Our feelings about authority are governed primarily by the implicit memory system. They emerged through interactions with our parents in the early years. It's where our feelings towards authorities are imprinted and hence why we respond the way we do.
If your mother or father (or caretakers) felt it was better to evoke fear to get you to obey them, then you probably have ambivalent feelings about authority.
Indeed, if they had ambivalent or conflicted feelings about authority figures, then almost certainly you picked up on them, albeit non-consciously.
In particular, if you experienced abuse at the hands of your parents/caretakers or anyone you trusted when you were very young, then you're much more likely to have authority issues.
“The implicit memory system is experienced not recalled”
An implicit memory is automatically experienced - it isn't intentionally recalled. The feelings and reactions you have are the outgrowth and the culmination of many previous memories with authority figures.
Those previous memories get stored as implicit memories. So you won't recall the incidents - you're automatically recalling the feelings associated with these events and they are shaping your views of authority figures.
Because authority issues arise from our feeling states, they're not effectively changed by left brain criticism or admonition. We need to feel how and where these states arise in the body (a right brain strategy) and then move into experiencing something new at that moment.
Where would we find such an experience? Well...I thought you'd never ask!
A good place to start is in the safety of a therapeutic relationship--with an attuned therapist.
