I just watched The Experimenter movie recently and loved it! There are similar studies that have been documented, like the famous Stanford Prison Experiment. What a surprise to see a post about this subject and it not even being fully related to bipolar disorder.

However, I agree with you. When it comes to authority or even perceived authority, we are afraid to say no and we do not stand up for ourselves. Like you said, they "can cloud our judgement and wants to soothe us, hindering understanding and self-improvement."

If your interested in the psychology of authority and basically behavior modification or mind control, definitely look into the Stanford Prison Experiment. It's chilling to explore the psychology of human nature sometimes.