Authority Bias: Why You Follow the Leader
Commercials have a long history of using well-known television characters (and the actors who play them) in their spots to leverage authority bias.
I recently saw a Dell commercial using Jim Parsons in character as Sheldon Cooper from the hit show, The Big Bang Theory, to try and sell computers.
It’s an effective technique. Intuitively, it feels like Sheldon knows something about computers. He’s got a Ph.D., is a genius with an IQ of 187 and has a photographic memory.
It wasn’t until I read Robert B. Cialdini’s chapter on authority bias from his textbook, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, that I realized how strange this really was.
What Is Authority Bias?
Authority bias is our natural tendency to follow the leader.
Evolution has selected for deep respect for authority. Society compounds this by organizing and supporting this tendency into what Charlie Munger calls a “dominance hierarchy.”
You are taught to respect authority from a very early age. You see authority figures everywhere as a kid – in teachers, parents, older siblings, coaches, grandparents, politicians, celebrities, etc.
And then again as an adult. You get a job and go to work to report to your boss, who reports to his boss, who reports to her boss, who reports to the CEO, who reports to the board.
This dominance hierarchy is built into the fabric of society.
But it’s born of a natural inclination. Natural selection doesn’t select for any attributes that don’t aid in survival. So authority bias must provide a net benefit to the human race.
Cialdini thinks it does. He points out that it “allows for resource production, trade, defense, expansion, and social control that would otherwise be impossible.” It gives society a strong hierarchal backbone to build systems and technologies that may not have been built otherwise.
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Under most circumstances, trusting a known authority figure who is an expert in their field is a good bet. Doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc. generally know what they are talking about. It’s a valuable shortcut that saves us time.
But like many of these cognitive biases, once influence from authority becomes an automatic response, it causes trouble.
Milgram’s Findings
Stanley Milgram, a Yale psychology professor, helped prove how powerful this influence from authority is.
I won’t go into Milgram’s experiment in detail (you can read the Wikipedia page for reference), but here’s the basic idea:
Milgram was able to get normal people - the subjects of his experiment - to inflict what they thought to be excruciating amounts of physical pain via electrical shocks to other humans, simply by an authority figure directing them to do so.
Milgram’s findings are profound. This is what he wrote in summary, quoted in Influence:
It is the extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority that constitutes the chief finding of the study.
So, what does this mean for you?
Consequences of Authority Bias
Charlie Munger immediately understands the implications of authority bias. In his speech called “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment,” printed in Poor Charlie’s Almanack, Charlie says that when a leader is wrong or their instructions go misunderstood, many people can suffer.
Following Orders
Remember the jewelry store head saleswoman from the article on influence from association bias? Her boss told her to sell some jewelry at half price, but she misread the handwritten note and instead marked the price up to double what it was currently marked.
Isn’t it strange that the saleswoman didn’t just ask her boss why they were doubling the price of jewelry that they couldn’t sell?
The reason is simple: when an authority figure gives us instructions, we carry them out – no questions asked.
The Chernobyl Disaster
Selling jewelry is relatively low stakes, but Cialdini reminds us that this tendency can have far more serious implications. Like when governments keep tight control over their citizens.
The HBO miniseries, Chernobyl (2019), is a fascinating case study on the consequences of a state-led, authority-based system of decision making. Not only is it a stunning piece of television, but it’s also a masterclass on mental biases and why they matter in real life.
In the first episode, you’ll see examples of cognitive dissonance, authority bias, simple-pain avoidance tendency, social proof, commitment and consistency bias, incentive-caused bias, and more.
Plus, all of these tendencies are more potent when individuals are under stress. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say the events of Chernobyl were stress-inducing for those involved…
If you do end up watching the series, keep an eye out for examples of these biases.
How Can Authority Bias Be Used Against You?
Think back to the Dell commercial with Sheldon from the opening paragraph.
Why is this an effective sales tactic?
Because we believe that Sheldon Cooper is an authority on computers. And Dell knows it. They know that humans are susceptible to this bias from authority. It makes intuitive sense to take advice from a genius physicist on what computer to buy.
But is he actually an authority on computers?
Sheldon, the character, is a creation from writers’ minds. He’s only made “real” by the talent of the actor, Jim Parsons. Sheldon doesn’t exist, only Jim Parsons does.
Is Jim Parsons an expert on computers in the same way the character he plays is? Of course not, but we get fooled by authority bias!
Most people don’t stop to think about the ridiculousness of the recommendation because they are captured by the automatic response of authority bias.
I searched Jim Parson’s name in Google to read up about him for this article. Here are some of the common questions that come up:
The most common search asks “What is Jim Parsons IQ.”
Perhaps some people are stopping to think about his authority in the realm of science, physics, and biology by seeing how “smart” the actor really is.
His IQ would have very little impact on Parsons’ chosen career as an actor. But it could be good to know if you are taking the actor’s advice on whether to shell out $500 or so on a Dell computer.
It’s also worthwhile to examine what gives Sheldon Cooper (the character) authority over computers to begin with.
First, he’s a “nerd” and has all the symbols of one. He wears obscure t-shirts, plays video games, and has the combover hair cut we associate with geeks. Further, he has titles. He’s got a Ph.D. and an Sc.D to his name.
These all work to lend credibility to his opinion over computers…even though Jim Parsons the actor has none.
Authority Can Be Easily Faked
This is one of Cialdini’s main points about authority bias: it’s very easy to fake.
The simple appearance of authority is enough to get us to go along with the automatic response in our brains. It’s easy to fake things like titles, clothing, and symbols.
Con men use this to their advantage. They drape themselves in clothes and symbols that give them power and authority. One minute the con man is a rich businessman, the next he is a stern lawyer, and then a wise doctor.
The next time you are watching a show that features a con, notice how the characters use these tools of authority bias to get what they want.
How Can You Protect Yourself from Authority Bias?
Another reason why authority bias is so powerful is that according to Cialdini’s research, you greatly underestimate how much you’re influenced by it on a day-to-day basis.
This makes it both powerful and surprising.
Cialdini recommends asking two questions to help protect you from someone taking advantage of your bias from authority:
Question #1: Is this authority figure really an expert in this field?
In the case of Jim Parsons and the Dell commercial, that answer is no.
Parsons would probably be considered an expert in the acting field, but not in the field of computer science.
Question #2: How are incentives impacting the truthfulness of the expert’s opinion?
Let’s say Jim Parsons is an expert on the best computers to buy. Could he be trusted then?
Well, it’s still a commercial for Dell, and you can be sure the brand paid Parsons megabucks to perform in it. This hurts his credibility.
Other experts may be incentivized for you to go along with their advice, such as doctors prescribing certain pharmaceutical drugs that give them a cut of the sale.
Once you start to see the world through the lens of authority bias, you’ll have trouble stopping.
Start now.