Authority Bias Your Core Intelligence Team - PowerPoint Presentation

1. Authority Bias Your Core Intelligence Team 2022

2. Authority Bias DefinitionScientific EvidenceExamplesQuotes 2

3. DEFINITIONAuthority Bias

4. 4BE definition: Authority Bias People follow the lead of people they believe to be credible and knowledgeable experts when they are unsure. They might use the authority view as a mental shortcut.Authority bias is the tendency to alter our opinions or behaviours to those of someone we consider to be an authority on a subject. Common authority figures are doctors, government leaders, CEOs and other C-suite executives, judges and those in the police or armed forces.

5. SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCEAuthority Bias

6. 6The effects of authority from a doctor on nurses’ behaviour The pill bottles were clearly labelled with the 10mg max dose (the drug was a glucose placebo for safety reasons and the nurses were intercepted before they reached the patient).Results: 21 out of the 22 nurses complied, unquestioningly with “Dr Smith’s” orders. In the debrief, 16 nurses felt they should have resisted the request. Only 11 nurses noticed the max dosage limits. Hofling, C. K., Brotzman, E., Dalrymple, S., Graves, N. & Bierce, C. (1966). An experimental study of nurse-physician relations. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 143, 171-180In a study on obedience, Charles Hofling tested the effects of authority from a doctor on nurses’ behaviour. Study: In 3 hospitals in the American Mid-west, 22 night nurses were called on the phone by an actor posing as “Dr Smith from the Psychiatric department” and asked to administer 20mg of Astroten to their patients, an amount twice the maximum daily dose.

7. 7The authority of a uniform (i)Social psychologist Leonard Bickman investigated how uniform can have an authoritative impact on behaviour.The social power of a uniform. Bickman, Leonard Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol 4(1), Jan-Mar 1974, 47-61.Study: Brickman asked passers-by on the street to carry out small tasks. In the first scenario, the person making the requests had plain, normal clothes;In the second scenario, the person wore a security guard uniform. Results: When the experimenter wore street clothes, the compliance rate was 42%. When the experimenter wore a uniform however, the compliance rate soared to 92%.Clothing, especially uniform such as white coats or fluorescent jackets, can have a huge authoritative impact on behaviour.

8. 8The authority of a uniform (ii)Study: Similarly to Bickman’s study design, passers-by would be asked to provide the money to a subject who needed a dime for a parking meter. They were asked by one of the following figures:A non authority figure: wore rugged clothes with no perceived status in societyA status authority figure: dressed as a business manA role authority figure: dressed as a fireman They measured how often passers by would give a dime to the subject, and how this would differ based on authority status. In 1984 a similar study was conducted to provide robustness to Bickman’s findings.Bushman, B. J. (1984), Perceived Symbols of Authority and Their Influence on Compliance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14: 501-508

9. 9The authority of a uniform (iii)Results: They found that significantly more subjects would comply when asked by the role authority figure:82% of subjects complied when asked by a role authority figure compared to 45% when asked by the non-authority figure Interestingly, none of the subjects questioned the individual in the role authority condition, even though fire fighters have nothing to do with parking meter violations. Bushman, B. J. (1984), Perceived Symbols of Authority and Their Influence on Compliance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14: 501-508Impact: Perceived authority is apparently an important variable influencing compliance.

10. 10Luxury cars priming authority on the road When a car stops at a green light, motorist wait much longer before honking at a new, luxury car than at an older, economy model. An expensive car projects authority!84% honked at the economy car47% honked twice50% honked at the luxury car19% honked twiceDoob, A. N., and A. E. Gross. “Status of Frustrator as an Inhibitor of Horn-Honking Responses.” Journal of Social Psychology 76 (1968): 213–18. 

