Reliance on Authority

1
Reliance on Authority

• By
• Jacqueline Martinez, Malissa Martinez, Jeffrey
  Miller, Sonja Moreno, Grace Perez, and Rosemarie
  A. Rahall

2
What is Reliance on Authority?

• Authority is an expert outside ourselves. Its
  dangerous. Following it blindly blocks critical
  thinking so much so that we stop thinking for
  ourselves.

• Authority not only influences the behavior of
  people it also affects their judgment, perhaps
  even more so.

3
What is Reliance on Authority? (Continued)

• Experiments have shown that when subjects were
  not exposed to pressure, they inevitably judged
  correctly. However, when pressured, the naïve
  (or uncertain) subjects generally changed their
  responses to conform with the unanimous majority
  judgments.

• Authority cows us. While it is at times a
  legitimate source of opinion and belief,
  authority plays an influential role in our
  thinking and an unquestioning reliance on
  authority is foreign to critical thinking.

4
For Example

• Each day in school, at church, and even at home
  we rely on authority as a common source of belief
  and knowledge. An authority can be a teacher, a
  priest, a parent, a group of individuals or even
  an institution like a religion or an educational
  establishment. Everything we claim to know is
  based on authority. If there is something to
  difficult to understand or if we have a problem
  we cant figure out we rely on an authority
  figure to answer our questions or even make the
  decisions for us.

5
For Example

• You visit an ophthalmologist for the first time
  because youre having problems with a blurry
  vision.  The doctor tells you that you will need
  to get prescription glasses, which he then
  proceeds to prescribe and sell to you, since he
  also has the eyeglass shop in his office.  You
  later come to find out, through a second opinion,
  that you do not need glasses.  An
  ophthalmologists (or any other physicians)
  diagnosis will rarely be questioned because he is
  the authority/expert. Reliance on authority can
  result in an erroneous diagnosis, unnecessary
  costs or potentially severe health issues.
  Getting 2nd opinions and questioning authority is
  a necessary part of critical thinking.

6

• Who do we rely on?
• - Doctors, police, mechanics, teachers, media,
  
• politicians
• What potential problem(s) are there?
• - By relying on someone, you stop thinking
• - False or inaccurate information
• How does it happen?
• - We are impressed, influenced, intimidated,
  
• pressured or persuaded by authority

7

• How do we overcome it?
• - Research the facts
• - Get other opinions
• - Dont rely on authority
• - Be true to your values, beliefs and
  judgments
• - Authority can influence the behavior of
  people.
• The information can potentially be harmful or
  misleading.
• People can be swayed by authority allowing their
  better
• judgment to go by the way side.

8
Mediums in Which Problems Occur

• Television
• - Commercial advertisements use celebrities to
  change opinions or choice of the products
  consumers will buy.
• - When knowing that the majority of people use
  a certain product, they are most likely to use
  it.
• Politics
• - Especially now, when people hear other
  opinions and the opinion opposite of theirs is
  the majority opinion, they are more likely to
  completely devalue their original thoughts.
• - When an area is predominantly democratic or
  republican, people living in the area with the
  opposite party usually switch over because of
  intimidation and pressure.

9
Mediums in Which Problems Occur

• Religion
• - Families bring up children and influence
  them to accept or believe certain beliefs.
• - When a religious group believes one thing,
  you have to believe it if you want to be part of
  the religion.
• Advertising
• - Whether it be in movies or magazines, the
  advertisement agencies and movie producers show
  celebrities or other well-known people wearing,
  eating, drinking, or holding certain things and
  the consumer gets impressed into buying the same
  things.