I apologize in advance for taking too long to post this..
Anyways, my girlfriend was watching Dr. Phil and told me about a segment called "Are we really that vulnerable to uniforms?," which caught my interest for this class. They had a man in a military uniform stand in the streets and tell people to do certain things like walk around a tile or stop and walk with their left foot in front. Suprisingly people would make a face but do as they were told. When this same man was dressed in civillian clothes and requested that they do the same thing, people would look at him questioningly but walk right through the tile or not stop at all. It is not only clear here, but in everday life that the power of a uniform is significant. People personifying a doctor or police can face incredible criminal charges. Is the power of a uniform really that significant that it even has to be regulated? Why do we so easily follow what someone in uniform tells us to do? Why is it so hard for us to question the authority of someone in uniform?
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I think uniforms have a tremendous affect on people. Whenever I see people dressed in military attire in the SUB (or wherever on campus) you automatically see them in a different light. I also think this goes for people who are in the military. Once they put on the uniform I think it can profoundly change their actions, they now are labeled with a certain respect and responsibility. The same goes for doctors and policeman. That's why in every movie with a dirty cop, the people who get too close to them always end up dead because they expect the police to be on their side. It was the same for an experiment I read about in sociology where this guy dressed up as a doctor and told people that for testing they were to ask a person in another room questions and if they got them wrong they were to shock the person and each time they got a wrong answer they were to up the volts. The real experiment was to see how far people would actually go and a lot of people went all the way up to 450 volts just because they guy was dressed officially and kept assuring him/her that the other person wasn't going to be harmed (permanently) in any way. (the guy wasn't actually being shocked). But uniforms do command a lot of respect.
Uniforms definitely carry power behind them, and I think that this is derived from the authority, knowledge, and position that is represented by the uniform. It is an easy way to distinguish someone who you need to respect for some reason or another (whether it be a doctor who you should respect because of his medical expertise or a person in the military police who is charged with keeping the general public safe), but it can be problematic because there is no way to distinguish easily between those who are rightfully wearing their uniform and those who aren't. I think it can be especially hard to question the authority of someone in uniform because of the physical representation of the authority that they have in society, as well as the respect I think both parties feel is necessary to show.
I think uniforms have a huge affect on people because we are visual people. If a real police officer told you to do something, you would do it. It's just the way our society works. Uniforms are made to distinguish people from ordinary citizens. If officers dressed in civilian clothing and drove ordinary cars, we would not be able to determine if they were truly in that position or not. I think uniforms are necessary in our society.
Uniforms have a huge impact on how we see people. We also don't question the authority of people wearing uniforms even if they're just pretending to be in a position of power (like Meagan's example about the psych experiment). It doesn't matter if the person wearing the uniform looks like they're actually qualified to do their job, we automatically change our attitude and give them respect because in our culture a uniform is a direct symbol of authority. We also know that they have the power to turn that authority against us, and so we are afraid to be the first ones to go against this direct form of authority.
It's kind of like when we see cop cars on the road - automatically we make sure we're going the speed limit because we know that they are able to punish us if we are not. This concept of immediate punishment is huge to the human psyche, the fear of consequences is often enough to stop people from doing an action all together.
I agree with, Meagan, Ben, Bridget, and Amy when they say that uniforms have a huge affect in human interaction. When someone grows up in this society, they are taught at young age that people in uniform are to be regarded highly. Whether it be a cop, doctor, or military person, we are expected to show them respect. Alot of time, it is just the uniform, or idea of the uniform, that calls for respect.
The dangerous thing is that everyone knows how exploitable this fact is. So the government is forced to make a law that makes impersonation a crime. Without it, people would exploit the power of uniforms because they know how difficult it is to question authority. I don't want to repeat my classmates too much so just look at the studies they mentioned to see this difficulty in action.
Uniforms automatically denote authority simply because we have been taught since a young age that that is what they mean, as Jimmy said. Also, the point of a uniform is to put the people wearing them into a league all of their own, they are used to put themselves in a more powerful position.
The experiment done on Dr. Phil shows that either fear or respect drive people's actions. I don't think that it is why is it so hard to question someone in a uniform, as someone in authority. The uniform denotes authority and that is what is hard for people to question. Since we have been taught to respect authority all of our lives, it has become an instict and natural to the point where we blindly follow instruction if given from an authoritative figure.
Uniforms most certainly come equipped with certain responses and this is not only uniforms but all types of dress. This again ties into the stereotyping that we discussed in class. Appearance is a very large part of human mental classification and recognition. These uniforms such as police and military attire come with these reactions because that is what society is taught to view them as (i.e. demanding respect, requiring adherence to, etc). These are important signs of authority.
