MENTAL MODEL · M2196

Authority Bias

BehaviorHigh supportSocial Psychology

Included

Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

The tendency of people to obey or trust the instructions and opinions of authority figures without thinking, reducing independent judgment and making them susceptible to being misled.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

The tendency to blindly obey and trust authoritative instructions, weakening one's own independent judgment.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Refers to the tendency to obey or overestimate the opinions of authority figures, reducing independent judgment, even when the authority may not be reliable in that specific field.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Practice this model in one real situation:

Be aware of your automatic compliance with authority
ask authorities for evidence in their specific field
evaluate based on evidence rather than titles.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

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Source support: Explicit

link
en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Authority_biasZH · Explicit
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