11. 11Mentioning someone’s level of expertise makes them seem more credibleStudy: A group of real estate agents leveraged authority bias successfully by arranging for reception staff to answer customer inquiries by first mentioning their colleague’s credentials and expertise:“Lettings? Let me connect you with Sandra, who has over 15 years experience letting properties in this area.”“Speak to Peter – he has over 20 years experience selling properties!”Results: A 20% rise in the number of appointments and a 15% increase in the number of signed contracts.Pfeffer, J., Fong, CT., Ciadini, R.B. and Portnoy, R.R. “Overcoming the self-promotion dilemma: interpersonal attraction and extra help as a consequence of who sings one’s praises” 2006, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32: 1362-74

12. 12Our brain responds differently to expert adviceA brain-scanning study of people making financial choices suggests, in the presence of expert advice, the decision-making parts of our brains often shut down.Orange: active brain regions during expert advise Blue: active brain regions without expert advise"Expert Financial Advice Neurobiologically ‘Offloads’ Financial Decision-Making under Risk." By Jan B. Engelmann, C. Monica Capra, Charles Noussair, Gregory S. Berns. Public Library of Science ONE, March 24, 2009. Study: Researchers recorded the brain activity of 24 college students while they were deciding whether to swap a guaranteed payment for a chance at a higher lottery payout.In the control condition, students made the decision by themselves. In the treatment condition, students received advice from an authority figure.Results: When thinking for themselves, students showed activity in brain regions associated with making decisions and calculating probabilities. When given advice from the authority figure, activity in those regions flat lined. In the face of expert advice, the students’ brains actually shut down a bit. We might rely a little too much on the expert’s opinion and “offload” the burden of the decision-process to the expert.

13. 13Blindly following authority to inflict pain on others (i)In one of the most well-known studies, Stanley Milgram found horrifying evidence that the majority of us comply even when we feel it is wrong simply because we are reluctant to go against those we assume have power.Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. New York: Harper and RowNOTE: Questions have been raised about Milgram’s experiments. A New Scientist article, which delves into his own records and data, finds that the experiments actually illustrate more about human altruism and independent thinking than they do for authority. Study: Participants were told they would be involved in a study about the effects of punishment on learning ability. They played a "Teacher” role and were asked to administer increasingly severe electric shocks to the "learner" (an actor) when questions were answered incorrectly. The teachers had a switchboard of shocks ranging from 15 to 450 Volts .

14. 14Blindly following authority to inflict pain on others (ii)Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. New York: Harper and RowNOTE: Questions have been raised about Milgram’s experiments. A New Scientist article, which delves into his own records and data, finds that the experiments actually illustrate more about human altruism and independent thinking than they do for authority. Results: 65% of the teachers were willing to progress to the maximum voltage level of 450 volts. The majority obeyed.Some participants felt extremely unhappy about what they were doing and blamed themselves. Only some rebelled, questioning the ethics and morals of the experimenter.Impact: Other than raising questions about the unethical treatment of participants, these findings may explain why so many people inflicted pain on others in Germany during Hitler’s reign.

15. EXAMPLESAuthority Bias

16. 16Not daring to question medical authority (i)Behavioural Challenge: By 2007, Rhode Island Hospital was facing huge problems in the number of medical errors – some fatal - committed by its staff. The working culture, habits and relationships between doctors, surgeons and nurses did not allow nurses to question anyone more senior with authority, resulting in significant slips and errors.Duhigg, Charles “The Power of Habit”, Random House, p154-181

17. 17Not daring to question medical authority (ii)Duhigg, Charles “The Power of Habit”, Random House, p154-181BeSci Inspired Solution: The hospital took a number of actions to tackle the authority problem and change working behaviour by embedding better working habits and routines and changing social norms with: Compulsory surgical team training courses;Enforcing ‘time outs’ to check surgery details;Launching a whistleblowers’ helplineImpact: As a result of the changes, the hospital made a big improvement in its standards of care and has since won a number of awards. A trainee nurse commented: “It’s really cooperative now. I feel like I can say anything.”