These are useful in society because it means that the mere presence of the uniforms elicits the desired response. This is the same as when an individual sees a police car and slows down behind the wheel. The officer does not even need to turn his lights on because his mere presence causes others to slow down.
This is both from fear and avoidance of punishment. Punishment is a theme strongly connected to law enforcement officers and military personnel. These people also had to go through specific training and preparation in order to protect and defend society and so they are seen as being equipped to manage trouble and so on.
Likewise I agree with Megan that the individual acts differently when in the uniform. my boyfriend is in the military and whenever we are in public and he is in his uniform, he knows he needs to uphold his end of societal expectations and so is subconsciously more polite and mature than when he is in his street clothes.
Uniforms come with a set of expectations both for the individuals wearing it and those surrounding them and it is certainly a sign of authority in our everyday lives.
Uniforms are powerful symbols. While we are mostly visual beings, I think the main problem is logic.
Humans often commit the fallacy "appeal to authority", where people dressed as a social authority (police, firemen, military members, doctors, teachers, etc.) are treated with more respect and are more likely to be listened too. People see the uniform and assume that the person in them is an upstanding citizen (and most of the time they are!)
However, as a few of you pointed out, that isn't always the case. We need to try and see what's beyond the uniform and think about what exactly is being said or done. Imagine that person in civvies and ask yourself if you would still commit the act.
Uniforms definitely carry a strong idea of authority. We grow up learning that certain uniforms denote expertise and authority in a certain field, and are expected to respect the uniform, as well as the authority behind it. I think that it's hard to question the authority of a uniform because we expect that if someone is wearing a uniform they won't abuse that authority. Some of you have commented on how many uniformed people understand the power they are given, and uphold the social expectations of the uniform, but there is always a danger when authority is given so unquestioningly to a uniform. Like Ben said, impostors and people who abuse their authority are hard to spot when their wearing the uniforms that everyone respects. Uniforms denote authority, but society also expects responsibility from the wearers.
As most people have mentioned, I agree that uniforms only carry meaning because we are taught the significance of someone in uniform from a very young age. We are taught to believe that someone in uniform has an expertise in whatever field their uniform denotes (doctor, police officer, military, etc.), so we can trust what they say. Since people in uniform do have the power of having people easily trust what they say, I definitely agree that uniforms need to be regulated.
I think that the power of the uniform is definitely important and something which we believe everyday. However, the person with that uniform is expected to behave as we expect them to. This really also applies to everyday clothes. We give more respect to well-dressed people rather than the people who looked like they just rolled out of bed.
The idea of the power of the uniform is taught to us at a very early age. The take it for granted from our youth and therefore we accept it and have little need to question its power. Also, it seems like every child has at one point in his or her life wanted to be some kind of uniformed official (fireman, policeman, pilot, doctor, etc...) and many people still connect these uniforms to their childhood dreams.
Uniformed men and women are also usually either performing a service for the rest of society, or working jobs which we could not or would not do. For this we are thankful, and thereby give respect and authority to the uniformed person. Also, uniforms also tend to indicate that a person knows what they're doing. They are professionals in whatever field they are wearing the uniform for, so we respect their authority in their profession.
Uniforms give people a false sense of empowerment in my opinion. Police officers, military, security officers they all have the same effect on people. When you are a child you see these uniforms and become awed in their presence. However, as you grow up this admiration becomes more dislike or fear. This not only happens in authority figures though. Doctors in their white coats have a way of treating you as an inferior. In many cases people will do whatever someone in a white cot tells them to do. But like I said I think this is all socially learned and that unfortunately has taken hold in our minds so that every time someone in a uniform comes around hopefully your response will be of complete respect and fear.
Uniforms do create a first impression. I never really noticed how much stock i put in people just because of their clothing. But i also do not believe that everyone has the same impression of every uniform. Some see police officers and think helper, while others think meddling a-holes. I really think it all depends on ones personal past experiences with these men (or women) in uniform. I do not think that these preconceived notions are even bad things. The notions quickly help identify how a situation will probably play out, although they can be harmful if used to preconceive actions, such as a preemptive strike on a nice police officer.
I agree with that Ben said about the influence of a uniform being derived from the knowledge and skill associated with a certain uniform. For the most part, this respect is well deserved. However, we are so socially accustomed to give respect to a person in a uniform that this sometimes can have a negative impact in the fact that we don't stop to question what the uniformed person is telling us to do. I personally believe that a uniform deserves respect, just not totally blind "Lemming" respect.
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