Authority Bias

What is it: authority bias in one of the most prevalent and fundamental biases we exhibit; we attribute disproportionately greater weight to the opinions of ‘experts’ or figures in traditionally authoritative positions and therefore challenge them less…

“He’s an expert so, even though his argument doesn’t make sense to me, I won’t challenge it because I’m not an expert…”

Overview

Authority bias is one of the hardest biases to overcome because it is drilled into us from an incredibly early age. At it’s most simple level, it’s actually a survival instinct. In our evolutionary past, challenging ‘authority’ figures, usually pack leaders, was more than likely to result in our exclusion from that pack, starvation and ultimately an exit from the gene pool. Fundamentally, we’re ‘people pleasers’ who try to avoid conflict, and as such, we’re incredibly susceptible to authority bias.

How often were you told as a child ,”Don’t argue, just do as I say”.

It isn’t just as children though that we suffer from this. When we go to school, we’re told that challenging our teacher’s opinions is disrespectful (very few teachers are comfortable being put on the spot). We believe that health professionals can’t be challenged and very few of us will challenge the opinions and views of police officers. And don’t get me started on religion. This is the strongest example of authority bias, not matter how little sense something makes, we’re told to blindly trust that everything we’re told is to true and challenging it us absolutely unforgivable.

As such, we’re conditioned that when people place themselves into positions – or even job titles – that are traditionally perceived as ‘authoritative’, we really don’t like to challenge them. This can have catastrophic results for our health and wealth.

I see so many adverts and social media posts from people who have self-styled as ‘experts’ because we’re conditioned to believe that an expert deals with indisputable facts, not subjective opinions. Advertisers relentlessly do it in adverts, (and now I’ve told you, you won’t be able to not notice it), we even dress actors in white lab coats in adverts and refer to them as ‘professionals’ to reinforce the belief that they’re experts who cannot be challenged.

If you want a perfect example of authority bias, not one of the ‘authoritative economists’ in 2007-8 saw the financial crash coming and anyone who raised it was instantly dismissed as a ‘lacking understanding of complex financial mechanisms’. If you want to know more about this, watch the film, The Big Short, and if you want to read about the most famous practical example, read of the ‘Milgram Experiment’. In the Milgram experiment, a group of people were told to deliver electric shocks to subjects (who were actually actors). Even when they believed they were delivering potentially lethal levels of shock, many of the subjects blindly followed what they were told.

It seems for many of us, the fear of potentially upsetting a supposedly authoritative figure and suffering personal hardship is greater than standing by our own beliefs, even if we’re negatively affected by it.

What can we do to avoid this?

Sadly, because this bias is so strongly instilled in us from such an early age, and because it has its roots in our evolutionary past, not only is it often subconscious but even when we’re aware of it, it can be an extremely uncomfortable experience for us.

Firstly, as with many of these biases, we need to be aware of our susceptibility to it. Understanding that we’re pre-programmed to avoid challenging authority it key.

Secondly, we need to understand that, if we’re challenging someone’s ‘opinion’ is a respectful and courteous manner, and they can’t handle that, that is their issue not ours, especially when our health or wellbeing is involved. The key here is ‘resepectful and courteous’. Nobody likes to be challenged with aggression or have their opinions dismissed. It’s even worse when we challenge someone’s beliefs, because they are even more deeply engrained, and far more difficult to shift.

It’s often better to look to cite third-party conflicting opinions (make it less about your views) and ask how they can be reconciled, giving people an ‘out’. Nobody likes being backed into a corner but good experts and professionals will always want to learn and shape their views and will welcome being able to be more ‘correct’ in future.

Also be aware that advertisers and marketers place people in authoritative positions to reinforce the message they want to convey, and most experts in adverts are actors, paid to give their indisputable advice. We often refer to people as ‘professionals’ and use the phrase ‘Pro Product’ whatever that means.

Examples

• In the past, an aircraft’s Captain would never be challenged by a lesser rank. Doing so would be career-ending. However, most airlines realised this opened up incredible risks and created single point of failure. Now, Crew Resource Management has taught all flight crew to openly and quickly discuss differences of opinion and this has likely made air travel more safe than any technological advance.
• Financial investment, particularly in unregulated online environments, is littered with so-called ‘Experts’ and ‘Professionals’ who seem to know the secret to financial success. They give themselves authoritative titles and credentials. I’d stop and ask myself, “If they are so successful, why have they not retired to their own private island in the Indian Ocean and why are they so keen to share their ‘secret’ with you”!