“Obedience to authority is irresistible.” Dr. Maxson
In a documentary shown on ABC News Primetime, a study examined how far people would go when placed under authority. In a nutshell, the participants in the study thought the study was to observe people in punishment and learning situations. Two people were studied at a time. One designated “teacher” and the other “student.” The student was required to answer a series of questions given by the teacher. The student was hooked up to a machine that causes the person to be shocked every time the button is pushed. The teacher was to administer the punishment (of a shock) every time the student answered a question wrong. Each time the student answered incorrectly, the shock level was to increase.
As the experiment continued, the student would continuously answer incorrectly. Eventually, the student would demand to be let out of the room. The teacher is supplied with the information that the student has a heart condition, and is in a lot of pain. The teacher’s response to the situation is the main substance of the study. People reacted differently. Some laughed at the pained response of the student to some of the shocks, some refused to continue, a couple continued so long as they were reassured that they would not be in legal trouble if the student were to be seriously injured or die.
After watching the documentary in my persuasion class, Dr. Maxson stated, “obedience to authority is irresistible.” This statement made me think about the girls of Kamathipura. Often I wonder what the psychological state of the girls is. Obviously they are held in physical confinement, but they are also given little room for freedom of thought. In other words, a captivity of the mind. I think that this study was interesting because it showed how far people really would go when placed under authority. It seems as though we have a block in our mind sometimes about our ability to make choices when under pressure.
In the study, the teacher was capable of making his or her own decisions in the situation. However, because the person of authority administering the experiment said the experiment must continue, many pressed on. I do not feel that the girls held in captivity have much room to make choices, because of the authority they are under. They have two choices, give the customer or brothel owner whatever is demanded, or die. In many cases, police officers come to visit the girls. Sometimes the officers have been paid off by the brother owner, in order to see if the girls will lie, and say they are happy, or if the girls will tell the officer the truth about their lives. If the girls lie, they are not harmed. If they tell the truth, they are beaten. How can these girls have faith in anyone if a group of people that could potentially free them is corrupt? For the girls of Kamathipura, obedience to authority is irresistible. It is practically a death sentence to not conform to the authority.
