Thinking Critically about Social Influence and Authority

Recommended Readings

Standing Up to Experts and Authorities: How to Avoid Being Intimidated, Manipulated, and Abused
by Sharon Presley, Ph.D.
Solomon Press

A practical toolkit for dealing effectively with experts and authorities in many settings, including physicians, psychologists, lawyers, contractors, professors, principals, customer reps, the police, and more.

See description and/or buy the book at the book website: www.standuptoauthorities.com

Influence: Science and Practice
by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D.
Scott, Foresman   

Con games, advertising, and deference to authority are some of the areas covered in this highly informative, entertaining exploration of influence techniques and how they can induce automatic, mindless compliance. It is solidly based on participant observation and other psychological research, with a humorous and engaging style that makes it popular with students (and everyone else!).

Age of Propaganda: The Everyday Use and Abuse of Persuasion
by Anthony Pratkanis, Ph.D. and Elliot Aronson, Ph.D.
W.H. Freeman   

A highly readable analysis of the patterns, motives and effects of mass persuasion efforts to influence how we think, how we vote, and what we value. Drawing on the the history of propaganda and research in social psychology, it shows us not only what the tactics are but why they work and how we can protect ourselves from manipulation.

The Guru Papers: Masks of Authoritarian Power
by Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad
North Atlantic   

A call to take back the authority that people have unknowingly invested in others, this book examines the techniques used to covertly control others in the guise of imparting knowledge or "doing what's best for you." Asserting that the doctrine of self-sacrifice is used as a tool of control, it unmasks authoritarianism in the areas of addiction, intimate relations, cults, and Eastern and Western religions.
A review of this book is available.

Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View
by Stanley Milgram, Ph.D.
Harper & Row   

No study in social psychology is more famous than the Yale "shock experiment" that demonstrated how easily ordinary people obey the demands of authority. In clear terms, Milgram details a series of experiments that explore the situational factors (e.g., proximity of the victim, diffusion of responsibility) that affect obedience to authority. The powerful effect of these factors--something the average person usually underestimates--is one of the most important lessons of this classic study.

Crimes of Obedience: Toward a Social Psychology of Authority and Responsibility
by Herbert C. Kelman, Ph.D. and V. Lee Lawrence, Ph.D.
Yale Univ. Press   

A comprehensive overview and analysis of the research on obedience and resistance to authority, this scholarly, readable book provides a social psychological framework for analyzing authority. Beginning with a detailed account of the My Lai massacre, the authors explore the processes that contribute to the legitimacy of authority and provide obstacles to challenging authority. They conclude with suggestions for ways that people can be encouraged to resist unjust authority.

The Psychology of Attitude Change and Social Influence
by Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D. and Michael Leippe, Ph.D.
McGraw-Hill   1991   

A highly readable but thorough exploration of the social psychological research on these topics. Zimbardo is one of the
leading experts in this area.