Definitionv1

Authority bias: the cognitive heuristic that automatically

Authority bias: the cognitive heuristic that automatically attributes greater accuracy to opinions of authority figures, independent of content quality, and functions as a mental shortcut that substitutes 'who said it' for 'is it true'

Why This Is a Definition

This definition precisely establishes 'authority bias' by naming the term, identifying its genus as a cognitive heuristic, and specifying its differentia as automatic attribution of accuracy to authority figures regardless of content quality. It explains the mechanism (mental shortcut) and distinguishes it from rational evaluation by emphasizing the substitution of source credibility for content verification.

Source Lessons

L-0605

The compliance instinct

Evolution built in a tendency to defer to authority — recognize when it activates.

Connections

Defines (30)

AxiomExponential Information Decay AxiomExtended Cognition Thesis AxiomAutomatic Narrative Generation Precedes Conscious Evaluation AxiomDirected Attention as Depletable Resource AxiomPerception as Predictive Construction AxiomHindsight Bias and Calibration Necessity AxiomTwo-Level Metacognitive Architecture AxiomExpertise Transforms Perceptual Chunking AxiomCognitive Dissonance Drives Information Avoidance AxiomDual Coding Theory: Verbal and Visual Channels AxiomConversational Memory Asymmetry From Production Planning AxiomUltradian and Circadian Cognitive Rhythms AxiomSubcortical Fast-Pathway Threat Processing AxiomEmotional Hijacking of Judgment AxiomEmotion as Systematic Cognitive Modulator AxiomGlucose-Cognition Dependency Threshold AxiomBias Blind Spot Asymmetry AxiomExternalization Exposes Hidden Structure AxiomExpertise as Domain-Specific Schema Organization AxiomCultural Transmission Through Shared Intentionality AxiomNo Direct Access to Reality AxiomCognition Operates Through Dual Processing Systems AxiomAutomatic Pattern Perception AxiomHierarchical Chunking Expands Capacity AxiomBasic-Level Category Privilege AxiomConstrual Level Effects on Perception AxiomYou necessarily trust your own cognitive faculties as a AxiomWhen estimating future task duration, people naturally adopt AxiomHuman beings make decisions under conditions of incomplete AxiomHuman cognition operates through schemas — structured

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