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authority bias
You accept arguments based on the speaker's rank.
A 1974 study found that people are significantly more likely to comply with requests if they believe the person holds authority.
You assign disproportionate weight to information based on status cues rather than the content itself. The brain takes a shortcut by assuming power equals validity. You respond to the uniform rather than the words.
Your agreement is often a response to status.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Bickman, 1974, Authority Bias
- What the check found
- Bickman's 1974 study 'The Social Power of a Uniform' is a seminal work in social psychology confirming that uniform-based status cues significantly increase compliance with requests.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.