18. 18Reducing litter in Texas Behavioural challenge: In the mid-1980s, Texas faced a big problem with roadside litter. Drivers were throwing trash out of their cars along the highways. BeSci Inspired Solution: In 1985, officials came up with the ‘Don’t mess with Texas campaign’ which drew on a number of cool, hip authority figures such as the Dallas Cowboy football players, singers such as Willie Nelson and George Strait, athletes like George Foreman and Randy White, and even a stealthy World War II-era B-17 bomber.Outcome: Within the first of the campaign, litter had been reduced by 29%. In the first six years, roadside litter fell by 72%. It has also won hundreds of awards in its 29 year history.However, they have recently resorted to fines to curb the litter problem.https://www.dontmesswithtexas.org/the-campaign/

19. 19Using endorsements and partnership to signal credibilityCovid testing providers list their partners or endorsements on their websites to show that they have the trust of authorities.NEW

20. 20The most popular electric toothbrush in all of AustraliaToothbrush messaging utilising authority bias – highlighting the popularity of Oral B brushes and their use by a trusted source in the dentist. NEW

21. 21Transferwise uses CEOs’ and founders’ testimonialsAuthority Bias

22. 22The Warren Smith Ski Academy provides testimonials from big names in the skiing & sports industry

23. 23Reducing energy consumption Dr. Robert Metcalfe tested how Authority Bias might influence the reduction of paper usage in the workplace.He tested several different interventions, but with every one, found that if an email came from the CEO, the effect on reducing consumption was doubled. Reputation of the messenger mattered.http://www.britac.ac.uk/policy/Nudge-and-beyond.cfm

24. 24The Financial Times using Barack Obama as an authority figureThe ad leverages authority bias by using a comment made by President Obama. Caroline Halliwell, director of brand & B2B marketing at the Financial Times, said the quote, made in the first interview for a global publication after Obama took office, demonstrated that "some of the world's most powerful people turn to us as a trusted source of news and analysis".http://www.mediaweek.co.uk/article/913194/ft-launches-obama-led-outdoor-campaign

25. 25Authority bias spotted on the UndergroundAdvert by Which?, a UK organisation providing information and advice on products, services deals to help consumers make informed decisions. Here they are promoting authority bias over social norms

26. 26‘Influencers’ as celebrity endorsements 92% of consumers trust an influencer more than an advertisement or traditional celebrity endorsement.Models now command higher fees if they have a large social media followingFashion Bloggers Walked the Runway at Rebecca Minkoff

27. 27Using Authority bias to sell books 27Authority bias

28. 28Cigarette brand Camel using doctors as an authority almost ‘recommending’ smoking

29. QUOTESAuthority Bias

30. “The brain actually shuts down a bit in the face of expert advice.”David H. Freedman, Author of ‘Wrong: Why experts keep failing us’

31. “Our obedience frequently takes place in a 'click, whirr’ fashion, with little or no conscious deliberation. Information from a recognised authority can provide us with a valuable shortcut for deciding how to act in a situation.”Robert Cialdini,Author of ‘Influence: The Power of Persuasion’

32. FURTHER READING Authority Bias

33. 33Further reading Academic studied referred to in this guide as well as useful books and articles Bushman, B. J. (1984), Perceived Symbols of Authority and Their Influence on Compliance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14: 501-508Cialdini, R. ”Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” Harper Collins, 1984Doob, A. N., and A. E. Gross. “Status of Frustrator as an Inhibitor of Horn-Honking Responses.” Journal of Social Psychology 76 (1968): 213–18. Duhigg, Charles “The Power of Habit”, Random House, p154-181Hofling, C. K., Brotzman, E., Dalrymple, S., Graves, N. & Bierce, C. (1966). An experimental study of nurse-physician relations. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 143, 171-180Milgram, S. (1974). Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View. New York: Harper and RowSunstein, C., Thaler, R. “Nudge” 2008, p64-65

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