Authority bias

What it is

Giving undue weight to the opinion or commands of an authority figure, in matters even outside their expertise.

Related

• Appeal to authority fallacy
  Appeal to authority is the argument-level use of authority bias: we accept a claim because of who says it.
• Conformity bias
  Obedience to authority and group conformity are the two classic findings on social pressure (Milgram and Asch).
• Halo effect bias
  A title or expertise in one domain spreads to others.

Appears in

• Munger's 25 standard causes of human misjudgment#22: Authority-misinfluence tendency
• The 99 thinking errors in Rolf Dobelli's The Art of Thinking Clearly#9: Authority bias
• Cialdini's seven principles of influence#4: Authority

References

• Wikipedia: Authority bias en.wikipedia.org
• Munger's 25 standard causes of human misjudgment fs.blog
• The 99 thinking errors in Rolf Dobelli's The Art of Thinking Clearly en.wikipedia.org
• Cialdini's seven principles of influence en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia: List of cognitive biases en.wikipedia.org
• Wikipedia: Cognitive bias codex en.wikipedia.org

More in “People and groups: social influence”