior phone call from my bank. We trust that Cialdini has done his research and is telling us the truth about these research findings; however, I felt that within this section he limits the audiences’ critical thinking skills and dumbs them down to a level in which nobody can think rationally for himself or herself and that our actions are programed.
Underlying Assumption: I think a major underlying assumption is that the public genuinely thinks that authority figures like health professionals or police officials are innately good and have our best interest at heart. What about those who choose to rebel against authority for the purpose of free will and to not be dictated/controlled by an agent chosen by society?
Provocative Questions:
1) If society is supposed to ask itself “how truthful can we expect this expert to be?” than doesn’t this take away credibility and the authority of an official that we as a society decided that particular person deserves in recognition?
2) Should we be taught early in life to question things and challenge the truthfulness of what is presented before us?