white coat syndrome

There's something called 'the white coat syndrome'. Sometimes, it refers to blood pressure increases in people who have 'normal range' blood pressure readings most of the time. The thought of the doctor (who typically wears a white coat), or just being in a doctor's office, makes some people nervous, and their blood pressure rises with the anxiety.

In psychology, we come across other references to white coat syndrome related to obedience. There are numerous studies that show that people - usually research volunteers - will do whatever they are instructed to do, even if it makes them uncomfortable, or requires breaking their own personal ethics. Although we are volunteers, and are free to leave whenever we wish, there is something about the instructor or technician (sometimes in 'the white coat') being seen as an authority figure. We humans have a hard time saying no in such settings. A classic example is Philip Zimbardo's 1960's research that assigned students randomly to either a make-believe prisoner role or that of a prison guard. No participants chose to leave, even though the situation quickly became so cruel that the experiment was ended early. (The book by Dr. Zimbardo, 'The Lucifer Effect', thoroughly examines the study and relevant issues beyond the study.)
There is other research where the volunteer is expected to deliver shocks to someone in the next room, visible through a one-way window, (usually a planted coworker playing the role of a second volunteer). The volunteer is expected to deliver shock by pressing a button in response to errors the victim makes in a game (or other situation). Usually the person in the next room is a planted secret assistant. The supposed shock mechanisms adjusted to different levels, from low to a high 'danger' level. Almost all of the volunteers followed instructions, even if the person in the next room was making sounds of suffering and even though the volunteers sometimes were moved to tears as they continued to deliver shocks at 'high voltage', and could have walked out at any time without retribution. The ethics of such experiments is something that has been discussed. Given that they were conducted, however, they can be helpful in discussing and understanding issues such as torture and perhaps preventing such behavior.

The reason I started off with this topic though, goes back to the doctor's offices and hospitals. In my experience, and that shared to me by others, there are occasions when we comply with anything the staff in healthcare facilities recommend or order - for ourselves, our kids, our parents. It is of interest that many of us don't refuse when it is something we would like to refuse, even though we have reasons and the right to say no. A strategy that I have discovered to be helpful is practicing saying - 'Thank you for your recommendation. I will give it some thought.' This usually does not offend the worker, and gives one more time to make a more measured decision about whether the procedure is necessary and/or desired.