Authority bias is the tendency to attribute greater accuracy to the opinion of an authority figure (unrelated to its content) and be more influenced by that opinion.[1] An individual is more influenced by the opinion of this authority figure, believing their views to be more credible, and hence place greater emphasis on the authority figure's viewpoint and are more likely to obey them. This concept is considered one of the social cognitive biases or collective cognitive biases.[2]
Humans generally have a deep-seated duty to authority and tend to comply when requested by an authority figure.[3] Some scholars explain that individuals are motivated to view authority as deserving of their position and this legitimacy leads people to accept and obey the decisions that it makes.[2] System justification theory articulates this phenomenon, particularly within its position that there is a psychological motivation for believing in the steadiness, stability and justness of the current social system.[4]
Authority bias can be measured concerning respect for authority, where higher respect for authority positively correlates with the increased likelihood of exhibiting authority bias.[5] Respect for authority is measured using the Respect for Authority Index (RAI), which averages responses on deference to the police. A higher score on the RAI is indicative of higher respect for authority, and hence strengthening the execution of authority bias.
Cultural differences in the strength of authority bias have been identified, in which the differences in edits made to Wikipedia articles by administrators and regular users were compared for accuracy.[6][self-published source] In Western Europe, the bias has a negligible effect. In Eastern Europe, the bias is larger and the administrator's edits are perceived as more likely to be true (despite the edits being inaccurate), indicating a cultural difference in the extent to which authority bias is experienced.
^Milgram, Stanley (1963). "Behavioral study of obedience". The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 67 (4): 371–378. doi:10.1037/h0040525. PMID 14049516. S2CID 18309531.
^ abJuárez Ramos, Veronica (2019). Analyzing the Role of Cognitive Biases in the Decision-Making Process. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. p. 113. ISBN 9781522529798.
^Milgram, Stanley (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View.
^Browstein, Michael (2016). Implicit Bias and Philosophy, Volume 1: Metaphysics and Epistemology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 240. ISBN 9780198766186.
^"Respect for Authority". Cato Institute. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
^Hinnosaar, Marit; Hinnosaar, Toomas (2012). "Authority Bias". marit.hinnosaar.net.[permanent dead link]
Authoritybias is the tendency to attribute greater accuracy to the opinion of an authority figure (unrelated to its content) and be more influenced by...
Cognitive biases are systematic patterns of deviation from norm and/or rationality in judgment. They are often studied in psychology, sociology and behavioral...
rate from 18% to less than 3%. Authoritybias reveals people are more likely to be influenced by the opinions of authority figures. In the days before the...
Bias is a disproportionate weight in favor of or against an idea or thing, usually in a way that is inaccurate, closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair....
celebrate the invasion of Poland. Psychology portal Argument from authorityAuthoritybias Acali Experiment Banality of evil Belief perseverance Graduated...
vulnerable to appeals to perceived authorities and experts leading to groupthink, as are governments and militaries. Authoritybias Credentialism Ethos Ipse dixit...
by the authorities' power to regulate property rights without the due process rights mandatorily applied by the courts. AuthoritybiasAuthority (management)...
Confirmation bias (also confirmatory bias, myside bias, or congeniality bias) is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information...
In statistics, sampling bias is a bias in which a sample is collected in such a way that some members of the intended population have a lower or higher...
A cognitive bias is a systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment. Individuals create their own "subjective reality" from their...
inaccurately project greater authority than human expertise (in part due to the psychological phenomenon of automation bias), and in some cases, reliance...
adultification bias has not been well studied. Still, many studies have found that Black children are more susceptible to discipline from authority figures,...
based on suspicion rather than on definite evidence of illicit actions. Authoritybias Cancel culture Countercontrol Criminal justice Cybernetics Gaslighting...
humans. Wikiquote has quotations related to Deference. Acquiescence Authoritybias Codependency Compliance (psychology) Dominance (ethology) Dominance...
In statistics, the bias of an estimator (or bias function) is the difference between this estimator's expected value and the true value of the parameter...
Philip Zimbardo) on human behavior in the context of obedience and authoritybias. Moral blindness has been identified as being a concern in areas such...
against bias is the need to maintain public confidence in the legal system. Bias can take the form of actual bias, imputed bias, or apparent bias. Actual...
Claims of media bias generally focus on the idea of media outlets reporting news in a way that seems partisan. Other claims argue that outlets sometimes...
systemic bias in editor demographic results in cultural bias, gender bias, and geographical bias on Wikipedia. There are two broad types of bias, which...
gender bias in coverage, and the make up of the editing community has prompted concerns about racial bias, spin bias, corporate bias, and national bias, among...
In epidemiology, reporting bias is defined as "selective revealing or suppression of information" by subjects (for example about past medical history,...
Political bias is a bias or perceived bias involving the slanting or altering of information to make a political position or political candidate seem more...
Racial biases are a form of implicit bias, which refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect an individual's understanding, actions, and decisions...
Acquiescence bias, also known as agreement bias, is a category of response bias common to survey research in which respondents have a tendency to select...
how they view themselves (moral identity), and eat meat more often. Authoritybias Banality of evil Bystander effect Cognitive dissonance Compassion fatigue...
Global Information